Red Bowl At The Jeffs Reviews
Chicago On Stage- Highly Recommended
"...What is the nature and meaning of friendship? How do our friends affect who we are? What do we ultimately owe them? These are heady questions to deal with in a comedy, but perhaps when it is a comedy inspired by Chekhov’s Three Sisters it all makes perfect sense. The Sound’s latest play, the World Premiere of Beth Hyland’s Red Bowl at the Jeffs, deals with these issues and also manages to take a caustic microscope to the world of live theatre, yet the play is very funny almost all the way through. It lets us explore its many issues while laughing, which is usually the best way to do it."
Picture This Post- Highly Recommended
"...This intuitive use of space is complemented by equally smart design. Alex Beal’s lighting design neatly straddles realism and symbolism, evocatively upping the emotional resonance of several key moments without taking audiences out of the world of the play. Sound design by Shain Longbehn is just as engrossing, as is Dana Macel’s Scenic Design, which, to this reviewer, nailed the milieu of a certain Chicagoland Mariott’s ball room. Red Bowl at the Jeffs’ keen direction and design slickly elevate the material."
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...Much credit can and should be given to Hyland, whose gifts as a writer of grounded characters within high concept, meta-tinged scenarios are ear-catching and praiseworthy. In Rebecca Willingham she has a director and collaborator who intuitively understands the needs of her work and insures that the production's heart and brain stay in constant conversation. The theater community (even Chicago, with its pretensions of blue collar utilitarianism) loves an artistic duo and the pair, who have worked together on all of The Sound's productions thus far (2015's "Seagulls," another Chekhov experiment, and 2016's haunting "For Annie"), are on an inspired roll."