Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Keaton has typically played comic roles in his long career, mostly in Chicago musicals. I suspect there will be some Churchill aficionados — and Chicago has many of those — who will come to this show and find Keaton more vulnerable than they might expect such an awe-inspiring historical figure to be. But there's foundation in the record for that. Ignored as a child and very much in the shadow of the rhetoric and eloquence of his lineage, Churchill did not have the easiest of lives. And as Keaton's piece reminds us, there were plenty of well-respected figures (on both sides of the Atlantic) advocating for some level of appeasement of Hitler during the nascent years of the World War II. Neville Chamberlain hardly was alone. There was Joseph Kennedy."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...He spent his early career in the military, fighting his way through India, Sudan, and other outposts of the British Empire (all the while reporting on it for publications back home). He warned against appeasing Hitler, then led his country through the war that followed appeasement's failure. On the cusp of the Battle of Britain, he famously told the people "we shall fight in the fields and in the streets . . . we shall never surrender." Badass indeed. Ronald Keaton references all these facts and attributes in the course of his 105-minute solo turn as the great man—yet never shows us the formidable temperament behind them. Genial, sly, occasionally poignant, and packed with astonishing Churchillian quotes, the performance is engaging but lacks bite. It's as if Keaton were playing a nostalgic old pal of Churchill's rather than Churchill himself."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...However gloomy its premise, this is no dry fact-choked schoolroom lecture. Assisted by Paul Deziel's projections that locate us in time and place, Keaton has authored a brief glimpse of the "British Bulldog"-100 minutes with an intermission-rich in the acerbic wit and stirring rhetoric that renders Churchill's aphorisms quoted to this day. As a performer, Keaton's 30 years as one of Chicago's favorite character actors enables his transformation into the portly, intrepid, whisky-swilling Brit whose vocal delivery evidences the self-educated orator adept at staking out his territory in the "wilderness of politics" he chose to explore. Under the deft direction of Kurt Johns, the results constitute an auspicious debut for the newly-founded SoloChicago Theatre series."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Director Kurt John’s is a director whose work I have seen and greatly admire. However from a directorial stance much of the job is defining the emotional landscape complete with peaks and valleys that will keep an audience engaged. Opening night many of Keaton’s friends filled the audience and were very supportive (he got a standing ovation) – you could feel the love and admiration for this talented Chicago actor."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Keaton is a man of great charm and professional accomplishment. His two-hour long performance is a magnificent display of acting, and his director, Kurt Johns, guides him almost seamlessly through subjects as weighty as war to the mundane joys of painting. Members of the audience I saw sat riveted through Churchill's tale of leading Britain's resistance to the Nazis, and fully accepted Keaton in his place as a savior, and the one who called the United States to its moral awakening from isolationism. The success this show has already enjoyed demonstrates there is an appetite for World War II nostalgia, and Churchill serves it up with aplomb. Even skeptical as I am of Churchill-worship, Keaton's re-enactments of his steadfast speeches in defense of liberty made me misty-eyed for a second. I certainly hope to see more of Ron Keaton, and of SoloChicago. There's a lot more material for docudramas still to mine."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Ronald Keaton’s tour-de-force, one-man show is the inaugural production of SoloChicago, an Equity company focusing on solo performances. Keaton’s commitment and dedication to bringing the larger-than-life character of Winston Churchill to the stage is evident in the historical detail and emotional honesty he brings to his subject."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Keaton has taken Churchill’s own writings and the teleplay “Winston Churchill” written by Dr. James C. Humes to a new level and has opened the pages of history so that we can peek in and see the man behind the legendary stories. While Churchill was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things, this particular vehicle is for Keaton a golden opportunity to show Chicago what he has. Congratulations Ron- on a job well done and the opportunity to see you at your finest!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This production, which would be very much at home at TimeLine Theatre, begs to be included as a field trip for every area middle and high school student. But this is not only an educational production but a highly entertaining one, often humorous and filled with moments that touch the heart as well as the intellect. Mr. Keaton’s determination to develop and bring this show to life is a real labor of love, and it’s a must-see, inspirational production that promises to speak to every generation."
