Herland at Redtwist Theatre

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...While Herland has a few awkward moments—a too-long dream sequence needs a great deal more volume and energy—its women-led, DIY ethos offers an imaginative spin on aging and allows its characters dignity and agency in a culture that often disregards them. While I wouldn't call its ending happy, its painful truth is a reminder of the systems and families senior women are often up against. For a moment, here's an image of resistance, a gotta-get-out-of-here tale straight out of the Springsteen songbook."

Windy City Times - Highly Recommended

"...McLeod's rolling world-premiere play, with its delicate blend of comedy and crisis, offers juicy roles for a trio of AARP-eligible female actors, all but guaranteeing extensive regional revivals. Though the arc of the narrative could use some re-editing, director James Fleming and a dream-team cast-Kathleen Ruhl, Valerie Gorman, marssie Mancotti, Simran Bal and Deanalis Resto-never allow the playful moments (spit-takes, blackout scenes, Fiorucci-style fashions for the youngsters and a lip-synced "Born to Run" fantasy sequence) to eclipse the serious issues underlying the quest for your own identity, whatever your age."

Chicago On the Aisle - Recommended

"...As shaggy dog stories go, Grace McLeod's "Herland," now rollicking about in the very small space of Redtwist Theatre, is funny from start almost to finish. The show derives its nearly nonstop energy and substantial appeal from three middle-aged actresses and a convincingly vulnerable young actress playing in a you-are-there garage set. Right at the finish line, however, "Herland" makes a sudden shift from high comedy to self-conscious morality tale and concludes in an awkward effort to make its point."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...I think the most effective part of the show for me is how 'normal' everyone was. If they were too perfect, too larger than life, then the show becomes a Golden Girls knock-off. Too deeply flawed, and it would lose it's easy charm. In the show's namesake, none of the women have last names, because even if they didn't take a husband's name, they would still inherit their father's. Their identity would always be tied to a man. At one point in the show, Jean mentions that her ex-husband always introduced her as 'his Jean' even though he was never 'her Bob.' He was always Bob's Bob, as she puts it. Jean and her friends may be at a very different place than young Natalie, but ultimately they are all searching for the same thing: to belong to themselves. This play is a lovely, funny, and ultimately quite moving exploration of that search."