Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...As always, the music carries us over the thinner portions of the story. Though the actors don't play instruments (leaving that in the superlative hands of Robert Reddrick and his band), both Jordan and Miller show us the impish crowd-pleasing genius of the man who brought the duckwalk to rock. (Sorry, Marty McFly.) We may not feel that we really know Chuck Berry by the end of the show. But we get a splendid musical reminder of why we hail him."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Playwright L. Maceo Ferris pays reverential homage to Berry with "Hail, Hail Chuck," cramming 17 hits and a glossing of biographical material into Black Ensemble Theater's roughly two-hour musical. Directed by Daryl D. Brooks, with musical direction by Robert Reddrick, the production repeats the strengths and weaknesses of many Black Ensemble musical bios before it. The music is strong, the lead actors charismatic, the energy infectious. The biography part of the musical bio is weighed down by a script that tells rather than shows, and that skims over the important aspects of the singer's life."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The nonmusical portions of the show are less satisfying. Ferris’s storytelling is often flat and awkward—even the section dealing with Berry’s racially motivated conviction at the height of his career for violating the Mann Act lacks drama—and large swathes of Berry’s long life are just left out."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Of course, it can be argued that Berry was a personality so expansive-did I mention that a recording of "Johnny B. Goode" was included in the ambassadorial packet aboard the 1977 Voyager spacecraft?-that he needs six people to play him. The dynamic of single, albeit multifaceted, characters are preserved by the integrative expertise of Vincent Jordan, Lyle Miller and Oscar Brown ( on "Chuck's guitar" ) and that of Rueben D. Echoles, Kelvin Davis and Adam Sherrod, whose agile execution of a musical genre composed almost exclusively for the highest and lowest notes of the keyboard is nothing short of dazzling."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Happily, Berry’s good times — collaboration with Muddy Water (Dwight Neal) who gets the budding songsmith a recording contract at Chicago’s Chess Records, a gig on American Bandstand and, much later, immediate induction in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 — can be summed up in songs. Berry transformed his high spirits into catchy numbers performed at his Club Bandstand in St. Louis and well-chronicled by Aaron Quick’s video projections."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...In this bio-musical, we get to understand the roots of how and where Chuck Berry derives at his style and passion for music before such groundbreaking hits "Roll Over Beethoven," "Nadine" and "Johnny B. Goode" and other great songs that climbed the charts."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Chuck Berry did not have an easy life. The son of a church Deacon, his father only wanted him to learn and perform "church music", but his love was something called "Rock& Roll" and doing what was called a "Black man performing Hillbilly Music" was where people first took notice of both the man and the sound. What Black Ensemble brings to their stage on this tribute, written by L. Maceo Ferris ( a senior member of the Black Ensemble Theater Playwrights Initiative) is one of their typical history lessons with music. While it is not a typical "Musical Theater" production, it is truly a musical that pays homage to the man and his history."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...The show unspools quite organically, with superb performances by Lyle Miller as the older Berry and Vincent Jordan as his youthful incarnation. (Jordan stepped into his role barely a week before the show began, and aced it both vocally and dramatically, and he and Miller, a BET veteran, make a fine pairing. Both men sing and move with panache.)"
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...This tribute to Chuck Berry, the groundbreaking rock and roll pioneer from St. Louis, is as educational as it is entertaining. Featuring the talents of musical director/arranger Robert Reddrick and his gifted, four-member onstage band, this production is capably directed by ensemble member Daryl D. Brooks. With lovely period costumes by Alexi Rutherford, lighting by Denise Karczewski and a workable set designed by Bekki Lambrecht, there's a lot of "Reelin' and Rockin'" happening on the corner of Clark and Sunnyside between now and April."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"..."Hail Hail Chuck" occupies a place on the summit of BET achievements along with "The Jackie Wilson Story," "The Howlin' Wolf Story" and "Black Pearl." All share the virtues of fascinating central characters, wonderful music, and sturdy books. The rest of the BET 2018 season lines up an intriguing lineup of shows featuring black stars of blues, soul, and hip hop. I hope the BET artistic brain trust recognizes how much the professionalism of Ferris's book contributes to the success of "Hail Hail Chuck" and keeps him on the company rolodex."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...The performers in Hail Hail Chuck all perform well as singers and actors. They have the voices and the moves (even the famous Chuck Berry duck walk) but none of them are musicians. They all carry guitars but they're not playing them or even trying to look like they are playing their guitars. This is a real flaw in a play about Chuck Berry, who is listed in 7th place on Rolling Stones' list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In addition, the sound mixing seemed off. The guitars-the most important sound-should have been stronger and more forward."
