I Hate It Here presented by Goodman Theatre at Live Online

Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...We all hated the year of COVID for many different reasons. Not only did we hate what changed in our personal lives but also what was happening to us as a nation. And yes, we all wanted to cry out, “I’m mad as hell, and I don’t want to take it anymore!” The show “I Hate It Here” is a snapshot of this period in history. It falls into the genre of how well or poorly we coped during the pandemic, but unlike similar productions dealing with this subject matter, there is little, if any, comic relief from the sorrows of the recent past and from those which may have accumulated over the years."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...This is a powerful 70-minutes streamed production of explosive emotions, tempered by several darkly humorous scenes and characters. The stories are set in such diverse locales as a Windy City bar, on the back porch of a typical Chicago house, in a dark L train car, outside at a wedding reception, and in many other places. Not for audiences sensitive to strong, x-rated language, Ike Holter's latest play raises a lot of questions about how people cope during an epidemic, while the world is still trying to solve problems dealing with race relations, gender fluidity, class distinction and all sorts of social conflicts. It's a fine viral production from one of Chicago's premiere theatre companies."

Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended

"...Holter’s treatment of I Hate It Here is a series of 12 stories or album tracks with seven actors performing multiple roles. The play begins with Gabriel Ruiz and Sydney Charles leading the cast performing a rousing version of the rock anthem, “I Hate It Here,” backed by guitar, drums and bass."

Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended

"...From the play’s opening, in which characters briefly bemoan some of their peeves and issues about the pandemic—”I’m so sick of people saying ‘How are you,’ just so evil“; “Basically I’m just pretending everything’s one big TV show, landlord hitting me up I’m like “tune in next week”; “Now it’s like every text I send at a protest could be my ‘last words, ever'”—Holter’s script feels as raw and real as the pandemic itself. And it’s not even over when it’s over (as anyone who is planning a summer trip to a red state hot zone already knows). In the end, one character complains, “Look something legit broke, Ok but now we’re supposed to just ‘go back to before’ and THAT’s the creepiest shit to me.”"

PicksInSix - Highly Recommended

"...The expertly-paced drama is directed by Holter's longtime collaborator Lili-Anne Brown who has emerged as one of the top interpreter's-perhaps the best to date-of Holter's gritty, poetic, of-the-times work with stories rolling out in successive vignettes, beautifully filmed that continuously utilize on and offstage areas of Goodman's Owen stage and often enhanced by a carefully curated set of rear screen projections complementing the individual scenes."