Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...Paradoxically, the Goodman version of "Radio Golf" is more finished than almost any prior Wilson production to arrive here. It's lean, clear, concise and, by Wilson's Chicago standards, short. I'd perhaps fiddle with some of the casting before Broadway, but Leon's production already is carefully calibrated and deftly staged on that incredible set."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...This production -- whose full glory can barely be hinted at in a simple review -- is headed to Broadway in April, with a marathon mounting of the full Wilson cycle planned for the Kennedy Center in 2008. The scope of this playwright's monumental achievement is only just beginning to coalesce; August is only just dawning."
Daily Herald
- Highly Recommended
"...Pristinely acted by Wilson veterans Chisholm, El-Amin, Jelks and Williams, the powerful production (reportedly bound for Broadway), crackles under Kenny Leon, who has directed nine plays in Wilson's cycle and understands their nuances."
SouthtownStar
- Highly Recommended
"...Completed shortly before Wilson's death in 2005, the drama is his best scripted and most dramatically driven. Unlike some of his previous plays, which had a tendency to ramble on, "Radio Golf" moves with lightning speed, its tightly knitted plot is intensely focused."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...It's funny and sometimes thought provoking, but not transcendent. Kenny Leon's staging features fine work from Hassan El-Amin as Harmond Wilks, a black real estate developer and potential mayoral candidate bent on razing the home of the late Aunt Ester, the spiritual heart of Pittsburgh's Hill district, and from Anthony Chisholm as the tetchy coot who changes his heart. But the stakes seem far lower than in other Wilson plays, and the arguments between Wilks and his money-worshipping partner feel recycled: they could have come from any play in the last 30 years about black pride vs. Uncle Tomism."
Gay Chicago Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...Although it is only January, I know that I can say with confidence that this is one of the best plays of the year. Beautifully constructed, flawlessly delivered and insightfully compelling, “Radio Golf” is an affirmation of the human spirit and an American theatrical landmark that should not be missed."
EpochTimes
- Highly Recommended
"...Director Kenny Leon has made this 2 plus hours of theater a short visit to
say the least. It flows smoothly and seems much shorter.The laughter that fills the Albert is
plentiful and the story is one that will make you feel good when you leave the theater."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Like The Piano Lesson’s piano, Golf’s house serves as a fraught, fought-over symbol of African-American legacy. But whereas in Wilson’s best works the symbol extends from the character as naturally as a limb (like Troy Maxson and his fence), here the symbol is jammed onto the character like an ill-fitting artificial appendage."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...Radio Gulf draws heavily upon themes Wilson infused into the 10 part cycle: finding your “song” or “voice,” sharing and connecting with your past roots and spirits while featuring mystical characters."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...Seeing Wilson's final play at the Goodman (itself the spiritual ancestor of the old Harris and Selwyn theatres) is a moving and significant experience. Under Kenny Leon's knowing direction, "Radio Golf" is potent stuff. August Wilson's fans can savor it alongside Congo Square's production of "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," playing concurrently in the neighboring Owen Theatre."
