Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...For Brumlow, surely doing the best work of his long career, the main assignment here was to act the man and his condition. Brumlow is most affecting in that regard, working under the thankfully unflashy direction of Damon Kiely, who wisely concentrates on adding texture and nuance to the familiar dramaturgical architecture. One buys what Brumlow is selling here, not least because he seems to be living (and dying) rather than merchandising a human commodity. Laura Coover, playing Williams' mostly talentless wife, adds to the feeling of veracity, as does James Leaming whose Fred Rose avoids most of the cliches of the manager-narrator of shows such as this. You get the sense throughout that Kiely and his cast are pushing back strongly against the expectations of this kind of show. Perhaps they go too far: there are a couple of performance scenes that just need to better sell and enjoy the performance of the songs. But it's an approach that adds greatly to the dispensing of broader truths."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...In a real sense, Hank Williams, the Alabama-born singer-songwriter whose name is synonomous with country music, set the model for such careers. When he died of a heart attack in 1953 he was just 29, and had burned as many bridges as he'd built during his short but eventful life. "Hank Williams: Lost Highway," the sharp, witty, deftly shaped musical biography now in a sensational production by American Blues Theater, charts that classic arc of self-destruction. And dang if it ain't the most entertainin' show since "Million Dollar Quartet.""
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...American Blues Theater's excellent mounting of Randal Myler and Mark Harelik's musical drama also boasts a first-rate supporting cast of actor-instrumentalists on guitar, fiddle, bass, steel guitar, harmonica, and spoons. (Love the spoons!)"
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Anchoring the action in the intimate Greenhouse ground-floor auditorium is Matthew Brumlow, his wholesome features almost wholly subsumed into his persona's wiry depression-era frame, delivering a portrayal of such transformative intensity as to spur devout secularists in the audience to enthusiastic caroling of "I Saw the Light" opening night. It's too early to predict whether this American Blues Theater production will match the success of that other roots-of-rock-and-roll show playing up the street at the Apollo, but it's off to a good start."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Still, for the roteness of the script, Damon Kiely’s handsome production does seem to get at its hero’s fiber. Matthew Brumlow’s embodiment of Williams is all shifty-eyed searching, somehow combining hurt puppy and hunter. And the main attraction—the music, performed live—is re-created with great skill and care. Having both Austin Cook and Michael Mahler, two of the finest theatrical musicians working today, on hand as narrating band members is truly an embarrassment of riches. (Greg Hirte and John Foley round out the Drifting Cowboys, with John Crowley also providing fine musical support as Hank’s blues-singing mentor Tee-Tot.) And Brumlow admirably approximates Williams’s unique, piercing vocal style without sounding like an impressionist. The script may sometimes seem like it’s cheating, but American Blues Theater’s production has the right heart."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...But, this production’s main feature comes from the toe-tapping Williams songbook. With 20 Hank Williams songs, the show delivers enough entertainment to please. Hank Williams fans will love this show. Those who don’t know Hank’s work will be impressed at his simple yet profound tunes. American Blues Theater has a worthy tribute to the country legend; it is worth a look."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...HANK WILLIAMS: LOST HIGHWAY is a poetic testimony to what launches and destroys a brilliant career. Hank's story will have you musing and humming all the way home."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The Greenhouse Theater is an intimate venue with excellent acoustics and a perfect setting for this show. The stage is well managed and the actors and their instruments blend naturally as the story ebbs and flows. The American Blues Theater production celebrates the music of a true American genius and gives its audience, young and old, a reason to tap their toes."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Indeed, it’s an absolute joy to watch these performers interact with one another on the stage, and by the end of the performance, I’d submit that the audience would have been willing to hear another two hours of music, had they been given the opportunity. Wry, sincere, and above all genuine, “Lost Highway” is not a show to be missed."
