Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...How the mystery of Mary envelops Harry is the focus of the musical's climax. Rutherford and Bouthiette have trimmed Barrie's three-act drama into an economical 90-minute one-act, and in doing so they have intensified the relationship between the ghostly woman and the grieving man. The sentimentally spiritual resolution of Barrie's original is replaced by a darker denouement that more truthfully mirrors the narrative's emotional subtext."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Black Button Eyes Production of "Mary Rose: A World Premiere Musical" is a pleasant revival of J. M. Barrie's supernatural play, written in 1920. Barrie's fictional account of an adult woman who never loses her youthful playfulness and charm presents a unique combination of fantasy and horror. In the 2022 musical version, director Ed Rutherford has adapted the book to suit and has added tremendous original music by Jeff Bouthiette. The collaboration between Rutherford and Bouthiette on the lyrics is fabulous, such that each of the songs is extremely descriptive of the character's feelings and their planned actions. The underlying story is that of a young girl named Mary Rose who had been "kidnapped by a Scottish island" and how the adult Mary Rose, now wife and mother, befalls the same fate. And the best part is that she doesn't know that she is a ghost!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This highly anticipated, magically mesmerizing musical adaptation of Sir James M. Barrie's forgotten play is simply enchanting. The story was said to have piqued the interest of Alfred Hitchcock, back in the day. However, the film was never made."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Recommended
"...All told, Mary Rose is a worthy tale to tell, even one hundred years later. Barrie’s idée fixe on the merits and demerits of aging and therefore squaring with past trauma and mortality provides a solid base, and Rutherford and Bouthiette’s adaption give it a magic sparkle that’s in keeping with the company’s mission. With a little more time in the oven, though, it can become even firmer and hotter, and that sparkle can burn brighter."
Chicago On Stage - Somewhat Recommended
"...I can well understand why many of my colleagues seem to have enjoyed this production, as the story and performances are indeed wonderful, but for me it just didn’t conjure the emotional response that any successful ghost story must."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...Mary Rose is part classic British mystery and part ghost story, elements that Rutherford and Bouthiette meld in a rich, dark score. Soaring at times with operatic intensity, the piece overcomes some bumpy transitions that slightly distracted this viewer. As Mary Rose, Stephanie Stockstill shifts between sparkle and portent, making it easy to feel her loved ones' pain when she leaves them. In addition to vocal power, Stockstill and the rest of the cast bring naturalness to the plot's supernatural and melodramatic turns."
Splash Magazine - Recommended
"...Mary Rose works especially well as a ghost story with its opening scene appearing almost as a shout out to the works of Shirley Jackson. The story then shifts ever so subtly to a more menacing version of Peter Pan, with the characters quickly realizing that it might not be so great never growing old. The production also works quite well as a musical with the music mostly effective at propelling the story forward while keeping consistent with the story's creepy undertow. Singing these songs is a very talented cast that always appear in sync with one another. Adding another winning layer is the live orchestra directed by Nick Sula."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...This is a show that needs to be seen, and the creators provide helpful commentary, but there is more than a kernel of something fantastic here. This is the sort of thing that storefront theater in Chicago can create out of spit-and-a-snit, and the terrific material here has the makings of a musical that moves an audience from every quarter to fall in love with it, it is so like the Marsha Norman-Lucy Simon, "The Secret Garden." In fact, Bouthiette's music, while never directly borrowing, bows to that particular show. But then, perhaps magical children come dressed in their own keys and chords, and there is simply no avoiding it."
