Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...The cast of performers is exceptionally strong (musical direction is by Michael Mahler). The beguiling Andrew Rothenberg has the right blend of dyed hair and faux charm as Wilson Mizner, although he could yet unravel more before our eyes. Larry Adams and Anne Gunn, who play the brothers' parents, embody that generational shift when it comes to the different ways we all seize (or destroy) our various days. Robert Lenzi, who plays Hollis Bessemer, is delightful hapless until that's no longer an option for a young man with ambition. But so much that Griffin achieves here flows from one specific actor, Michael Aaron Lindner, the first performer in this role to really understand that Addison Mizner is far more vulnerable than ambitious."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...It has been quite the Stephen Sondheim season in Chicago this winter, with productions of “Gypsy” (on the Chicago Shakespeare Theater mainstage), “Passion” (at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, where Danni Smith is giving a brilliant performance as Fosca) and “Into the Woods” (at Mercury Theater Chicago)."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Lindner gets a lot of help from the 12-member ensemble with which director Gary Griffin has surrounded him—particularly from Robert Lenzi as sweet, sad Hollis and Andrew Rothenberg, whose compulsive and mostly futile flimflammery as Wilson reminds me of nothing so much as the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail who refuses to admit defeat even after his four limbs have been hacked off. Still, whatever triumph there is in Road Show belongs to Lindner. His performance shows us Addison in all his fascinating complexity, from doughy, pink follower of rules through inspired romantic to lost soul. Plus, he can sing."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Director Gary Griffin, a respected Sondheim interpreter, stages this apparently final version of the show for the first time in Chicago, and his bag of tricks comes hauled in a Doyle-y cart: As Doyle famously has with Sweeney Todd, Company and Merrily We Roll Along, Griffin and music director Michael Mahler put the instruments in the hands of the actors for this intimate staging in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's upstairs studio. And Scott Davis's handsome scenic design provides a mostly bare playing space, backed by a map of the world that helps track the brothers' extensive travels."
Chicago Theatre Addict - Somewhat Recommended
"...What makes Road Show equal parts interesting and aggravating is that while the two central characters experience hardships and heartbreak, they end up right where they started: two rascals kicking dust. Which, in itself, is provocative - we may think we have control of our destiny, but our innate drivers eventually lead us down a certain path. And while Addison - especially as played by the thoughtful and empathetic Linder - suffers the most tragic course in his internal struggle to extinguish his desire for excess, it makes you wish that he'd stand up to his brother and build a happy home for him and his partner. But where is the high stakes excitement in that?"
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...As with Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, and Assassins, Road Show is a non-fiction musical based on cautionary historical figures whose grasp for life exceeded their reach. Believers in and exploiters of the shape-shifting American Dream, the Mizner brothers are early 20th century archetypes of American opportunism defeating the dream. Playing the angles, looking for the main chance and never giving a sucker an even break, these bad boys are fueled by a sibling rivalry that metastasizes into brotherly hate. Along the colorful 95-minute way they manage to get their claws into a hilarious host of American obsessions—social climbing, gold prospecting, moving pictures, and land speculation."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...The story about the colorful Mizner brothers just didn't "sing" for me, at least not with those bland songs that the fine cast struggled to make worthy. Road Show is recommended for devout Sondheim enthusiasts and lovers of provocative chamber musicals. But, old-time musical traditionalist like me may fined Road Show tedious despite the innovative staging and expert cast."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Enormous kudos go to Chicago Shakespeare Theater for giving our town the chance to see these two pieces side by side. Rarely does a theater company have the kind of resources and courage to do this kind of in depth look at work . The ongoing commitment to Gary Griffith and the works of Sondheim speaks volumes about the company and this city. I hope every musical theater professor busses in their class into these landmark interpretations of musicals like folks do at Stratford Ontario, and every GLEE fan gets to see this. It's so much better than streaming stuff on Netflix."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...By keeping it at the 90 minute mark with no intermission, there is no chance that the audience will forget where they were and lose track of the marvelous ( and factual) story of two men, brothers , who while they were together, were in fact apart. One wanted the money, the other was more caring and in this production, we can feel each and every emotion of what the story is all about. Bravo!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Much like in “Gypsy,” Sondheim’s newest musical illustrates how in America everyone’s goal to have his own piece of the pie, to achieve
his dream and be recognized, maybe even loved, is paramount. Each man discovers his own method for success but the end result is the same. In
“Road Show” it’s the highways and bi-ways traveled that, in the end, bring satisfaction."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...“Road Show” tells an interesting story, but whether it can claim to be an incisive exploration of broader American cultural and historical themes is problematical. The staging maximizes the audience’s involvement in the narrative, with patrons in the front row within touching distance of the players. Lindner in particular gives the kind of engaging and resourceful performances that earns end of season awards. The Sondheim score will engage his followers and disengage detractors who keep wondering where the melody and hummable songs are. The current show is a major advancement over the Goodman version of 2003 but I suspect that Sondheim has gone about as far as he can with the concept.”Road Show” may win approval from Sondheim completists, but it’s not a major addition to the composer’s canon, certainly not on a par with his “Gypsy,” delighting audiences at the CST Courtyard theater four floors below."
The Fourth Walsh - Recommended
"...Even with these lyrical moments of bounciness, there is an on-going sadness percolating under this musical. Anne Gunn (Mama) sings a beautifully bittersweet “Isn’t he something.” Gunn dismisses Linder by elevating Rothenberg. Sondheim repeatedly illustrates the unkindness of family in his Mizner memorial. The characters’ despicability destroys any chance of likability. I want to root for a hero but it’s hard to identify one. Robert Lenzi (Hollis) and Linder’s charming duet “The best thing that has ever happened” is the closest I ever get to my traditional musical ‘awwwww.’ "
