Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...I was struck by how well Baker's direction complements Gomez's poetry and impressed by how her cast fills the intimate Steep stage, the stakes rising as they should. And make no mistake that Gomez is an gorgeously expressive and poetic American writer whom Chicago will want to claim for posterity. If what Gomez is saying here is pretty run of the mill for anyone but him, how he is saying it is anything but."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...There is harshness and anguish, but also wit, empathy, and beauty woven throughout Gomez's script, which won't be a surprise to anyone who saw La Ruta, his play about the missing and murdered women of Ciudad Juarez (right across the border from El Paso). The central message-you can't outrun your family forever, and sooner or later you have to wrestle that shit to the ground-is certainly a, well, familiar one, covered by everyone from Eugene O'Neill to Sam Shepard."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...The world premiere of Isaac Gomez's drama "The Leopard Play, or sad songs for lost boys" is all-male production, with great acting, directing, singing, and dancing that, sadly, cannot compensate for a weak script."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Despite everything, this newly commissioned play by Isaac Gomez is, at its core, about love. Within this machismo-driven Texas landscape, there’s very little room for gender exploration and an expression of variant lifestyles. Son has learned this disappointing fact early in life, which is why he moved to New York City as soon as he could. Upon returning home to humor his family and honor the uncle who taught him to simply be himself, Son awakens several ghosts from the past and learns the shocking truth about his family and himself."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Director Laura Alcala Baker gives this tough play a warm undercurrent with a strong cast. Gomez' poetic script feels very true in its descriptions of family life and love in El Paso and its sister city, Ciudad Juarez, on the U.S. southern border. It's a community we know mainly from headlines about the recent mass shooting at an El Paso WalMart and our government's inhumane treatment of immigrants trying to enter our country."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...A brilliant cast and powerful storytelling make The Leopard Play, or sad songs for lost boys a must-see. Isaac Gomez invites the audience on a vulnerable and emotional journey, and this writer has certainly not stopped thinking about the experience since."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The only honest way to describe this play is "worthy." Worthy of the ache you feel during and after, worthy of periodic laughter and fear, and worthy of as much time as we are willing to devote to dismantling the generations of wrong that has been done. What's more, this play is worthy of the praise it will receive from here onward."
