Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Charles Smith, an astute, ambitious and gutsy writer whose work I've admired for years, ended up writing not just about the context of the event itself, but about competing memories of what actually happened and the reasons for those disparities. He deliberately scrambles where you think praise and blame will lie and he focuses on an imagined meeting, more than half-a-century after the lynching, between James Cameron (Andre De Shields), once a young and immature kid in Marion, a kid (Anthony Peeples) who barely escaped with his life; and Marie (Linda Kimbrough, doing some of the best and most acerbic acting work of her illustrious career), once a young, fast-living white girl (the wholly authentic Kelsey Brennan) who was romantically embroiled with Abe Smith (Tyler Jacob Rollinson), a young black fellow with ambition that made whites uncomfortable."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...The production, directed by Chuck Smith, is solid, with Linda Buchanan’s set, a courtroomlike space framed by a fearsome grouping of trees, suggesting just two of the many sites and perspectives that raise so much doubt here. But the confusion undercuts the argument. Just what are we memorializing?"
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Under Chuck Smith's expert direction, guest artist André De Shields delivers a Hoosier tornado of a performance, orating and sparring with Linda Kimbrough as his flinty (but always secondary) antagonist, while a bevy of capable young supporting players—in particular, the mighty-voiced Christopher Jon Martin and the quietly stoic Diane Kondrat, as a pair of concerned parents—skillfully anticipate the atrocities to come. So go ahead and leave your intellect in the cloak room at intermission, if you like, but don't forget to bring your hankies with you."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...The playwright’s framing device brings to the fore both the fallibility of memory and the weight of bearing stories such as this, for which we who come after want to assign a responsibility. Though Smith overreaches at times for metaphor, the intelligence of his plotting is impressive. Director Chuck Smith (no relation to the playwright) and his large cast offer terrific, honest work, with soulful performances by the deep-rooted De Shields and Kimbrough leading the way."
Chicago Theatre Addict - Recommended
"...I appreciated that Smith’s play avoids the obvious. Instead of focusing solely on the evils of racism, he tells a story about the complexities of looking backward, rebuilding history from faded memories and digging up pains of the past. While he doesn’t make any definitive conclusions about the value of reopening old wounds, the point is raised and thoughtfully analyzed."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...See this beautifully written and superbly acted play it will move you in strange ways. Andre De Shields, Linda Kimbrough and Diane Kondrat were quit strong. The cleverness and plausibility of the intricate plot makes the truth larger that myth of history. We see how poverty, ignorance and bigotry can shape events. The play asks: have we learned tolerance from these events? I wonder."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...Like troubled graves, the past won’t stay still. It becomes grist for the mills of the present, retroactively reflecting today and defying the finality of truth. That’s the “Rashomon” like challenge of Charles Smith’s intriguing work, now in a burning Victory Gardens Theater local premiere skillfully shaped by director Chuck Smith. As perplexing as it is passionate, this is a play where flashbacks matter more than the play’s present. The audience must ultimately judge the validity of all this retrospection."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...
Inspired by actual events, Playwright Charles Smith pens a riveting account of injustice and discrimination. Smith uses a white woman and a black man to narrate flashbacks to a pivotal historical moment. He effectively blurs the lines of real and imaginary. The intermission discussion is a lively twitter of 'who do you think is telling the truth?' In the second half, he satisfactorily pulls it all together in a commemorative box of burden. Director Chuck Smith stages the reenactments within feet of their future selves. The parallel provides a powerful emotional triangulation for the audience. Smith uses the actors' closeness for intimate disclosure. At critical points, the past actually reacts to the present. The impact is incredibly poignant."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Every little detail of this production is perfect. From the set by Linda Buchanan- simplicity that gets the job done, The marvelous lighting by Kathy Perkins, Ray Nardelli’s sound and music and even the costumes by Rachel Healy add to the overall power of the play. Often, theater companies over do their production, overpowering the script- Victory Gardens does not, thus the story, the direction and the cast with the assitance of the technical people are allowed to produce something special for the audiences that are luck enough to see this production."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...Victory Gardens’ production of The Gospel According to James is an engaging fictional account of a historical event. Despite its minor flaws, the solid acting and a strong script prevail, making it a thoroughly entertaining watch."
