Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...All the actors, under the direction of Anthony Irons, do a fine job with the agitprop script, which includes significant updating—references to "POCs," pronounced "pox," and allusions to Latinos, including jokes about ICE. I would have preferred if Ann Joseph, as the Mayor, had varied her delivery more: when you start out yelling, there's really no place to go but louder. But her speech to the absentees—including an embarrassing anecdote about her "Mam-nanny"—is a tour de force. And when the white people have a complete meltdown and start picketing, there are two sides to every sign: "Come back and we'll stop" [reverse] "AND FRISK." Kudos to Sydney Lynne Thomas for her scenic and property design."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...Day Of Absence was brave for taking daggers regarding white people who can't drive themselves, can't care for their children, or throw out their garbage, bringing attention to the ugliness of racism with a peal of laughter. The message of a day of absence remains prevalent even today. Director Anthony Irons satire's message of propaganda is refreshing and comical. Irons updated some of the negative references, slurs, slang, and terminology used today to describe ethnic groups while also making fun of ICE and Trump. Signs with a two-fold meaning like, "COME BACK AND WE'LL STOP," as it turned, providing its real connotations, "AND FRISK.""
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...Anthony L. Irons, a master physical comic himself, has directed this multiracial cast with energy and an eye towards razor sharp comic timing. The cast is phenomenal. Jordan Arredondo, Ronald L. Conner, Meagan Dilworth, Ann Douglas, Bryant Hayes, Sonya Madrigal, and Kelvin Roston, Jr. all play multiple parts, easily shifting from one character to another. The bare bones modular set by Sydney Lynne Thomas was the perfect background for the makeup, costumes and wigs by the talented Rueben D. Echoles."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...Douglas Turner Ward calls Day of Absence a “satirical fantasy” and it is certainly both. The wit is scathing, though applied more with a bludgeon than with a rapier. But no matter; it’s very funny with many current references. The opening-night audience clearly enjoyed it, as did I."
Storefront Rebellion - Recommended
"...Ward’s episodic vignettes, which toggle among a few different sets of characters, can be both pointed and broad; a bickering couple (Jordan Arredondo and Meagan Dilworth) who have no idea how to care for their baby with their nanny MIA, don’t need more than one scene to make their point, while some of the strongest bits come in interviews conducted by a straight-faced TV reporter (Dilworth again) with a fulminating televangelist (Kelvin Roston Jr.) and the local Klan leader (Bryant Hayes), the latter insistent that the people of color shouldn’t have left until he ordered them out. Ann Joseph and Ronald Conner Jr. are terrific as the blowsy, blonde-bobbed mayor and her one remaining assistant."
TotalTheater - Highly Recommended
"...The Congo Square ensemble takes its cue from the whiteface makeup worn by its African-American actors, blurting forth their racist rhetoric with the insularity of a live-action cartoon ("Come back, minorities" pleads a banner, but on the other side, it reads "You still owe us for the wall") Ironically, updated references to cell phones, POCs ("Latinos, Latinas and LaTEENS"), Dolly Parton and Bruce Jenner, far from coming off as anachronistic in a text mocking social conditions from over half a century ago, serve to show by their very familiarity, just how little the dynamics remain unchanged."
City Pleasures - Highly Recommended
"...Ward shrewdly built a lot of humor into the play. And this effort takes advantage of every morsel. It even adds more zest causing the whole affair to frequently tip over into the hilarious. The perfume skit alone deserves its own baby Tony award. Despite the outright comedy, the underlying subtext couldn’t be more biting. Bryant Hayes as Clan and Kelvin Roston, Jr. in his dual role as Rev. Pious represent the true demons Ward is battling in his lasting contribution to the American stage."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Director Anthony Irons, does a great job with moderenizing the production by including current topics and the fluid like scene transitions keeps the audience engaged. The rhythmic and comedic timing is on point. The cast has a chemistry that cannot be overlooked. The entire cast does a great job, however, my favorites were Ann Joseph (Mayor), Jordan Arredondo (John) and Ronald L. Connor (Luke/Jackson)."
