Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Brown throws herself courageously at Fosca and her work is unstintingly honest and vulnerable. Musically, she gets some of the way there, no small feat. But her Fosca is a tad too, well, conventionally appealing, for the show fully to work. The show is structured so that Giorgio has first to overcome what can only be described as revulsion in order to arrive at the realization that to be on the receiving end of the most intense love imaginable can mean you start feeling it back yourself."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Blank Theatre Company's current chamber production at the Greenhouse, directed by Danny Kapinos, plays it simple and devoid of stereotypical operatic bombast, and the result is a largely absorbing 90-minute showcase for the performers, anchored by Brittney Brown as Fosca, the "ugly" daughter of a deceased general (as the soldiers at the base describe her) and Evan Bradford as Captain Giorgio Bachetti, the soldier who finds himself carrying a torch for the tortured young woman, despite already being involved in an affair with the married Clara (Rachel Guth)."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...This is not just another typical love story. Stephen Sondheim's "Passion" , a memorable new production playing at the Greenhouse Theatre Center, has stunning music, intelligent lyrics, and complex, fascinating characters. The romantic score is emotive and lush, capturing the essence of this operatic story of unrequited longing, clandestine affairs and heartbreak. This is a dark and caustic masterpiece."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Blank Theatre Company has really outdone themselves with this show. I loved the sweet sincerity of their She Loves Me and their boundless energy in On the Twentieth Century. This show impressed me with how they executed such a complicated story and score with apparent ease. The show was truly beautiful and it’s stayed with me in the days since I saw it. They should be incredibly proud of themselves for the show they have made, and you should absolutely make a point of seeing it."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...It's refreshing to know there are lesser-known Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine collaborations to continue exploring. While 'Into the Woods' and 'Sunday in the Park with George' may endure as musical theatre opuses, later works like 'Passion' showcase these two brilliant artists' legacy together. The relatively young Blank Theatre Company revives the 1994 musical at Greenhouse Theatre Center under the direction of Danny Kapinos."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre
- Highly Recommended
"...Director Danny Kapinos's work continues to impress. From everything of his that I have seen him do, he doesn't implicitly apologize to audiences for the lack of resources typically afforded storefront theater, nor does he scramble to overcompensate. With blocking and gestures as economic as they are expressionistic, he trusts his audience's willingness and ability to follow along. "Passion" by its nature is already expressionistic, so even if his contribution was limited to teeing everything up and then getting out of the way, that is achievement in and of itself."
Third Coast Review
- Recommended
"...As fans of Stephen Sondheim may know, Passion is not as widely prod'suced as some of his other musicals. There are many reasons for this. The music can be quite challenging. The show itself has an unconventional structure, and to some that might be off-putting. For others, it might be the subject-matter—and more specifically, the complicated relationship between Fosca and Giorgio at the center."
BroadwayWorld
- Recommended
"...With music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by James Lapine (their third collaboration as a creative team), PASSION follows the creation and breakdown of a love triangle in 1860s Milan. Captain Giorgio Bachetti (Evan Bradford) has been transferred to a rural outpost and must leave his lover Clara (Rachel Guth) for long stretches at a time. Once at the new outpost, Giorgio meets and develops a friendship with the Fosca (Brittney Brown), a colonel's sick cousin who is prone to fits of melancholy. As the musical progresses, Giorgio weighs his feelings for the two women, wondering if passion might be far more complicated, and terrifying, than he had ever thought possible."
