Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...I was mightily impressed, yet more so with another aspect of Cole’s small-cast “Hamlet,” which stars the exceptional young Chicago talent Daniel Kyri. I doubt it’s even where Cole, who clearly had an idea for almost every moment in this play, put enormous amounts of conscious effort. But this is what he did: He has staged a “Hamlet” that lets you feel more of a father-and-son bond than in any other “Hamlet” of my theater-going lifetime. And there have been many."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Cole makes bold choices but not all of them work. With one notable exception, the staging feels under-rehearsed; there were missed lines and late entrances opening night. Individually, these problems are small and perhaps not even noticeable to those not thoroughly familiar with the text. Collectively, however, they erode the story's momentum and its power to shock and disturb."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...To say that this Gift Theatre production, led by director Monty Cole, finds all the right answers to these questions assumes that they have right answers, which they don't. Like "to be or not to be," the only sure answer is an equivocation, another question. Daniel Kyri, who heads up a predominantly black cast, brings utter control over the language and a quality of hard-won majesty to the role of Hamlet. Kyri also has the ability to inflict the most profound hurt imaginable, as he demonstrates in Hamlet's falling-out with Ophelia (Netta Walker), or when he viciously shanks Polonius (Robert Cornelius). In its sensitivity to the violent contradictory impulses within each scene, Kyri's Hamlet is a triumph."
Theatre By Numbers - Recommended
"...All in all, this is a stunning “Hamlet,” a solid blend of challenging ideas and strong stagecraft. If you want your eyes opened anew to the possibilities in an old text, check out this production."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Gift’s Hamlet is staged with a predominantly African American cast and yet the play isn’t about racism…. or is it? It’s not explicitly, yet it reminds us that it’s only in recent years that African Americans have routinely been cast in classic roles. (And diversity in casting is still a serious and divisive issue in the theater community.)"
Chicago On Stage - Recommended
"...Like Falls’ Hamlet back in the 80s, Cole’s version is ambitious and audacious. Where it succeeds, it is exciting, but it gets in its own way far too often. Ultimately it is worth seeing for the parts that do work and for Kyri’s strong performance and for the play itself—Hamlet, even overdone, is the best play ever written. Cole keeps the three-hour work (believe it or not, the full play is another hour long; the editing here is generally quite good) moving briskly along, and he gets some wonderful performances from his cast. I don’t know if people will still remember it 33 years from now, but you’ll be talking about it for days. It is a flawed but fascinating production."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...The production is perfect for fans of Shakespeare, especially those who like a more contemporary feel. The tight quarters at The Gift will keep you up close and personal with your neighbors for the 3 hour production."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Monty Cole’s stunning production of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” now at The Gift Theatre, is an exercise in what it means to reinvent a classic. It’s a deeply personal, unapologetically black, and unapologetically irreverent production that takes the dusty tome of the four-hundred-year-old play and balances it squarely on the knife-like edge of what “Hamlet” has been and what “Hamlet” can be if it is approached with courage, understanding and heart."
