Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...we still don't really see how Walker became so successful -- her famous products and business acumen remain peripheral. Similarly, the play also lacks the pivotal scenes locating Walker in the black power structure of her day. We hear vague mention that she had an interest in the ideas of Marcus Garvey -- but we don't hear why."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...In her new work, "The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove" -- first produced last year at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and now receiving an exceptionally handsome production at the Goodman Theatre -- writer-actress-director Taylor demonstrates an approach to storytelling that easily recalls Wilson's way with a tale."
Daily Herald
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Story is part history lesson, part homage to an African-American icon, and part examination of a relationships between a mother and daughter. Sarah, freeborn child of slaves goes from being a laundress with only "two dollars and a dream," to becoming America's first female African-American millionaire living in an exclusive suburb. But wealth and success bring her neither happiness nor respect. Ultimately, the strength of the play lies in its quietly powerful evocation of the sting of racism."
SouthtownStar
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Written and directed by Regina Taylor, the drama has many powerful moments, riveting dialogue and compelling performances. But, it also has flaws that get in the way."
Chicago Reader
- Not Recommended
"... Taylor's parade of (offstage) historical names can't raise the script above the level of a generic tale about a plucky woman who succeeds in business but struggles with relationships, particularly with her headstrong party-girl daughter. As director, Taylor fails to vary the plodding pace of this two-and-a-half-hour show, and even mesmerizing actor L. Scott Caldwell as Walker delivers only grandstanding bravado, not emotional subtlety."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...This Goodman Theatre production, however, is never less than breathtaking in its iconography. Even in the first scene, set in Breedlove’s washing-room, Scott Bradley’s decor hints at the prosperity to come, as does the inflection imposed on the word “gravy” by Keith Randolph Smith ( playing the seductive C.J. ) . Rolando Boyce, Sr., projects dignity in the role of the corporation’s lawyer and the Walker clan’s referee. But the show belongs to L. Scott Caldwell, Nikki E. Walker, Libya Pugh and Cheryl Lynn Bruce..."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Taylor's play, unlike tackier celebrity-bio works, dutifully hits more than just the tent-pole moments of Walker's entrepreneurial ascent and pockmarked personal life. But while her engaging rendering of Walker's life is admirably restrained in its hero worship and artful in illustration, Dreams is still two plays- one about a businesswoman and one about a failed matriarch- barely held together."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...Told with strength of purpose with richly developed characters, The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove contains wonderful telling speeches that paint an emotional view of the struggles of Black women in the early 20th Century. We see that no matter how rich Sarah becomes, she can’t seem to reconcile her inability to find peace of mind with her family."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove" certainly has wings, and in the Goodman's glorious production they spread and soar. L. Scott Caldwell's magnificent performance in the title role is absolutely stunning. When she rebukes her friend and later employee Nola for her ingratitude, she says, "I make myself from scratch; you've got to make your own way," and she does. It is a character and a performance to treasure, and Ms. Caldwell fully earned the standing ovation she received."
