Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...This isn't an easy play to watch. And I found the last few minutes to be not fully satisfying, either from a text or a production point of view, the action running on too long in search of the right coda. But "The Book of Grace" is very much what most of us think of when we try to define the Steppenwolf aesthetic and there are three blistering performances here from Smallwood, Marable and Jah, all superbly cast and all fully willing to go to the wall."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Staged in Steppenwolf's in-the-round Ensemble Theater by director Steve H. Broadnax III, the production benefits greatly from extraordinary performances from all three actors. Marable puts forth a compelling charisma that makes us want to, at first, like a character who reveals his tyrannical jealousies over time. Smallwood combines Buddy's psychological damage (he had problems even before the post-traumatic stress of war), desperation for approval, and internal fury over his father's treatment of him and his mother, into the epitome of combustible grievance. Amid the explosive tension between the tyrant and the possibly violent revolutionary (or terrorist - doesn't it always depend on the point of view?) - we have Jah's beautiful embodiment of human grace as Grace, perpetually optimistic, unconditionally forgiving, possibly enabling, painfully acquiescent."
Daily Herald
- Recommended
"...Exquisitely portrayed by Broadway veteran Zainab Jah, Grace is a determinedly optimistic waitress at a small-town diner who fills her titular book with cheery newspaper articles, drawings, made-up tales with happy endings and other good things that sustain her during bad times."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...The Book of Grace, first produced in 2010 and now in a revised version at Steppenwolf under the direction of Steve H. Broadnax III, takes us into the xenophobia, toxic masculinity, and desire for dominance at all costs in our current national malaise. Set at the southern border, the title refers to Grace (Zainab Jah), a wife and waitress who scribbles her thoughts and stories into a notebook."
Talkin Broadway
- Highly Recommended
"...The real story here, though, is the cast, who do a phenomenal job, both individually and as an ensemble. As Grace, Zainab Jah is upbeat and forward-looking without her once coming across as in denial or anything less than a flawed, fully realized human. As skillful as Parks' text is, it is not difficult to imagine the character veering into the territory of the thinking man's manic pixie dream girl. But in Jah's delivery and what definitely comes across as Broadnax III's steady direction, this is never a possibility."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Recommended
"...On one hand, Suzan-Lori Parks? ?The Book of Grace? can be described as a family
drama in which an idealistic stepmother sets about trying to facilitate a rift between
family members. On the other hand, there is a more urgent idea hidden just below the
surface of the dialogue."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews
- Recommended
"...Running two hours and thirty-five minutes, including intermission, Parks' play captivates audiences with a discerning perspective, offering an engaging character development within the play. However, the narrative's slow pace in reaching its conclusion may detract from its overall effectiveness. The story ultimately unfolds, leading to an intriguing and thought-provoking ending. However, audiences unfamiliar with her play's nuances may feel unsettled by its conclusion, raising questions about Grace's demise or triumph."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...There is theater and there is "theatre"! When it comes to drama, one can count on Steppenwolf to take the pages of a fine cut script and bring them to life on one of their stages. For those familiar with "Topdog/Underdog", the playwright, Suzan-Lori Parks has another tense "family" drama, now making its Chicago premiere on the Ensemble Theater stage at Steppenwolf. The name of this play is "The Book of Grace" and under the direction of Steve H. Broadnax III, you will find yourself breaking the theatrical wall as we gaze into a family that is dysfunctional yet is unaware of just how dysfunctional they are."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...But the bright light in this three-handed drama is Zainab Jah. As Grace, this winning Broadway and film actress brings so much cheerfulness, humor and hopeful optimism to this story. Indeed, while the stage feels like a life-sucking vacuum, whenever Vet is going berserk and threatening his wife and son, Grace is the embodiment of hope and joy. For this pretty, petite little lady, a loving character filled with brightness and buoyancy, the glass is always half full. This talented actress convinces us that, despite the misery and abuse she has to endure, life can still offer plenty of evidence of good."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...In a masterful stroke of programming, Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the Chicago premiere of "The Book of Grace," Suzan-Lori Parks' incendiary companion piece to her Pulitzer Prize-winning "Topdog/Underdog." Director Steve H. Broadnax III has crafted a searing production that peels back the layers of American family dysfunction with surgical precision."
The Fourth Walsh
- Highly Recommended
"...Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks engages in her riveting exploration of domesticity. She subtly layers the complexity and fragility of humanity at home, on the border and within familial perspectives. And her distinct characters grapple with compliance or defiance to resolve turmoil. Parks peppers the dialogue with glimpses into past rift-causing transgressions. Although the audience is left to puzzle together what has and is happening, each character gets a monologue-like opportunity to disclose disturbing thoughts."
Third Coast Review
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Suzan-Lori Parks is known for writing plays about the inner lives of Black Americans. The Book of Grace is a companion to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Topdog/Underdog, where brothers Lincoln and Booth live out a twisted reality of the now mythical story of a savior president and his assassin. The Book of Grace features a character named Grace (Zainab Jah) who believes that she can bring about a reconciliation between her husband, Vet (Brian Marable), and his son Buddy (Namir Smallwood). They are sharply drawn characters in a story of a fractured reality based on the American dream of success and accomplishment."
PicksInSix
- Highly Recommended
"...A thought-provoking play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks is being offered at Steppenwolf's Ensemble Theater through May 18. First produced in 2010 at New York's Public Theater, "The Book of Grace" seeks, it seems, to create a universal story out of a particular family's struggles. Not only does it succeed, it makes one think-hard-as the walk home from the performance begins. And because the play's locale is the Texas/Mexico border, the relevance could not be timelier-one of the characters is a border patrol officer."
MaraTapp.org
- Highly Recommended
"...The Book of Grace is a deeply layered play that comes at family relationships with a complexity expressed through its profoundly intelligent and driven characters. It is an excellent embodiment of the domestic intensity for which Steppenwolf is revered. This provocative and beautiful piece will pull you in, expand your understanding of difficult issues and hope in ways that may surprise you and alter your perspective. Isn?t that what theater should do?"
Chicago Culture Authority
- Somewhat Recommended
"...I wanted to like The Book of Grace, now upstairs at Steppenwolf, more than I did. It's a timely drama delving into important themes and it features three talented actors who excel in their roles. Ensemble member Namir Smallwood, who left an indelible impression in Primary Trust at the Goodman last year, is captivating as the estranged, off-kilter son of a Border Patrol agent (Brian Marable, in buttoned-up hardass mode) who comes home to reconnect with dad and stepmother Grace (a luminous Zainab Jah)."
Splash Magazine
- Recommended
"...These 3 actors fully inhabit the theater in-the-round, projecting from every angle, as do Rosean Davonte Johnson's 3 large-screened projections: they simultaneously exaggerate, expand details, distort the main image, and fragment along with the personalities involved. Jason Lynch's soft-core lighting illuminates the almost- threadbare furniture, the painfully clean kitchen, the small-box TV, in this small house on the edge of Nowheresville-Texas, barely containing a family on the verge of madness. Smallwood is mesmerizing, secretive while he tries to charm Grace. Jah as the waitress/consort is constant in her efforts to seem "normal", yet a true Stepford wife, as scary as she is vacuous. And Marable is a dream nutcase, barking out orders, ironing out wrinkles, capable of anything at all."
Allie and the After Party
- Somewhat Recommended
"...A son comes to his estranged father?s doorstep hoping for little more than a recommendation for a potential job with him as a border patrol agent. Set in a small house in the middle of a nondescript border town, The Book of Grace is a slow reveal as we unpack more of their past relationship along with his father?s new relationship with Grace."
BroadwayWorld
- Somewhat Recommended
"...I usually appreciate when plays show and don?t tell, but THE BOOK OF GRACE really needs more exposition. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III. Steppenwolf?s production is a new version of Parks?s 2010 play, expanded from its original 100-minute run-time to two and a half hours. Even with the extra run time, playwright Suzan-Lori Parks relies far too heavily on subtext that isn?t revealed to the audience."
NewCity Chicago
- Recommended
"...The production?s timing coincides with an increased focus on the border and immigrant deportations, and the story can be seen as a metaphor for American might. Yet it seemed more personal than political. Guys like Vet can be border guards or shopkeepers or window washers?the profile is the same."
