Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...Walker has written a riveting, 90-minute world premiere play for Gift Theatre actors willing to dive so deep that they almost get down to the Red Line subway below Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre. She is very much in the same territory as Tracy Letts' "August: Osage County," Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' "Purpose," and that definitive episode of "The Bear" called "The Feast of the Seven Fishes," wherein an entire family nearly killed each other on Christmas Eve."
Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"...Netta Walker's new play, Hayward, informed by Hamlet and Electra, concerns itself with the emotions of a Black family in mourning. Presented in Steppenwolf's 1700 space by the Gift Theatre, the story begins at the funeral of notorious ne'er-do-well patriarch Tony (powerfully portrayed by Watson Swift) while his similarly imperfect family grieves. Unfortunately for them, Pastor Johnson (played with delicious wickedness by Alfred H. Wilson) ministers judgments louder than his condolences."
Around The Town Chicago
- Recommended
"...I believe it best to advise from the very outset that the play I am about to talk about contains strong language, mature themes, drug use, and violence. In addition, during the play, audiences will witness violence, gunshots, loud sounds, flashes of light, haze and other disturbing items. Now that I have done the warnings, let's get into the World Premiere of Netta Walker's "Hayward", now being performed at Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater. This play, smoothly directed by AmBer Montgomery on a remarkable set designed by Sydney Lynne, is a chilling look at a family and the connections between its members."
Buzz Center Stage
- Recommended
"...There are funerals where grief brings a family together, and then there are funerals where grief opens the door to everything a family has spent years trying to keep buried. In Hayward, playwright Netta Walker turns a father's funeral into a reckoning with family secrets, unresolved pain, and the ghosts that refuse to stay in the past."
Third Coast Review
- Recommended
"...Hayward, Gift Theatre's world premiere play, begins during a funeral. The widow sits, veiled and clad in white, in the front row with the audience. Her four children are on the funeral stage and the youngest, Luna (Ireon Roach), is talking about her late father, Tony Hayward, and how special he was. Near the end of her lengthy eulogy, the late Mr. Hayward himself appears (played by Watson Swift), in full Navy uniform, and smiles at his favorite daughter. Only Luna sees him. She's stunned and pauses in her remarks. Brother Eric (Victor Musoni) moves toward her to be sure she's OK."
Entertaining Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Blending the spirit of Shakespearean tragedy with the messiness of modern family life, Hayward explores the ghosts we carry, the histories we inherit, and the complicated love that can hold a family together even as it threatens to pull them apart."
PicksInSix
- Recommended
"...When we step into Steppenwolf's 1700 Theater, we are quickly transported to a church washed in purple light. The Gift Theatre's world premiere production of "Hayward," directed by AmBer Montgomery, works well in this intimate space. The triangular stage is adorned with potted plants and framed by two stained glass windows. In the center stands a wooden pulpit, and a photo of a man framed with flowers. The Hayward family files in, dressed in outfits of varying style, but all the same stark white color-courtesy of costume designer Saawan Tiwari. Luna, the youngest of four siblings, opens the show by delivering a powerful eulogy. There is something achingly real about her words, and that is in part because this eulogy was written for playwright Netta Walker's actual father. From the beginning, Walker has made it clear what her show will be about-family and grief."
BroadwayWorld
- Highly Recommended
"...The World Premiere of Hayward is a remarkable example of how art can bring grief, anger, imperfection, and family to the stage. Drawing on elements of Hamlet and Electra, playwright Netta Walker infuses her poetic script with emotion and humanity, while the company brings energy and passion to this thoughtful production by the Gift Theatre."
