Chicago Tribune
- Not Recommended
"...I’ve admired Brown’s work for years; his recent “Pure Confidence” is a magnificent piece of storytelling. But so far, this noted writer hasn’t found either the narrative core or the true heart of this new piece. Uneasily directed by the distinguished designer Loy Arcenas, this production seems to strive for a Lorca-like poetic dreamscape. That would actually need a much simpler (and clearer) production. Right now, this piece is caught between two polarities — the story of a great explorer who deserved more and the wild fever dream of his odious boss."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...A fascinating play -- in need of some judicious trimming, but conjured with grand imagination by director-designer Loy Arcenas and featuring a slew of galvanic performances -- it not only serves to clarify matters of history and race, but also forces you to think about the mix of obsession, drive and near-superhuman endurance in both men, and about the essentially abstract notion of 'the top of the world.' "
Daily Herald
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The show's best moments involve the vigorous exchanges between Neumann -- one of Chicago's most thoughtful actors in that you can see him reasoning and evaluating -- and Fleming, a potent, impassioned actor. Their performances reveal men striving for the same thing: significance. For one nothing less than world adoration will suffice. For the other, it takes the validation of just one man. This is the heart of "A Big Blue Nail." How much more powerful would it have been had Brown concentrated on it and let the rest melt away?"The show's best moments involve the vigorous exchanges between Neumann -- one of Chicago's most thoughtful actors in that you can see him reasoning and evaluating -- and Fleming, a potent, impassioned actor. Their performances reveal men striving for the same thing: significance. For one nothing less than world adoration will suffice. For the other, it takes the validation of just one man. This is the heart of "A Big Blue Nail." How much more powerful would it have been had Brown concentrated on it and let the rest melt away?"
SouthtownStar
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Directed and designed by Loy Arcenas, this polar expedition makes for an intriguing focus, but the way in which playwright Carlyle Brown weaves the threads of this frigid saga leaves a lot to be desired."
Windy City Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Carlyle Brown's ambitious work wants to be a Big Play. It wants to delve the Peary-Henson relationship, but it also wants to be generically about racism and imperialism as illustrated by Peary's treatment of Henson and the Inuits. It wants to exist simultaneously in memory, fact and fevered fantasy. It attempts to be historical, political and spiritual. A Big Blue Nail is highly theatrical but pulls itself in too many directions."
Chicago Free Press
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Brown’s new play is at its best when it’s examining the tortured relationship between Peary and Henson—a microcosm of racism in America—or shining a light on the shamefully ethnocentric way in which Western history has been written. But Brown has stretched his script thinner than the April ice that Peary’s team hazarded. “A Big Blue Nail” is a high-concept work that features, among other distractions, the Inuit version of a Greek chorus and mythological flights of fantasy that are sometimes so overwrought that they border on parody."
Gay Chicago Magazine
- Not Recommended
"...At the end there is no validation of Henson’s efforts. Peary has no epiphanies or transformation of character and possesses the same self-importance and lack of accountability. Henson has no restitution for his slight, and Peary drifts off into the same nightmare. So why tell a story with no real change from start to finish?"
EpochTimes
- Highly Recommended
"...Larry Neumann, Jr. is one of Chicago's finest character actors and takes on roles that challenge his very being, but always manages to succeed with his flawless portrayals. Anthony Fleming III is a powerful Matthew Henson and they play off each other very well."
Copley News Service
- Recommended
"...A Big Blue Nail is having its world premiere at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theatre. After the run concludes, playwright Carlyle Brown should take his script into a workshop, cut away all the dramatic frou frou of the first act, and hone the play down to its essence, a stirring clash between two complex characters. Brown has plenty to work with now, especially in the second act. But much rethinking is required before this highly promising work is ready for prime time."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Arcenas’s production is well staged (on a gorgeous, shiver-inducing ice cavern set designed by the director). Neumann and Fleming as Peary and Henson, respectively, establish a believable rapport and rivalry. But there’s still a sneaking sense that Henson is a supporting character in his own story; though Brown weaves the facts of Henson’s life in with all the mystical, metaphorical muck, Peary is still the center of attention."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...The play could use some tightening and a clear through story line. The work of Larry Neumann, Jr. playing Peary’s nasty side worked. Anthony Fleming, III did fine work with his under written role. This show has enough moments to be worth seeing."
