Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Thomas gives us the story of a man who goes from bad to worse after his fateful encounter with “a woman in red,” and the whole thing vibrates with lust, loneliness, drink, degradation and death. It is worth seeing this program just to watch the sultry she-devil woman do her pelvis-rocking dance, and later cross her little jointed wooden legs in the most provocative way, or to witness the man in the yellow suit slink into his coffin. Terrific. So are the drawings that form the ever-shifting backdrop for the piece’s small, raised puppet stage."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"... In this solo show, first produced last summer, Thomas presents three works: Federico Garcia Lorca's Punch-and-Judy-esque "The Puppet Play of Don Cristobal;" "Saint James Infirmary," based on the traditional blues song and rendered with rod marionettes; and "The Blackbird," an adaptation of Wallace Stevens's poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird," using shadow puppets projected on parchment scrolls. Inventive, moving, and funny, the evening supplies a quality much desired in the theater but seldom delivered: wonder."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...There is no question about the imagination and skill with which Thomas and his associates create their miniature world, which immediately draws you in and holds you. The brief evening may impress, delight and surprise you more than it moves you, but you'll never doubt its singularity and creativity."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...
Though the sound mix makes it difficult to hear the lyrics, the visuals fully convey the story. The evening’s third piece, The Blackbird, inspired by Wallace Stevens’s poem “13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” is all visual. It has Thomas cranking four backlit, illustrated scrolls and projecting shadow puppets, depicting stages of a couple’s relationship to the recorded strains of Ben Johnston’s String Quartet No. 4. Thomas’s quietest piece is also his most evocative."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...I found this to be a great introduction to a relatively unsung Chicago theatre titan. It’s hard to imagine that one man is responsible for the writing, art direction, production, musical arrangement and performing of such a distinctive show. Thomas’s painstaking detail is an affirmation of his hard work and craftsmanship. And for someone who has been mastering his craft for the better part of 20 years, Thomas gives us the chance to see what would impress a professional like himself. This is a show I would see again, however, with Thomas’s reputation for selling out shows, it may be easier said than done."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Finally and most captivating, “The Blackbird” is based on Wallace Stevens’ cryptic poem “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” To a richly integrated backdrop of Ben Johnston’s “String Quartet #4,” Thomas (who has now doffed his sinister pancake makeup and red eyeliner) unfurls four parchment scrolls that depict, as a whole picture or in parts, aspects of the blackbird as transformed by the poet’s—and puppet’s—perspective. Lit by lamplight, the translucent drawings perfectly complement the haiku-like simplicity of Stevens’ verse."