Marathon '33 at Strawdog Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...With a cast of nearly 40 and a seven-piece live band, "Marathon '33" would be too expensive and too obscure for most regional theaters to tackle. But in the inventive hands of director Shade Murray, June Havoc's semi-autobiographical account of the hellish world of Depression-era marathon dances comes to sizzling life."

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"...With a cast of 40 jammed into a little loft space that easily suggests the packed dance floor and ringside seating of a genuine marathon competition, director Shade Murray's production can't help having a gritty, upfront-and-personal quality. And fans of filmmaker Robert Altman might feel right at home with the show's rambling, multiperspective chronicling of the action."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Though we spend two and a half hours watching the dancers sink into violence, backstabbing, and physical misery, no relationships emerge; mostly the play wallows in repetitive displays of the wretched exploitation the dancers suffered. Only June develops a character: Kat McDonnell's blistering, superbly focused portrayal can't save the evening, but she provides more indelible moments than most performers deliver in an entire season."

Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Shade Murray’s direction cannot wholly focus our comprehension of the text’s meandering progress, given the obstructive sight-lines engendered by the physical proximity of 31 actors on a loft stage measuring no more than 30 by 20 feet, maximum. But so vivid are the individual personalities and so visceral the emotional conflict arising from the kaleidoscopic melee unfolding barely a footstep away from us, that never for an instant do we pause to speculate on the motives behind our own enjoyment of simulated excruciation as spectacle."

Gay Chicago Magazine - Recommended

"...This is a very daring and risky production. First of all, it is huge. With 40-plus performers, including a six-piece orchestra (excellently music directed by Don Cardiff), “Marathon ’33” fills this small 72-seat theatre with ecstatic energy. It is exciting to see so many exuberant actors working together on this show."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...In Strawdog’s tight space (decked out as a dance hall by Robert Moore), dozens of dancing bodies weave through one another, while lightning-quick scene changes maintain a near-frenzied pace; it’s tightly controlled chaos."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...You’d be hard pressed to see a more engaging, energetic show that so strongly connects us with the action than Marathon ’33 at Strawdog Theatre. There are so many terrific performances in this show that delivers the essence and mood of the Depression Era struggle for survival that it dazzles with sheer vigor. This is a fun and thoroughly enjoyable night at the theatre."