Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...His signatures are all over "Pearl's Rollin' with the Blues": a strikingly fast-paced staging, careful attention to the visuals, care for how the audience is thinking and feeling and, above all else, a focus on the direct telling of truths. Even in what is, on the surface, merely a blues cabaret."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The world-premiere musical revue at Glencoe’s Writers Theatre carries the subtitle, “A Night with Felicia P. Fields.” So let’s be clear about this: A night with Felicia P. Fields is a night worth having."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...But the premiere of the jubilant revue "Pearl's Rollin' With The Blues: A Night With Felicia P. Fields" -- which she created with director Ron OJ Parson -- suggests where her true passion lies. Indeed, it's evident in her expression, the way she carries herself and in the obvious relish she takes in belting out such standards as "Wang Dang Doodle," "I'm a Man" (updated as "I'm a Woman") and "Everyday I Have the Blues.""
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...In Pearl's Rollin' With the Blues, Felicia P. Fields gets a showcase for her indomitable vocals. The Tony nominee (for The Color Purple) is a bona fide star in the land of musical theater, her voice an irresistible mix of low-down growling blues and clarion-clear belt. As the titular chanteuse in Writers Theatre's world premiere (directed by Ron OJ Parson), she's backed by a five-piece band led by Chic Street Man, a star in his own right whose steel-pan guitar can wail and moan in a thousand shades of indigo. Together, they offer an informal concert heavy on audience interaction, storytelling, and instrumental solos."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...In Pearl's Rollin' With The Blues, singing the Blues is what Pearl was born to do. As musicians swap stories and belt out the Blues, they provide the audience with 90 minutes of joyful blues, sharing how it has shaped her life. Fields playfully collaborate with the guest, and if you are fortunate enough to get a table seat, get ready to be a part of the show."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...If you are a lover of the “Blues”, Writers Theatre in Glencoe has something special for you! Most Chicago theater audiences are familiar with Ms Felicia P. Fields ( Porchlight’s “Blues In The Night”, “Let The Good Times Roll” at Northlight and of course “Nothin But The Blues.). She was born to sing the blues and in her new show “Pearl’s Rollin’ With The Blues” conceived by Ron OJ Parson and Ms Fields and directed to perfection by Parson, you are in for a treat."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...From the moment Felicia Fields walks onto the stage to perform "Pearl's Rollin' with the Blues" - the rip-roaring world premiere cabaret-style show she has created in collaboration with the stellar director Ronald OJ Parson - a sense of absolute joy fills the air."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...In a world that seems to be constantly trying to cope with so many troubles and conflicts, Writers Theatre has brought Chicago theatergoers a way to take a break from their own personal sadness. Felicia P. Fields and Chic Street Man offer songs of love, faith, happiness and hope that are guaranteed to bring audiences to their feet, singing along, clapping their hands, stomping their feet and rejoicing that the “Blues Is All Right.”"
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the blues, but Chicago is the proving ground. Just a jump north of Chicago the Writers Theatre closes out its 2021/22 season by rocking the house with Pearl's Rollin' with the Blues: A Night with Felicia P. Fields. Fields is a Chicago favorite with husky contralto that is at turns sly, sexy, and fraught with anguish-but that is the blues. The performance is directed by Ron OJ Parson who directed the excellent Relentless for Timeline. Parson is a seasoned master of August Wilson plays including Ma Rainey's Black Bottom starring Fields. The band is Chic Street Man on guitars, Ricardo Jiminez on horn and harp, Frank Menzies on keyboard, Harol Morrison on drums, and Julie Ponce on acoustic bass."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Singing the Blues is what Tony Award nominee Felicia P. Fields was born to do, and she can't wait to be back in front of a crowd with her band. This world premiere musical event-created by Fields and Ron OJ Parson, who collaborated on WT's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom-honors and celebrates the great Blues artists of the past, including Big Mama Thornton, Son House, Howlin' Wolf and more! Grab your drink, take your seat and enjoy the riffs, rhythms and rapport of a star performer and her seasoned band of musicians as they do what they do best: swap stories, belt the Blues and put on one helluva show!"
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...The cast caught on. The show takes a serious turn in later numbers. Fields takes time to relate dual stories about when she was young and faced racism and again when her grandchild confronted a similar event decades later. Racism may not have motivated the Highland Park attack, but hate and sociopathy did. Chic Street Man, the sweet-voiced guitar virtuoso and songwriter who is Fields' chief partner on stage, offered his own tale and original songs that resonated strongly with the night."
