Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Lettice and Lovage likely will please those for whom Court has been too outre this season (the show got a very warm reception from its opening-night audience). And it doubtless will settle and gain some zip as the run progresses. But without some retooling, this is standard repertory fare concluding a season that has plumbed greater depths."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...Shaffer's play has great heart and wit and intelligence, as does this production. But clocking in at nearly three hours (in three acts), "Lettice and Lovage" always has been far too long for its own good. And despite its charms, it remains so."
SouthtownStar
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Lucy Smith Conroy's presentation gets off to a good start in the first act but begins to lose steam in the too long and too talky second act. At three hours, the play not only is too long, but has a few other problems."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Director Lucy Smith Conroy clearly loves every minute of the supple script, especially the many obstacles these reflexive contrarians must overcome to find common cause (re-creating historical executions, mocking London's ugly modern architecture). John Judd has a wickedly funny cameo as a buttoned-down barrister who, inspired by these two, erupts into histrionic abandon. Not settling for a "mere" character comedy, Shaffer celebrates the collaborative side of nonconformity."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Director Lucy Smith Conroy guides an excellent cast with exquisite timing through a sure-fire audience pleaser. There’s enough poignancy in Lettice and Lovage to keep sentimentalists happy, and enough twisted humor to make cynics buy in, too. The production marks an emphatic exclamation point to the close of one of Court’s strongest seasons in recent memory."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Originally a vehicle for inscrutable Dame Maggie Smith, Lettice is intended as a finely inscribed love letter to history connoisseurs who love it for its inherent drama, and get lost in its details. Without a distracting star, though, it becomes clear that Shaffer has (over)written little more than an academic female Odd Couple."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...Seldom to you see a play that develops the main characters as deeply as Lettice and Lovage – act one is Lettice’s and act two is Lotte’s while act three resolves their plight. Filled with many clever, witty and hilarious references to theater and British history, Shaffer’s comedy speaks to those versed in the classics yet there is enough humor to please the neophyte."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Recommended
"...The play isn't revived that often these days, but it remains a rich and witty work and a fine showcase for two dynamic leading ladies. Court's delightful version, deftly directed by Lucy Smith Conroy, has found two such actresses in Broadway and Regional veteran Patricia Hodges and Chicago stalwart Linda Reiter. Ms. Hodges, whose big claim to semi-fame was stepping in for Mary Tyler Moore in Neil Simon's ill-fated "Rose's Dilemma," is a superb sparring partner for Ms. Reiter's dour preservationist."
