Pericles Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...This is world-class classical theater -- which we rarely see in Chicago -- driven by relentless purpose, great clarity of idea and a driving, compassionate humanism. But it's also a notably fresh, emotional and thoroughly accessible production that leaves you wondering if this thing should really be moving to Broadway."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...In choosing to stage Shakespeare's wildly episodic "Pericles" -- a play driven by countless twists and turns, reversals and revelations, miracles and spells -- Zimmerman clearly recognized the fairy tale component. And she has embroidered it exquisitely. The result is a luminous, witty, often playful and glittering beauty of a production..."

Daily Herald - Highly Recommended

"...This Pericles, remounted here at the Goodman Theatre, enchants. Zimmerman, a director known for her singular visual sense and her accomplished designers, makes up for the less-than-stellar narrative with this lovely, imaginative production that exemplifies the triumph of style over substance."

SouthtownStar - Not Recommended

"...There are sailing ships that go down in waves of a stormy sea, stardust that falls from the heavens and cracks of thunder and lightning that light up the stage. These staged enchantments from director Mary Zimmerman, though, aren't enough to make up for the very tough story she has to sell in Pericles.."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Presented on a set inspired by a Shaker meeting house, the three-hour show is oddly lavish, reflecting the script's mishmash of styles and moods with a variety of costumes, solemn processions, and anachronistic props. In a role that's all reactions, Ryan Artzberger never truly conveys Pericles's suffering, but at least he doesn't succumb to manic mugging, as some others here do. Mary Zimmerman's often lovely but empty staging forces what little feeling the play has. To be fair, few productions could calm the troubled waters of this insistently inconsistent tragicomedy."

Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Zimmerman and cohorts—and a solid acting ensemble—always fill the eye and ear, and never bore ( plus, Zimmerman has cut the text ) , yet I felt neither a sense of purpose nor a strong vision at work. She has taken a wild beast of a play and tamed it in the sense of making it a well-groomed lap dog; but she’s neither taught the dog new tricks nor learned any herself."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...anyone who follows the work of visual auteur Mary Zimmerman will come into this pageant production with high expectations for the director and low ones for the text; both will be slightly exceeded."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...in the hands of the imaginative director, Mary Zimmerman, Pericles unfolds as a playful romp rich in vibrancy, long on eloquence with humorous scenes, wacky characters including a tyrant king, an evil stepmother, beautiful young heroine in an adventure that takes Pericles sailing the Mediterranean Sea to ports in Asia Minor. I was captivated throughout by the clarity of the piece and articulation of the cast."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended

"...The problem with this nearly 3-hour long monster is that the convoluted plot is nearly unplayable. Just trying to figure out the cast list is a chore. Zimmerman has enlisted a number of highly capable performers and Chicago veterans such as Craig Spidle, Joel Hatch and Glory Kissel make memorable contributions. Glenn Fleshler and Naomi Jacobson bring some lowbrow comedy that helps liven up the second act."