Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"... it doesn't sit easily on this bigger canvas. Would I feel this way if I hadn't seen the more intimate version? I can't know for sure. But Zimmerman's major Goodman projects -- brilliant pieces such as "The Odyssey" and "Pericles" -- came with an expansive visual sweep, but one that worked organically. "Mirror" demands more intimacy, because its aesthetic core is the simple act of storytelling in an intimate boudoir."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...simply say "Mirror of the Invisible World," now at the Goodman Theatre, is "a Mary Zimmerman show," and you know the basics. The narrative is inspired by a classic text little known in the West -- Haft Paykar or Seven Beauties, an epic poem by Nizami, a 12th century Persian. And adapter-director Zimmerman has turned to her usual design magicians for help."
SouthtownStar
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Now the work has been expanded for Goodman's main stage, with lush costumes by Mara Blumenfeld, a new set that resembles the mosques of Istanbul by Daniel Ostling and music that evokes Middle East lands by Ronnie Malley, Eve Monzingo and Gary Kalar. Yet, for all its lavish technical work, the show loses its luster in a series of vignettes that soon become tiresome."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Mary Zimmerman's revival of her 1997 show, based on a Persian epic by 12th-century poet Nizami, contains all the rich visuals, tight ensemble work, whimsical stagecraft, and moments of epiphany characteristic of her work."
Windy City Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...This Mirror production is an aggrandized take on Zimmerman’s originally staged 1997 production in the Goodman Theatre’s former space at the Art Institute of Chicago. I didn’t catch that previous production, but this Mirror strangely doesn’t feel creatively fleshed out despite the much larger budget featuring lavishly airy sets by Daniel Ostling, opulent costumes by Mara Blumenfeld and moody lighting by John Clubert in a bigger Albert Theatre space."
EpochTimes
- Highly Recommended
"...Ten years have past since the first production and like a good wine, this story has aged well. Of course we all know that Mary Zimmerman has matured in these years and her visions have grown, so who knows, we might see this one again, but meanwhile, try to get over to see this version before the end of the month."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Though as characteristically beatific as Zimmerman’s work here is—the story of a king who beds seven different princesses, each of whom tells him a different parable in a different colored castle; the tale is like catnip to this director—Mirror often has a numbing effect and, unlike her Pericles, offers few images we haven’t seen before. Instead of a cumulative impact, the seven chromatically rendered stories tend to run together without distinction."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...This talented and versatile cast featured terrific work from all seven. Anjali Bhimani, Atley S. Loughridge, Charletter Specigner, Sofia Jean Gomez, Stacey Yen, Lisa Tejero and Nicole Shalhoub blended sensuality with humor to carry the king’s wishes."
