Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"... Superbly smart and dense, the piece is written mostly in rhyming couplets, a formative nod to its themes. It's very funny in places ("We would begin with Prudencia's birth/Or her use of objects to maintain self-worth" or, better yet, "Don't they say at these academic beanos/The best chat happens over cappuccinos?") and a tad precious in others, notably in the second act, which has dull stretches and could use a haircut."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...CST’s Upstairs Theater is converted into a pub, with audience members seated at communal tables that are regularly commandeered by the five cast members for use as temporary stages. David Greig’s cheeky, winning script, mostly in rhyming verse, allows the actors to roam about the room, donning and shedding characters instantaneously via strategically placed props or costume pieces. The shared narration cleverly suggests Pru’s beloved ballads, shrewdly updated with references to Kylie Minogue and Costco car-parks. The setup also allows for a good deal of benign audience interaction; at a Sunday matinee, I got the brunt when chosen as the recipient of a bacchanalian lap dance. Like Prudencia, I must have looked as if I needed a nudge."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"... Richly rhyming and embellished by Alasdair Macrae’s “new” folk classics (sung beautifully by Annie Grace), Greig’s supple script teems with witty dismissals of pompous musicologists, shrewd parodies of Gothic landscapes, and unashamedly poetic passages about human frailties and demonic despair. It’s sprawling fun which may be perhaps too scattershot for some and, at 150-minutes, excessive for others. The audience participation ranges from one brave soul becoming an object of desire to the entire room being encouraged to sing a strange tribute to Colin in his underwear, sung to the tune of “Guantanemera.” Any quibbles are overlooked as Prudencia bracingly combines cleverness and compassion to reinvent folk songs from the inside out."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...there is much to enjoy, loads of funny bits, and the engaging use of the space with full audience participation becomes endearing. I had to admire the skill, craftsmanship, and energy of the cast. They work so hard to tell their stories and to entertain us that we both admire them and applaud their efforts. This unique theatrical event needs to be seen and experienced to fully appreciated. It is an adult show. If you enjoy storytelling theatre, then this will be a major treat."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...I enjoyed this show. It’s a cross between “Tony and Tina’s Wedding” and “Finnegan’s Wake” but with intellectual humor. It has some substantive themes of redemption and love but, handles them with playful charm. The only speed-bump for me was the length. Two and half hours seemed to drag too far into the future for Prudencia. For such a high-spirited frivolity, it would be better condensed into a ninety-minute ride with no intermission."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"... Director Wils Wilson staged an innovative play mixing madcap humor, misadventure and onstage foley (my favorite sound affect was crinkling a bag of Ruffles to turn a voice into a scratchy record). The action is gamely portrayed by five Scottish actors, who’re tight as a Shakespearean-era troupe; appropriate since the play is a Scottish ballad for modern times."
