Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...The whole cast — Carl Herzog’s Bud, Peyton Shaffer’s Carolyn, Molly LeCaptain’s Marian and Thurston’s Robert — is uniformly very solid. But this is a show that rightfully belongs to Harrington and her director, who combine here to really show you the granular detail of an affair: the idea, the initial decision, the anguish, the decision that changes everything and nothing. Every beat of what they do is both discernible and real, especially the moment when Franny cries that she once ran away from home only to find it impossible to return. Yup."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...But for all the Hallmark Channel realness, Theo Ubique wrests a genuinely moving story of loss, longing and sacrifice in the musical based on the novel by Robert James Waller. Is the whole thing in constant danger of overheating like vegetable stew on a farmhouse stove in high summer? Yes. Even the iced tea glasses start sweating when Francesca (Kelli Harrington) meets Robert (Tommy Thurston.)"
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Set against a pleasantly drowsy score gorgeously played by a five-piece orchestra led by music director Jeremy Ramey, this production sweeps you up in the magic and leaves your heart warm and fuzzy in its afterglow."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...There are musical productions that belong on the large stage and others that seem to fit into the scheme of things at TheoUbique Cabaret Theatre. "The Bridges of Madison County" based on the novel by Robert James Waller, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown and the book by Marsha Norman was a big hit at Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, but the T-U version, in their new theater on Howard Street is "AMAZING"!."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...Credit director Fred Anzevino (and his authentic Italian roots), music director Jeremy Ramey (who has a genius for conjuring a symphonic sound with a five-piece ensemble), and the show’s two stellar principal performers – Kelli Harrington and Tommy Thurston – for unlocking the show’s full beauty, and for transforming a work often written off as soap opera by revealing its hidden depth."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This heartbreaking musical, which, sadly, was short-lived in its original 2014 Broadway debut, is now enjoying a magnificent regional production in Evanston. It’s a lovely, beautifully-acted and lushly-sung story that taps into something that each of us has experienced: the road not taken. How would we respond if given the chance to go back and go down the other path, to experience a life that may be more exciting, enriching and romantic? This mellifluous, melancholy musical portrays the moving memories of one woman; and her past, present and future will live in the theatergoer’s heart far beyond the final curtain."
Buzznews.net - Recommended
"...In a class all by herself, Harrington sings and evokes in parallel, like a fine diva - an arched eyebrow, a furtive look, shaking her locks - it's really quite stunning to witness. The elegant chamber music ensemble led by Jeremy Ramey emphasizes cello, violin, and keyboard. Francesca's role dominates the musical minutes, with Robert as her partner in emotional upheaval countering with a comparably challenging song book. Tommy Thurston acquits himself admirably, in a complex role."
Irish American News - Highly Recommended
"...TheoUbique rarely fails to deliver when it comes to entertainment, and this performance is no exception. Set among the cornfields and the big skies, Bridges, perfectly captures the stifling effects of being, as Emily Bronte puts it, an oak in a plant pot. Francesca, an Italian war bride, exchanges her home, language and culture for rural Iowa in 1965. Apparently happy with her husband, Bud, and two children, Carolyn and Michael, Francesca's world is abruptly uprooted when a chance encounter with Robert, a photographer, uncovers her dissatisfaction with domesticity."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Because of Theo’s theatrical excellence, patrons can simply give in to this story—mindful of the characters’ struggles, allowing an albeit temporary release of their own—fully aware that this fabulous experience is just one split-second, and comforted in the belief there are still a million miles to go."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...This musical was not really a success on Broadway, but I honestly think it works better in the compact Theo Ubique space, where this small show can be as intensely personal as it is meant to be. The emotional fervor of the affair can get lost in larger theatres, and here it seems to blossom. It’s a much better fit than last fall’s The Full Monty was in the same space, though that show worked pretty well anyway. As Theo Ubique continues to play with its new facility, though, it is learning how best to use it. This summer’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch should be a wonderful challenge, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with it. But for now they seem to have found a perfect show to showcase both their theatre’s size and its flexibility, not to mention Harrington’s amazing voice. The Bridges of Madison County is an intimate production that feels right at home here, and Theo Ubique looks to have yet another hit on their hands."
