Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...But Irvine has a ways to go when it comes to the stuff between the songs — the musical numbers gamely try to get at the real boys behind the group bravado, but the connective tissue is so facile you find yourself unwilling to go on most of these little musical journeys with these obnoxious idiots and their trivial problems. The show is stuck in too normative a situation — Irvine needs to come up with something that spices his narrative and gives his characters a more severe and painful shake than merely a delayed plane and the revelation that more than one of them may have been sharing the charms of the same girl (played with spirit by Andrea Larson)."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...Under Tom Mullen’s zesty direction (with musical direction by Kevin D. Mayes), the four lads’ characters are clearly defined. And the boys’ interplay is at once full of fun and friction. Irvine’s pop score is light, bright and clever, with “Why Do We Say Gay” and “Spanish Hospitality” serving as two of the big production numbers."
Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"... It's not a lot to hang a show on, but Irvine's catchy pop score and the rambunctious energy of Tom Mullen's Bailiwick Chicago staging make Departure Lounge hard to resist. Despite some shaky singing, an immensely appealing cast put themselves over with cheeky aplomb."
Talkin Broadway
- Highly Recommended
"...But most of the show's success is in the nearly-grown boys' ability to turn any and every flat surface into a trampoline, and go tumbling one-over-the-other for 90 minutes of hyper-caffeinated singing and dancing, punctuated by youthful blues and bravado. The complex melodies and harmonies, likewise, are so masterfully detailed (thanks to music director Kevin D. Mayes) you might begin to take them for granted. But, as with any fully realized musical comedy, many mountains will be moved at every performance, without complaint."
Centerstage
- Highly Recommended
"...Bailiwick soars with a new musical about four British buddies surviving a layover in a Spanish airport by reliving the events of their sun-blistered, booze-soaked holiday together. The title foreshadows these teenagers’ journey toward self-discovery, accomplished while waiting for their connecting flight."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...
If this coming-of-age-in-an-airport story is a bit too wispy and facile, it’s well told in Mullen’s handsome production (though his choreography can get too big for the Royal George’s tiny cabaret stage). The four leads fully capture the competing pulls of loyalty and uncertainty among friends at a time of transition. Even if they can’t totally sell all of Irvine’s curveballs, they’re enormously appealing in their effort; these four young actors shouldn’t have much lounging time after this."
ChicagoCritic
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Bailwick Chicago has over the last year mounted two terrific shows (Aida and Fucking Men) and their latest musical, Departure Lounge is a difficult one for me to review. I have an extreme dislike for the current pop singing style that renders lyrics without harmonies in a predictable pattern (see the promo video to hear what I mean). Next, the two guitars made for a strange musical background and the 2-4-part harmonies reminded me of those awful boy bands of the 80-90′s."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...With book, music, and lyrics by British playwright Dougal Irvine, "Departure" throws you into the lives of four teenaged long time friends. The story takes place after the four spent a wonderful week of vacation in Spain to celebrate their completion of school. Only to arrive at the airport heading home and discover that their flight has been delayed for several hours. The entire wait is spent cracking immature jokes at one another, demeaning each others' morals, reminiscing on the fantastic week they just shared, and the occasional dance number."
Chicago Theater Beat
- Recommended
"...Tom Mullen’s Bailiwick Chicago staging, the U.S. premiere of a work that only got its London premiere on Sept. 28, richly succeeds at conveying the transient confusions of high-stress adolescence, the forced and real camaraderie of chums behaving badly because it’s expected, and the pain of being in between a lot of stuff (Spain and England, a comforting past and unwritten future, boyhood and adulthood, sex and love, men and women, a gay guy and his childhood chums)."
