Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Vanya (Tom Hickey, moping around with just the right mix of bite and acid) does his share. "It's nice weather," someone comments. "Especially if you feel like hanging yourself," comes Vanya's reply, and Hickey finesses the role just so. Vanya's life has been a joke, but the man himself is no laughing matter. Kyle Hamman gives a deceptively good performance as the local doctor whose lust has a persistently single-minded focus — his inconsequential exterior gives way to something much uglier and complex. And Michaela Petro's turn as Sonya (the workhorse with plain looks and a killer personality) is both wittily executed and terribly moving. Petro lets her highly expressive face do much of the work, and it's like a sock to the gut."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Tom Hickey plays Vanya with an acerbic relish that never loses sight of the middle-aged bachelor's anguish, and Michaela Petro's spitfire Sonya may be the most heartbreaking take I've seen on this most heartbreaking of all characters. In a different time and place, Sonya would have the world at her feet. Instead, she's driven to her knees."
Time Out Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Tom Hickey, who attacks with viper-like precision as a gloomy, acerbic Vanya, leads a skillful cast, including Kyle Hamman’s wry doctor (and proto-environmentalist) Astrov, Michaela Petro’s wild-eyed Sonya, and Shannon Hoag, luminous as the “beautifully idle” Yelena, who locates the darkness beneath her utter boredom. Their messy interactions add up to beautiful Chekhovian chaos and demonstrate that suffering is easier than changing. In Senior’s hands, the stagnant life in Uncle Vanya is both recognizable and compelling."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...Columbus’ translation is a smoldering affair that gets to the heart of the lust, boredom and hopelessness of Russian gentry country life in the 1890’s. As each character examines their lives, they question their purpose and the choices they have made. We empathize and relate to them. The comic bungled resolution Vanya attempts underscores his life."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...The entire ensemble impresses, but particular praise must be given the quartet of Kyle Hamman, Tom Hickey, Shannon Hoag and Michaela Petro, who are truly masterful to watch. Tom Burch's clever and tranquil setting, with its transparent flowered motif and wood paneled walls evokes the gentle homespun country estate in Strawdog's intimate and awkward two-sided space. Aly Renee Greaves' handsome period costumes and Mikhail Fiksel's charming Russian flavored sound design keep the play rooted in Chekhov's original period without making it feel like a museum artifact. Director Kimberly Senior's sly sense of mischief and Columbus' meaty, modern prose allow "Uncle Vanya" to breathe full and clear. This is Chicago's Off Loop theatre at its finest."
