Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...As joyously directed and deftly cast here by Daryl D. Brooks, and creatively choreographed by Christopher Chase Carter, this experience felt very much like classic Theo: A whole team of fresh young talent with stellar voices, a rich collective sense of humor, and the perennial sense, thanks in no small part to Carter’s ambitious work, that everyone here is doing clever things that you don’t typically see done in a space this intimate. Not done this cleverly, anyway."
Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"...There are some lags in the pacing (just as in a real baseball game) from time to time, but particularly on opening night, the cast and crew overcame a ninth-inning setback in the form of a partial power outage. Conductor and music director Ryan Brewster (the four-piece band does terrific work) was unable to play keyboards for the final song, “A Man Doesn’t Know.” If it was another late-breaking trick from a theatrical Applegate, he failed in his aim: Shea and Hoyt sang their hearts out a cappella, sending us into the warm summer eve with appreciation for the pluck and spirit of Brooks’s charming ensemble and the nostalgic appeal of the show itself."
Stage and Cinema
- Highly Recommended
"...Christopher Chase Carter’s choreography is delightful and occasionally very cheeky—witness the baseball-bat bit in the Act II opener, “The Game”—and, as is now expected of them, Theo Ubique and director Daryl Brooks have assembled a top-notch ensemble. Nowakowski has an impressive set of pipes and brings an appropriately aw-shucks quality to Joe Hardy. He also shares a gentle chemistry with Hoyt, and their scenes together are rather sweet."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...The ensemble of this production truly shines. Theo always has great talent. Alex Madda is a glorious Gloria Thorpe, the reporter who needs to get the goods on this player who’s shoes didn’t fit. The “Shoeless Joe” number is powerful and shows what can be done on a small stage with “A Little Brains, A Lot of Talent” ( the actual song is a little talent), with an emphasis on the later."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Recommended
"...But for a nostalgic trip back to the more innocent days of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It to Beaver, Director Daryl D. Brooks has staged a funny, generally fast-paced musical comedy from Broadway’s Golden Age that coincides perfectly with the opening of the Spring baseball season. With just a few missed catches and a couple of foul balls, DAMN YANKEES is an All-Star show that’s filled with talent and miles and miles of heart."
Third Coast Review
- Somewhat Recommended
"...If you’re looking for a little baseball?themed entertainment this summer, you could skip the Friendly Confines or Sox Park (currently its tenants are in FIRST PLACE in the AL Central?!) and head up to Howard Street, where Theo is offering a revival of the American musical gem Damn Yankees. It’s a small?room staging with a young, eager cast and a clear affection for the show’s place in musical?theater history, and that affection carries it a long way."
Chicago On Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...There is very little in this world more enduring than baseball, America’s pastime. Except perhaps love- the kind of love that transcends the underworld, the pennant race, and even a deal with the devil. Those two themes- love and baseball- sit at the heart of Damn Yankees, now playing at Theo Ubique Theatre, and in this charming production, both are celebrated with equal affection."
PicksInSix
- Highly Recommended
"...There is nothing quite like the experience of sitting in the dark as the lights come up on opening night. It matters little what the show is, how big the theater is or whether or not it is a world premiere or a revival. There is no doubt that a similar thrill lies deep in the dark reaches of every performer on stage, in the pit orchestra and behind the scenes."
Curtain Call Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s Damn Yankees revives this Golden Age Classic Musical (by Adler & Ross and Abbott & Wallop) with charm, force, and clear affection. What could be more appropriate during our nation’s 250th birthday celebration than an all-American blend of Faustian fantasy with All-American optimism and grit…led by a fully committed and talented cast."
Evanston Roundtable
- Highly Recommended
"...As the old song goes, “You’ve got to have heart … all you really need is heart!” And Damn Yankees proves it’s true — and not just for the good guys. In this production, running at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre through July 12, the line between good guys and bad guys isn’t really a line at all. And the villains are so entertainingly good at being bad, we can’t wait for the moment until they are back on stage."
Splash Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...There’s plenty of devilish fun, toe-tapping music and old-fashioned Broadway pizzazz in Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s spirited production of Damn Yankees. This classic 1955 musical, featuring music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, still delivers plenty of laughs and memorable tunes more than 70 years after it first took Broadway by storm."
BroadwayWorld
- Recommended
"...If you’ve ever been so invested in something — particularly sports — that it starts to dictate your mood, consume your everyday life, and affect your relationship, then you might be able to relate to Damn Yankees, now playing at the Theo’s Fred Anzevino Theatre."
NewCity Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...The Devil is in the details, and Theo once again checks all the boxes. “Damn Yankees” is a respectful re-creation of a beloved classic musical and a home run for storefront musical theater."
