Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"..."Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train" occasionally loses steam in its extensive ethical debates, but when the play focuses on the humanity of its characters, City Lit's production is both challenging and poignant. Despite the distraction of a noisy fog machine, the livestock motif comes full circle in the end, when Tianxuan Chen's seemingly simple set, draped in a piecemeal collection of off-white canvases, gives way to a powerful final image."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Guirgis’s play comes around every so often—I think City Lit’s current production is the third time I’ve seen it, and it also is the most successful interpretation I’ve encountered. I suspect part of that is because director Esteban Andres Cruz (an ensemble member of A Red Orchid Theatre who just starred in their production of Six Men Dressed Like Joseph Stalin) has worked extensively with Guirgis, including in the 2019 New York world premiere of Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven. They also won a Non-Equity Jeff Award in 2009 for portraying Angel Cruz, the younger of the two inmates in Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, at Raven Theatre (a production I missed)."
Talkin Broadway
- Highly Recommended
"...City Lit Theater Company is opening its forty-fifth season with Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis. The production, directed by Esteban Andres Cruz, is harrowingly intimate and a fantastic example of what is possible in theatre at any scale."
Stage and Cinema
- Highly Recommended
"...One of Chicago's oldest store-front theaters, City Lit, opens its 45th season with a production of Pulitzer winner, Stephen Adly Gurgis' Jesus Hopped The 'A' Train. The play debuted almost twenty-five years ago to mostly strong reviews and has been revived frequently; its minimal set and small cast requirement making it a favorite for many small companies."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train” is one of the best shows I’ve seen all year! In the skilled hands of director Esteban Andres Cruz, this powerful and profound tragedy written by Stephen Adly Guirgis comes alive on the City Lit stage. This is an intimate and tough drama to watch: with its emphasis on prisoners and violent crime, combined with scenes spotlighting self-imposed and sadistic psychological torture."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...Notable New York playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis’s 2000 breakthrough play, “Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train,” is receiving a dynamic revival at City Lit Theater, with a fantastic cast delivering excellent performances and inventive staging, all under the direction of Esteban Andres Cruz. Guirgis went on to win a a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for his celebrated work, “Between Riverside and Crazy.”"
NewCity Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...While always gripping and at times blackly humorous, "'A' Train" is no mere entertainment. It's about bringing us into dark places and shining light on what we'd rather not see. And isn't that what theater-specifically tragedy-has always been about, going back to Aeschylus and Sophocles?"
