Pangs of the Messiah presented by Silk Road Rising at Chicago Temple

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...One can see the script as an elegiac lament for a community of faith betrayed by its own people at home and abroad; as an indictment of a people overly resistant to the inevitability of reasonable change; or as a play that doesn't takes political sides so much as observe the way we react under pressure."

Chicago Sun Times - Not Recommended

"...The paint-by-numbers characters are deployed leadenly in Jennifer Green's production, which features an equally leaden English translation by Anthony Berris. And Lerner's predictable drama is not only more heartburn than heartache, but a historical hash."

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...the occasional uncertainty of the performances and didacticism of the dialogue can’t derail what’s essentially an aching threnody for those tossed in the waves of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Lerner avoids the temptation to demonize, leaving us with a sorrowful meditation on how it will all end. “Questions are over,” Shmuel says early on. “Maybe there’ll be some answers.” Maybe. But Lerner’s play cautions that the answers we get may not be the ones we want."

Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Pangs of the Messiah is a cautionary tale about the extremes of religious zealotry as applied to Jewish settlers. But as far as theatergoing experiences go, this drama is more akin to taking medicine because you know it's beneficial rather than something you'll truly enjoy."

Chicago Stage Review - Somewhat Recommended

"...Composer/Sound Designer Robert Steel scores the play beautifully. The acting and production values are strong but the script lacks impact. The most powerful statement made on the topic comes by way of the projected newsreel footage created by Projection Designer Mike Tutaj. The realistic depictions of escalating violence serve to illustrate the already catastrophic dilemma of the region and the potentially cataclysmic consequences of this conflict."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...Green’s mostly dignified Midwest premiere of Lerner’s 1987 play aptly conveys the tension of an environment where the political is always immediately personal; Mike Tutaj’s evocative TV-news video projections punctuate the action with broader context. The cast does its best to turn Lerner’s straw men into human beings (Dana Black, as Shmuel’s ambivalent daughter, contributes the most). But Green’s staging of Lerner’s cop-out ending makes the whole thing seem even more futile. We can only hope that real-world peace negotiations are treated more thoughtfully."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...Pangs of the Messiah is powerful, scary, provocative, and compelling. It is an important drama that will kindle debate about the future of Israel and Palestine. Silk Road Theatre Project’s is to be commended for producing this honest play."