Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...To their credit, Platt and Conroy understand their subjects intimately and know how to entertain. And, thankfully, they have enough craft and soul to convey to an audience that when you're born poor at the bottom of the lane, it can be any lane in any town, and be just as hard to leave behind."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...First brewed nearly two decades ago, "A Couple of Blaguards" -- that beguiling little Irish vaudeville in the form of a fraternal autobiography devised by Frank and Malachy McCourt -- has lost none of its intoxicating charm."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...When Frank and Malachy McCourt brought this show to CrossCurrents in 1984 it was a huge hit--and it's lost no power to please. Delivered with dour delight, wizard timing, and expert blarney by Jarlath Conroy and Howard Platt (who also directs), the rollicking tales chart the brothers' love/hate affair with Limerick, where poverty was the eighth deadly sin, and their doings in New York, where these ne'er-do-wells found acting a perfect outlet."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...One may admire the unfettered emotions reflected in the weepy Mother Machree and the sly wit of Some Say The Devil’s Dead. The spectacle of two old men playing a bevy of male and female eccentrics is a venerable tradition in western vaudeville ( cf. Flanagan’s Wake ) . And since our chief narrator is that Frank McCourt, now a star in literary circles, we can console ourselves with the knowledge that the Blaguard boy made good in the end."
Chicago Free Press
- Somewhat Recommended
"...At the Royal George Theatre Center this show is less a rollicking good time than it is a production whose comedy rolls along merrily. Still, anyone who has any ties to Ireland or Irish heritage will probably enjoy some aspect of this nostalgic romp."
Gay Chicago Magazine
- Recommended
"...A pair of seasoned veterans, Jarlath Conroy and Howard Platt, portrays Frank and Malachy, respectively. The two have an easeful flow between their exchanges, never allowing the material to go too far over the top, grounding their actions in the stories. The actors understand the material given to them, are quite comfortable in the McCourt brothers’ skins and have crafted a couple of guys with roguish charm. The earnest delivery style of Platt nicely juxtaposes the jolliness of Conroy."
EpochTimes
- Recommended
"...These two performers take on the brothers personalities with great ease and as the suck up their Guinness along the way, we all feel as we have taken a great journey with these brothers and have some fun along the lane of memories. If you don't find yourself laughing at this one, better go to the Emergency room to make sure that you are still alive ( to paraphrase a line from the show)."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The McCourts no longer perform the play themselves, and having other men fill in—even competent actors Conroy and Platt (who also directs)—depletes the play of its reality (like having someone else tell your family stories)."
ChicagoCritic
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Many laughed all night as the two actors played all the roles with deft aplomb. My problem with the show is that it is a stretch to have actors play first person humor that wasn’t theirs. It just didn't ring true for me, the forced exaggeration fell flat."
