Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...City Lit is working with its typically small budget, and the little things like obviously pinned cuffs on a costume give the show a less-than-polished look. The actors here deserve better, though many in the cast push too hard and end up as caricatures. That, and our local anti-smoking ordinances do the show no favors—what is noir without its burning cigarettes?"
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Part of the fun of this parody is following the smart moves authors Michael Nowak, Mike Nussbaum, Kathleen Thompson, and Paul H. Thompson made in recasting Shakespeare's tragedy as a noir murder mystery set in 1945. But their smartest move was not letting themselves be enslaved by their source material. This isn't a note-by-note transposition but a funny, engrossing riff that retains the melody while leaving room to jive."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Such intrigue-riddled chivalry could easily emerge ( to use Harry's simile ) murkier than a Bloody Mary cocktail, if the ensemble—directed by Mike Nussbaum, a member of the show's original 1983 creative team—did not replicate their source's stylistic mannerisms perfectly. But every actor in this City Lit production, including the lonely saxophone punctuation provided by Christopher Kriz's sound design, delivers its tarnished-sparkling dialogue with a timing and inflection so sharp, you could slash your wrists on it. Be smart—go see them."
Centerstage
- Recommended
"...The script doesn't always work—the dialogue sometimes falls into earnest cliche—but it is generally successful, and co-author Nussbaum's direction brings out the best in the play. The audience is left by the haunting image of a young man driven mad both by what has been done to him and what he has done to others—a Shakespearean idea that never loses currency."
Edge
- Highly Recommended
"...There was at least one hint that this show had possibilities. It is directed and was co-written by Chicago theater lion - or is he the dean? - Mike Nussbaum. Other than that, who knew, buried as it is in a place that isn’t even a storefront theater? Well, surprise, surprise, this show is fabulous: Sharp, tight, funny and with a 10-person ensemble cast so smooth it would seem they have been working together for years."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...City Lit has cast Shakespeare’s tragedy as a hard-boiled detective story, the kind perfected by the play’s other namesake, Dashiell Hammett—the kind that makes you form thoughts in hyperbolic similes like a hot-and-bothered gumshoe on a sleepless August night."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...Lovers of whodunits will enjoy this sharp, well staged production. Mysteries are difficult to stage live but director Nussbaum creates enough suspense to keep us on the edge of our seats. “Dashiell Hamlet” deserves your attention."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...The character Harry Teal, in City Lit fashion, stops on a dark stage to narrate frequently, shifting the focus Shakespeare placed on Hamlet’s paranoia to the gathering of cold hard facts calculated by a master detective. He moves stealthily in and out of the Hamill’s wealthy and frivolous lifestyle until the pieces fall into place. "Dashiell Hamlet" is a clever blend of great literary voices that summon tremendous imagination and energy to make the story seem to happen naturally. The story plays like a version told to someone who suddenly remembers the Shakespeare tragedy and is forced to accept a great indisputable truth."
