Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Age adds a layer of pathos to the performance as Cotovsky's cabbie tools around Chicago on a frigid Christmas Eve, picking up Christians, tourists, more than one lawyer, the scum of the earth and their victims, as well as an angel or two. Cotovsky was trying too hard on opening night: he could've got twice the mileage out of half the grimaces. There's something sobering, though, in his character's flawed maturity—now bemused, now frail, never quite wise, yet distinctly alive when he goes all air-guitar to "Whole Lotta Love.""
Theatre By Numbers - Recommended
"...There's a lot to like about this show. For one thing, it's about our Chicago, not some relic of the past, or a one-dimensional city of big shoulders, or what have you. Walk out your front door, go wait for a bus, and you'ill see most of these folks. It's refreshing to see such familiarity onstage, since so often contemporary plays are set in other regions of the country. This is here, now. Well, maybe not right now - when was the last time you could take a cab anywhere for $4? - but close enough to feel contemporary."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...A drive on the wild side, this parade of passions makes for a thoroughly satisfying night of random reality. It’s every bit as engrossing as HBO’s Taxicab Confessions, and as intimate and in-your-face as the real deal. Powerfully impressive throughout is the sterling dedication of 34 Chicago actors, many of whom get mere minutes on stage but are in this for the duration (which is into 2015). As the Brits say, “Good show!”"
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Hellcab is a great evening of entertainment and a valuable alternative to the usual holiday fare. If you’re looking for a wild night to warm up your cold Chicago winter, look no further."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Profiles Theatre, which is known for its ensemble-driven plays, has another winner with the return of Will Kern’s Chicago-based script. Prompted by the playwright’s own experiences as a cab driver, director Eric Burgher drives this entertainment on its way like a finely-tuned sports car, or a well-rehearsed improv skit. Along with a terrific ensemble, award-winning actor Richard Cotovsky brings pathos and honest realism to his earnest cabbie, creating the glue that connects his 33 exceptional fares to himself. This is a uniquely different kind of show that guarantees to elicit laughter, a few emotional sniffles and ultimately put a true Chicago spin on the holidays."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Eric Burgher directs the production, assisted by Miles Mabry and Bradley Mark, and all three combine to keep the action moving with precision and inevitability. The staging is the same throughout—passengers quickly move from an off stage entry point into the cab, do his or her brief bit, and exit during a blackout to be promptly replaced by the next performers. The pressure is on the actors to make an instant impact, given the brevity of their performance time. The result is a montage of distinctive behaviors that keep the viewers in a continual state of “what next” anticipation."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Receiving its third go-round at the Profiles Main Stage, Will Kern's bilious theatrical nugget is a refreshing blast of stank air. It stars Richard Cotovsky as a lonely, hard-hearted cab driver spending his Christmas Eve on the job. In the course of a brisk eighty-minute runtime, Cotovsky transports a filthy parade of Chicagoans from one end of the city to another. Some appear as good people only to be revealed as jerks, some are outright jerks whose brief time only serves to reinforce the depths of their jerkiness. A diverse array of actors-thirty-three in all-come together to test both Cotovsky's and the audience's faith in the inherent goodness of mankind. As Cotovsky played the same roll in 1992's original production of "Hellcab," he brings a fantastic, Sisyphean sense of resignation to the cabbie's fate."