The Ally Reviews

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...Moses’s play (a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in drama—the award went to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Purpose, which started out at Steppenwolf) is pointedly set in September 2023. But though the horrific events of the last two and a half years aren’t addressed directly here, everything that has happened inevitably hangs over Moses’s story. One can certainly argue that stopping the action of the play just before October 7, 2023, is a way of copping out."

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"...This is a story that deals with what one truly believes is right versus what one might “think” is right or for that matter, even “feel” right! We learn about white supremacy the Holocaust, The Israel/Palestine conflict and how one must go forward with what they feel is right. The other cast members, Evan Ozer as Reuven and Sharon Culberson as Nakia ( and later as a Rabbi) are both up to the chore of bringing the words ( and ideas) of Moses to life."

Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended

"...Questions are raised, topics get discussed, tensions arise and thought-provoking issues continually surface in THE ALLY. This provocative, controversial drama was written by the talented, award-winning librettist of THE BAND’S VISIT, Itamar Moses. His new drama depicts a protagonist who becomes mixed up in a very complicated entanglement."

Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Moses is a skillful playwright. He has wrapped the political discourse in a romantic drama, the relationship between Asaf and his wife Gwen (K Chinthana Sotakoun), a faculty member who is of Asian descent. The play opens with a skillful rendering of a couple tentatively probing and challenging each other in a very realistic way."

Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended

"...The Ally, a play now on stage at Theater Wit, is a diatribe more than a drama. The script by Itamar Moses (book for The Band’s Visit) puts a university professor of writing in the cross-hairs of a series of angry debates—yes, shouting matches—about issues relating to Israel and Palestine. The result is an evening that can be either interesting or unpleasant, depending on your interest in and knowledge of the subject matter. For me, the only way to improve those two-plus hours would be by cutting them by half. The Ally, a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is directed by Jeremy Wechsler, founder and artistic director of Theater Wit."

Chicago Theater and Arts - Recommended

"...The Ally at Theater Wit proves “no good deed goes unpunished,” when a sympathetic person decides to support a local cause by simply signing a petition."

BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended

"...The Ally is an intentionally uncomfortable yet essential work for contemporary audiences. Through moments of humor and tension, it pushes both its characters and viewers to interrogate their values."