Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"... It is a pleasure to see it back for a remount, and while the cast of puppeteers may have changed, the show is otherwise the same as I remember it — intricate, strange and persistently haunting. Created by artistic director Frank Maugeri and directed this time by Vanessa Stalling, "The Cabinet" is probably fine for preteens, but this is ultimately a show for adults — and all the better for it."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...It happens only rarely that one masterpiece can generate another of the same quality and originality. But the Redmoon theater production of “The Cabinet” — Frank Maugeri’s altogether remarkable reinvention of (and homage to) “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” the 1919 silent film classic that remains a landmark work of German Expressionism — does precisely that."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Director Vanessa Stalling finds moments of morbid Edward Gorey-esque wit in the tale of a somnambulist and his evil master, without losing the essential horror. "A dream of genuine sound might wake its dreamer," says O'Reilly--and, sure enough, a bloodcurdling scream late in the show has the effect of a punch to the solar plexus. This is one nightmare that shouldn't be missed."
Chicago Journal
- Highly Recommended
"...Redmoon pulls out all of the stops, with nods to Japanese Bunraku theater, Indian shadow puppetry, silent cinema and more, to tell the tale of the pitiful, perpetual sleepwalker, his sadistic controller and those who happen to cross their paths. The action itself is contained within a wood façade designed to look like a massive cabinet. A baker’s dozen of oddly shaped doors affixed to its face open to reveal expressionistic interior and exterior set pieces, an antique Victrola record player that produces the soundtrack and other curiosities."
Chicago Stage Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Director Vanessa Stalling translates Frank Maugeri’s original conception and Maher’s evocative script with exceptional skill and imagination. She choreographs the ensemble to move with a stylized staccato that visually takes the story to the peek of creatively controlled madness."
Time Out Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...The puppeteers on stage—or in stage?—remain silent but offer their own commentary, serving as both operators and observers of Lisa Barcy and Scott Pondrom’s remarkably expressive puppets. Maher’s script is typically esoteric and erudite, as intricate and mesmerizing as the choreography of Stalling’s puppeteers. Poor Cesare’s waking nightmare is the stuff of theatrical dreams."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...If you have never experienced the work of Redmoon, this is a great way to start and once you see one of their productions, you will go back. What they offer is unique works of art, using all of the techniques that the theater has utilized for centuries. They make theater fun!"
Chicago Theater Beat
- Highly Recommended
"...Haunting, and beautifully done, "The Cabinet" is no lightweight puppet show. Though whimsical in design, it feels ponderous and dirgelike — the hour-long piece seems to stretch much longer, as if the audience were caught in Cesare’s endless trance."
