Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"...Palmer's entire cast has strong comedic chops, and several actors (Mary Anne Bowman, Jenny Hoppes, Jordan Gleaves, and Andrew Bosworth) nimbly tackle three or more roles."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Imagine a progressive regional theater in any conservative town. The company is completely reliant on limited public funding to survive. It decides to stage a play called Rapture in America that will disrupt civic complacency and bring community awareness and understanding to the plight of a hidden, marginalized community. In doing so, it raises a ruckus with local political and religious tyrants. This is absolutely perfect subject matter for the Tin Drum Theatre Company to tackle in its Chicago premiere of Southern Rapture, written by Eric Coble. It’s at once a searing political commentary, a screwball comedy, a suspense thriller, and a poignant nod to the gay community as we start Pride month."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Tin Drum’s Chicago premiere of Eric Coble’s comedy, SOUTHERN RAPTURE, is sure to be a hit with audiences. With its hilarious dialogue, comedic characters, breakneck pacing and seven seconds of full frontal male nudity, both the serious theatre aficionados and the curious will be lining up for tickets to this entertaining and enlightening farce. Get ready for a smart, yet comical portrayal of how we often have to cope with the high price for art in America."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...“Southern Rapture” quickly elicits loud guffaws from the audience, a heartening circumstancve, as it means playwright Eric Coble’s script is doing its job. Billed as a satire, it recounts the tumultuous week in real life leading up to the 1996 opening night of Tony Kushner's celebrated AIDS play, “Angels in America” in Charlotte, NC. But what might have been a tragic recount of small-minded efforts at artistic repression gets turned on its head, a potential tragedy mined for comedy, with an ending that is at once affirming and exhilarating."
The Fourth Walsh
- Recommended
"...It’s the 1980s. In a Southern city in the United States, Marjorie is directing a new play. It tells the story of homosexuals succumbing to a disease. The gay aspect of the show has the town rattled and rumors of male frontal nudity has angered the conservatives. With his dreams of hosting the future Olympic Games in jeopardy, Mayor Paxton moves to stop the nudity and the premiere. Freedom of speech and artistic expression are under attack. The drama unfolds and comedy ensues as a town divided tries to unite."
PlaylistHQ
- Highly Recommended
"...Teddy Boone (Incognito) is hilarious as the Mayor, who doesn’t want any controversy in his city while it is preparing to apply to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Shannon Leigh Webber (Incognito) is excellent as the artistic director juggling many issues from her cast and the public. Michael Stejskal is so funny as the producer who loves the attention the company is getting over the controversy."
Chicago On Stage
- Recommended
"...The good news is that the cast and creative team of Southern Rapture intensify the satirical bite—where they can—with their expert interpretations of the play’s many characters. Like an episode of Veep made for theatre nerds, director Jason Palmer sets a tone and tempo for the performance that makes for joyously fun situations and unpredictably hilarious character interactions."
BroadwayWorld
- Highly Recommended
"...When honest artistic integrity meets conservative religious outrage, what follows is escalating frenzy, controlled chaos, and poignant reflections on what it means to produce art and tell the stories where they need to be heard — and the conflicting struggles that come with such intentions. Tin Drum Theatre Company’s Chicago premiere of Southern Rapture, written by Eric Coble and directed by Jason Palmer, holds a brilliantly comical and satirical mirror up to the weaponization of civic institutions and artistic freedom."
