Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Fondakowski’s production features an emotionally alive, ensemble cast of Chicago actors. The polish and the flow of the performances vary—not everyone was fully prepared on opening—but the best sections are riveting."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Drawing primarily on the testimony of the survivors and their relatives -- including Jones' son Stephan (in a deft trick, both father and son are played with subtle magic by Darrell W. Cox) -- the play is a hugely ambitious and panoramic look at the mix of misplaced hope, idealism and desperation that climaxed in violence, terror and self-destruction. The simplest moral? Rescue fantasies can be fatal."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...The versatile cast of 12 Chicago actors expertly morph from character to character, each offering positive and negative opinions on what lured members to be a part of Jones' congregation. A few actors like Darrel W. Cox and Tim Decker even take on the persona of Jones with his mirrored sunglasses and snappy jackets, a theatrical device to show how this smooth-talking preacher could change and deliver just what was necessary to bring people under his sway."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The material is dramatically charged and historically significant, but the crowded set--rows of shelves stacked with file boxes, presumably containing the victims' effects--restricts the 12 actors playing multiple roles. The result is a sometimes engrossing, sometimes confusing, visually monotonous evening anchored mainly by the performance of Darrell W. Cox, who portrays both the charismatic Jones and his son Stephan."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...With dialogue culled from hundreds of interviews and archival material, the story is both heartbreaking and frightening. Directed by Leigh Fondakowski ( who also spearheaded the creation of the piece and is one of its co-writers ) , the ensemble creates a rich panorama of characters and history, beginning with the late 1950s when Jim Jones founded the first integrated church in Indiana and continuing all the way through to those nightmarish hours in 1978 when almost 1,000 people died."
Copley News Service - Highly Recommended
"...Fondakowski has directed the production with a sureness and fluency that makes the staging look inevitable, like the play could not be presented any other way. Sarah Lambert’s scenic design is dominated by shelves of boxes that contain props and files from the history of the People’s Temple. Betsy Adams designed the lighting, Christine Pascual the costumes, Jake Rodriquez the sound, and Bobby Richards the projections."
Edge - Highly Recommended
"...And, perhaps it is the social worker in me, but if you opt out of this theatrical opportunity, then shame on you. There is also power in knowledge, even when it involves the discomfort of such a story as this play tells."
Chicago Stage Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...Playwright/Director Leigh Fondakowski compiled the script from survivor interviews and archival records. The result documents the rise of a madman and the fall of he and his followers but without build or climax, it is little more than an exercise in well executed, albeit exaggerated, staging."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Using the research and interview skills she developed as part of the team behind The Laramie Project, Fondakowski gets the personal history of the People’s Temple from former members, relatives, reporters and Jonestown survivors. Her production more than does justice to the saga, owing largely to its near-ideal cast of shape-shifters; each plays multiple roles, simultaneously narrating and reenacting an oral history of the group’s evolution, from rural California commune to political power to separatist cult."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...For those not familiar with The People’s Temple, this show offers a personalized account of the string of events from the 1960’s until the tragedy of 1978 in a remote jungle in Jonestown, Guyana. With some trimming, the emotional impact would dramatically increase."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...The People's Temple" is a chilling work that seeps into your bones and leaves you feverish for a long time. Questions pop up left and right, how could a society like the United States be so devoid of self-confidence? Did not one of those more than 900 people have a brain working? Why were these good souls who raised their voices and prayers so earnestly not spared?"
