Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...This is a big cast, and the performances are mixed. There are a decent number of laughs, and solidly executed bits of business. But you wouldn't call this thing a laugh-riot. That's partly because of the age of the text, but also because the show often tries too hard. Farce is a particular skill and, despite direction that's smart and laudable fast-paced, it's on display here only intermittently (these things take time to jell)."
Chicago Sun Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Yes, there are a good many laughs along the way, and laughter is always a fine medicine. And yes, it's fun to see bravura actors test their skills. But still, it doesn't take long before all this hyperactivity, all this running around, all this scheming and plotting and racing through doors grows exceedingly tedious."
Daily Herald
- Recommended
"...Filled with revolving beds, rampaging husbands, mayhem and misunderstandings, this production will certainly please farce aficionados. When a once amorous husband loses interest in sex, his wife suspects another woman and with her friend sets a trap for him. Sexual innuendo and broad physical comedy characterize this rollicking romp, made up of interlocking plots and subplots."
SouthtownStar
- Highly Recommended
"...Comedy is always more difficult than any other type of theatrical presentation, but any actor will tell you there's nothing more challenging that doing classic farce. That's why Chicago Shakespeare Theatre's world-premiere production of a new translation of "A Flea in Her Ear" is such a marvel. From David Ives' fresh translation of Georges Feydeau's French farce to director Gary Griffin's razor-sharp direction to an extraordinary ensemble of actors, everything works to perfection in this riotous romp."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Georges Feydeau's ur-farce, as translated by contemporary farceur David Ives and directed by Gary Griffin, isn't a nonstop gut buster. But it is a satisfying bonbon of a show, stuffed with sly high-caliber performances."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Griffin and his troupe hit the nail on the head. Characterization, timing, comic business and device all are as they should be. What’s more, the show looks great—appropriately opulent and substantial—in Daniel Ostling’s towering three-story set ( in Act II ) that takes advantage of Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s ( CST’s ) underused proscenium capabilities."
Time Out Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...The pleasure of David Ives’s crisp, delightfully ridiculous translation lies less in out-loud laughs than in its clockwork precision. Griffin, with his uncanny sense of farcical timing, is just the director to grease the cogs."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...This excellent farce works as a modern comedy that features a rich assortment of characters whose physicality, expert comedic talent, rich acting and split-second timing with high energy to navigating the large set (especially the act two Frisky Puss Hotel set) that delivers a hilarious evening of classic comedy."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...Ives and hot Chicago director Gary Griffin have whipped up a delightful entertainment that respects the tradition in a fresh and accessible manner. To carry out his precise bidding, Griffin has enlisted a top-flight ensemble as deft and polished as one could wish and set the whirling dervish in motion."
