Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Sure, there's a loft onstage. The characters still are smart, affluent, middle-age types. And yes, in the first scene, we hear self-involved talk from a woman in a business suit about the frustrations caused by some bubble-headed intern. But although you're led to expect the play will involve pints of blood on the granite countertops, Kolvenbach reveals great affection for his characters."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Frankly, I'd see "Love Song" just to watch Regan and Barford in a quiet brother-sister scene of simulated smoking. They light up with such naturalness and conviction that you realize they've probably been playing these imaginary games since childhood -- a revelation that, like the play itself, is both touching and disquieting."
SouthtownStar
- Highly Recommended
"...Written by John Kolvenbach, this absurdist comedy offers some of the most sophisticated, witty and hilarious dialogue to grace a Chicago stage. And with Austin Pendleton's sensitive, exquisitely timed pacing, this celebration of love not only touches one's heart, but has one laughing throughout."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...Director Austin Pendleton and his actors grasp this subtext as only the wise and experienced can, and thus never allow themselves to succumb to their play’s euphoric manifesto, but instead keep their subtext firmly grounded as designated messengers must. If this sounds like your cup of ambrosia, however, be warned that Love Song is certain to enjoy a long life as a screwball domestic comedy on the dinner-theater circuit, and that you are unlikely to ever again see a production of it as intelligent as this one at Steppenwolf."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Pendleton has cleanly directed a well-polished cast. And the chic set is another of Steppenwolf’s I-wish-I-lived-there rooms. But that’s the only way in which we can see ourselves inside Kolvenbach’s new play, which doesn’t suggest the infectious sublimity of falling in love, but the pat and predictable outcome of falling for a type."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...Love Song demonstrates that our lives need fantasies in order to deal with the stress of our chaotic times. Love Song offers us a glimpse of the power of fantasy and imagination where love can transform us from the mundane to the sublime."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Steppenwolf ensemble members Molly Regan and Francis Guinan are terrific, as usual, and Guinan's flair for comical hysterics is particularly sidesplitting. Barford has a tough role that could easily be summed up as a demented idiot, were it not for the aching humanity and vulnerability he brings to the role. Mayberry is an intelligent and accomplished actress, although Molly's mischievous allure evades her. "Love Song" may best appeal to the romantics at heart. I got some light chuckles, but it was not a play I could completely fall in love with."
