Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...High Fidelity is most certainly a massive improvement over the New York production. And it is a reasonably enjoyable night out, if you don’t take anything too seriously. In honor of Rob’s list-making tendencies, here are the Top Five reasons it doesn’t totally pan out: One, the show isn’t cast right. Tovar, a fine actor with a decent voice, isn’t the kind of legitimate singer who can really top-line a major musical. And he comes off as a good decade or so too old. There is a point where a single, Wrigleyville-type guy starts to look sad instead of lovable (as those of us on the wrong side of the line well know)."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Watching director Peter Amster's fully rocking, high-energy, ideally cast (and somewhat revised) Chicago premiere of the show -- now in a Route 66 Theatre Company production -- you get a sense the musical has not only found its proper scale and hometown feel, but that this hugely talented cast (a few of whom double as first-rate instrumentalists) was born to bring this material to life."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Route 66 Theatre Company's version of the 2006 Broadway flop is a good-natured, energetic, but sometimes amateurish combination of book musical and rock concert. With a script by David Lindsay-Abaire and songs by Tom Kitt and Amanda Green, it's based on Nick Hornby's 1995 novel (and the 2000 film adaptation starring John Cusack) about a Rob, a 30-something record-store owner trying to win back his ex-girlfriend."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Stef Tovar, Michael Mahler and Jonathan Wagner, playing the socially inept comrades, lead a 15-member cast fitting snugly on the former T&T bandstand, navigating amplifiers, instruments and sound equipment with feline grace under the deft direction of Peter Amster, most of the actors doubling as session performers to facilitate a flow of scene changes bringing the evening home in a brisk two and a half hours ( with a break for refueling at the on-site bar ) . If you ever rocked out on air-guitar or crooned to your hairbrush in the privacy of your own room—and who hasn't?—this show's for you."
Chicago Free Press - Recommended
"...Now in an intimate venue (formerly Vinnie Black’s Colosseum in “Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding”), the low-key love story seems at home. The predictable plot employs the usual process-of-elimination as Rob recalls his “top five break ups,” then bedding another bad prospect, learns that Laura was his best, if not his last, chance. He discovers it, not subtly or sweetly as in the film, but through Tom Kitt’s insistent rock ballads and Amanda Green’s emotionally italicized lyrics."
Talkin Broadway - Recommended
"...with its droll characters, high energy score and contemporary resonance, High Fidelity seems a much better show than one that deserved only a 2-week run on Broadway. If all goes according to plan, this production (which, according to the program, though not the script, returns the setting to Chicago, as in the movie) will beat that record by some 32 performances."
Centerstage - Recommended
"...Although this show may not make your list of top five musicals, it still offers an enjoyable evening, especially for fans of the Nick Hornby book and the film (the dialogue is faithful to both). The Piper's Alley venue also offers a bar and an intimate setting in which to get up close and personal with a cult classic."
Edge - Recommended
"...the show is truly stolen by Rob’s fellow employees at Championship Vinyl -- Barry, played by Jonathan Wagner, and Dick, played by Michael Mahler. Both actors capture their roles with uncanny accuracy, adding a new dimension for fans of the book and film with their musical talent. Both played multiple instruments throughout the show and Mahler, in particular, had the strongest singing voice of the cast. His performance as the meek but goodhearted Dick was brilliant."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...High Fidelity is occasionally amusing, mostly thanks to Mahler, who brings a subtle blend of sweetness and Asperger’s to Dick, and Dana Tretta as Laura’s feisty, Pilates-ball-wielding friend Liz. Wagner, meanwhile, demonstrates that High Fidelity should give him a contract if Jack Black ever runs for office. But if this production were a restaurant, it’d be the Olive Garden: someplace safe to take your parents, reasonably priced and irredeemably bland."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Throughout, the tunes are lively and the music is loud, raucous and in your face. The well-constructed set with the cluttered record store in the center, flanked by bedrooms, supports action which is also enhanced by the use of two large wall screens showing memories, wishes, and close-ups. Nothing is subtle in this broad comedy. In this high energy, multi-talented cast, Mahler plays keyboard, and guitar, Wagner plays guitars, keyboard and harmonica, Derek Hasenstab strums a bass, while Jim Barclay beats the drums. Everyone sings."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...The music is very rock and the cast members are musicians as well as singers and actors. While you will not leave the theater humming any of the tunes, you will feel good about the theatrical experience you just had and probably come back again, and bring a friend or two."
