Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Jazzma Pryor plays Lillian, expertly embodying the quintessential eldest sister, carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders alone (regardless of whether or not anyone asked her to). As Lillian watches her younger sister Nelly (a wonderfully flighty Jasmine Cheri Rush) indulge in extravagant levels of irresponsibility, the walls begin to crack. Watching it all is Lillian’s daughter, the adorable Lil’ Mama, (a hilarious Demetra Dee) receiving a firsthand primer on who she will grow up to be."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Zora Howard’s STEW now up at Theatre Wit in Lakeview is a powerful play about a family with all its foibles and love. A finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer, this is a story about a day in the life of three generations, and over the 90 minutes you will come to love this family that continues to move forward despite the burdens they carry. You will want them to find peace and happiness even as it slips away. If it was a tv show you would want season 2 to get picked up pronto!"
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Shattered Globe Theatre's STEW is an excellent performance that shares the pure truth of how each individual's life struggle can affect the family structure. Set in Mt. Vernon, New York, somewhere around the millennium, Stew takes you to the root of problems within this family with intense emotional drama. There is a strong bond between the Tucker ladies, but at the heart of all their issues are denial, rejection, the fear of loneliness, and self-esteem. Stew premiered off-Broadway at Walkerspace on January 20, 2020, and centers around Mama Tucker and Lillian's broken relationship, which through the play's core, we learn they have more similarities and differences."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Shattered Globe Theatre’s production of “Stew”, written by Zora Howard and directed by Malkia Stampley, is nourishing, peppery, and full of spice. Replete with combative exchanges, this drama involving the Tucker family takes place in “Mama’s Kitchen”, where Mama (in a stinging performance by Velma Austin) busily creates a stew that is intended to serve over 50 people at the annual Mt. Vernon Church social. Whenever Mama takes a brief moment away from her cooking and does not personally tend to the pot, the stew gets burnt or ruined in some way, much to her frequent upset. And then she has to turn around and start another batch."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Skillfully and lovingly directed by Milwaukee guest artist, Malkia Stampley, this production lives and breathes with an undeniable passion and earnestness. Set in what looks like an actual working kitchen, complete with running water in the sink and actual groceries everywhere, scenic designer Sotirios Livaditis has mastered his craft. The only thing sadly missing is a working stove to create the fragrances of the stew that we’re told smells so delicious. Also helping to create this realistic world is Zack Berinstein’s original score and composition. All the music and the various sound effects play an important role in this story. And costume designer Austin Winter has created an appropriate wardrobe for each actress that feels just right for this time period. In all, this excellent production, inspired by Zora Howard’s naturalistic comic drama is the result of close teamwork, just like the family portrayed in this play."
Rescripted - Highly Recommended
"...All the Tucker women are under the same roof again and Mama is making her legendary recipe. Known simply as “The Stew,” this traditional dish is prepared for only the most special occasions. Director Malkia Stampley turns up the heat on this gripping kitchen-sink drama and brings simmering tensions to a rolling boil. Stew by Zora Howard is a 2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama that depicts the seemingly unbreakable patterns that connect three generations of women."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...STEW is a realistic family drama with some wonderful comedic flourishes, but there are aspects of it that, if you really think about them, don’t seem to make a lot of sense. One of these is a key comic scene involving L’il Mama auditioning for a school play, Shakespeare’s Richard III, in which she wishes to play Elizabeth, whose two sons Richard has murdered."
MaraTapp.org - Recommended
"...Stew offers up a rich broth, layered with the pain of a family facing troubles, its ingredients a complex mix of mother-daughter relationships, all turned into a savory soup seasoned with Shakespeare. Women rule in Zora Howard's play about a mother whose older daughter and granddaughter return to the familial home where she lives with her younger daughter. Though no men appear in this play, they are present in regular mentions and as forces who drive their women's love, disappointment, fury and grief. This play is indeed a stew, the actors & plotlines mimicking the layering that the family matriarch sees as essential to her delicious culinary creation. It takes time to make & the first batch needs to be tossed because her daughters let the beans burn. The metaphors for motherhood, daughterhood, family and love are meaningful. Each woman contributes a different taste or element to the familial stew and each brings it to a boil at some point."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...What is it about good writing that turns even the most irredeemable and loathsome characters into endearing protagonists? Whatever it is, it can be found in abundance in “Private Lives” at the Raven Theatre. Directed by Ian Frank, this reimagining of Noël Coward’s classic comedy of manners will have you rooting for scoundrels and cheering on charlatans."
Busking At The Seams - Highly Recommended
"...Shattered Globe Theatre opened the Chicago premier of Zora Howard's 2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama, Stew, at Theatre Wit and has left audiences wondering the burdens they have laid upon their own mother's kitchen tables. What are the crumbs, the sleepless nights, the sounds that reverberate in her memory each quiet morning? The play is a look at life's moments in the in-between, in-between men, in-between tragedy. Howard's play rings of the things - the small things - that get forgotten in the befores and afters. And when the moments are big, you see the strength in the tribe of women holding up the foundations."
