Chicago Sun Times - Not Recommended
"...But not even the mighty wordsmithery Melville wields to tell the tale of Captain Ahab and his lethal obsession with the titular great white whale can compensate for a cast that continually overacts and a sound design that’s barely a cut above what you could create with an old press-and-record cassette player."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Above all, what Bradberry's approach does is allow the starkness of the contrasts between death-seeking Ahab (Cyprian's roars and whispers in the role are equally chilling) and those who wish to hold onto life to come through clearly. Gordon's Starbuck, in the scene where he contemplates killing his captain, feels like Hamlet wrestling with whether he should take out Claudius. The irony of McCoy's Ishmael being saved by the Rachel-the vessel whose captain lost his own son and who was denied help in searching for the missing boy earlier by Ahab-suggests that if there is grace in this grim world, it comes from extending a hand, even in our grief and loss, and saving another adrift soul."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Brilliantly adapted from the novel by Herman Melville, "Moby Dick in the Dark" is a treat for fans of old-time radio. Director and adapter Corey Bradberry has abridged a 600-page classic into a 90-minute marvel of audio-only entertainment on Zoom, with much of the script rewritten in iambic pentameter. Because this is a live production (i.e., not a recorded one), the challenges are many. Lots of rehearsals were needed for the group to bond together not just to get the timing down between remote locations (Chicago, Vancouver, and New Orleans) but to ensure crisp transitions between the characters. In the story Moby-Dick, people from different places come together onboard ship to go after a whale. In "Moby Dick in the Dark", people from different places come together online to present a whale of a story."
Rescripted - Somewhat Recommended
"...However, even with all the excess whale fat trimmed away, Moby Dick in the Dark still struggled to hold my attention over its short runtime - and despite the care woven into its storytelling, I simply didn't connect with it. Admittedly, this could be on my end, seeing as I often find audio-only entertainment very difficult to process when I'm sitting still. This is always a disappointing turn of events for a reviewer, as your emotional reaction to the art has to form the bedrock of your analysis of it - and if you don't have that emotional reaction, all you're left with is the nuts and bolts of the thing. But alas, we're here, and we must plunge ahead regardless."
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...Theatre in the Dark is a relatively new company, but their platform offers them so much room to grow. For those who enjoy theatre but aren't ready to get back out there, this is a perfect way to feed your need for great storytelling."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...The cast does their collective best to bring out the poetry of Melville's sometimes heavy, but beautiful, text. And Montipoli's enchanting score adds a bit of tenderness to the production. Listeners can close their eyes and enjoy Moby Dick as the exhilarating tale that it is-and find pleasure in its colorful, Shakespearean characters--and, if they so wish, appreciate it on a deeper level. For Melville's profound tale of chance, fate, destiny, and free will is just as relevant today as it was when it was written."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Recommended
"...Dim the lights. Don your foul weather gear. Then, settle down with your mug of grog to enjoy the recounting of this time-honored maritime adventure."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...This version of the stirring, epic tale of whaling adventure is narrated by Elizabeth McCoy as Ishmael who, with only two other actors-Mack Gordon and Robinson J. Cyprian-voice the 90-minute audio drama of the Pequod that departs on a three-year odyssey from Nantucket to raging seas and waterways around the world. When you consider the size of the earnest company and the enormity of the stories they attempt to tell, there is always something truly remarkable and noteworthy about Theatre in the Dark's productions."
TotalTheater - Recommended
"...So if Bradberry and his cast sometimes seem to be—well, treading water at the midpoint of the two-hour-plus running time—did I mention the barely-discernable iambic pentameter? And Nick Montopoli's well-researched maritime soundscape?—they are to be commended for never allowing their Salty-Jack-Tars to veer into Robert Newton-camp, but instead helm their cumbersome text to a final showdown as thrilling as a Spielberg epic."
