Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...If you have an interest in the theater of the AIDS era (and its not like Hollywood or television were daring to tell many of these stories), and especially if you want to feel the songs that were written in that darkest of times for creative Americans, I think the “The Last Session” will hit you hard."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...With musical direction by Pearson, Darilyn Burtley, Liz Bollar, and Baylon provide powerful and emotionally bare voices, and in Christopher Pazdernik's production for Refuge Theatre Project, the pop-gospel harmonies cut right down through the spine. In a contemporary production, though, there's no getting around how the central conflict—a conservative southern Baptist infiltrating the session—results mostly in a lot of hand-holding and basic-level PSAs about LGBTQ people's right to exist."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Four extremely gifted performers power through a dozen songs in this gospel-rock flavored chamber musical, written and set in 1997 at the height ( or depth ) of the AIDS crisis, when tens of thousands of Americans still were dying each year. Very much of its time period, The Last Session is dated but still has emotional power, similar to other "AIDS plays" such as The Normal Heart and As Is."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...This is a special kind of musical. Christopher Pazdernik has done a stellar job of directing his show and the five-member cast is first-rate. But while there are elements of entertainment, even moments of humor, this dramatic show is more like a form of catharsis. There are universal themes and ideas buried within the music and dialogue, and certainly anyone who’s ever experienced an illness this life-threatening will relate to Gideon’s story. However, the material can be depressing to some, and sensitive theatergoers should be warned ahead of time that a lot of frank, honest material is going to be a seen and heard in this play. But for audiences looking for a poignant drama, filled with pathos and passion, “The Last Session” may be the perfect show for them."
The Fourth Walsh - Recommended
"...THE LAST SESSION is performed in a studio adding to its authenticity. Although there is a challenge to see some of the action, we are like flies on the wall as a group of people come together to make art. THE LAST SESSION is a session worth attending. It is a reminder of the power of friendship in facing life and death."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...Either the musical finds the company, or the company finds the musical. Any which way that particular serenity works, the musical The Last Session as produced by Refuge Theatre Project is a perfect marriage of material, scope and sensibility."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...The Last Session takes us very immediately back to the time when that fighting was going on, but it is still contains powerful messages for today. As Pazdernik said, we must all "understand that there is still a lot we have to do: it has not been cured; it has not gone away; it's still very much a part of our community.""
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...THE LAST SESSION is a touching musical and a good fit for those who like intimate shows that deal with more serious issues and tap into your emotions. It might not be the best fit for those looking for a huge Broadway production or a lighter night out at the theatre."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...To be fair, the script is from 1997 and has punchlines and characters like a nineties-era sitcom. But in putting this up, there’s a degree of relevance that Pazdernik calls. Does AIDS still exist? Absolutely. But we’re not in that place anymore and we have to ask different questions of that history. What does “The Last Session” give us that no script written since then can?"
