Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Chicago Children's Theatre, which is still at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, prior to completing its planned new home in the West Loop, is an Equity company, which means it can hire terrific actors like Jessie Fisher, who was recently playing The Girl on Broadway in "Once," and Melanie Brezill, who spent ages in "Mamma Mia." Both of these women, who have rich emotional vocabularies, are terrific as the various personalities who love Edward and are loved in return - Brezill, who has more sadness now than I remember earlier in her career, has to play an age range that spans some 70 years, and yet she convinces every time. Kelvin Roston, Jr., another actor who understands life's toughness, is terrific, especially as a hobo who jumps trains all the better when he is hanging onto a china rabbit."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...In fact, the Chicago Children’s Theatre production of “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” is so captivating – such an enchanting show for every age (whether you happen to be accompanied by children or not) – that it sent me searching for a copy of the Newbery Medal-winning book by Kate DiCamillo I had never read. Dwayne Hartford’s adaptation of the story, along with director Stuart Carden’s beguiling direction of a cast of four superlative, richly musical performers, renders every element of DiCamillo’s book with faithfulness and flair. More than that, it uncannily taps into the rapidly beating heart and often fatalistic intelligence of the French-crafted toy (who is not at all happy when he is called a “doll” or put in a dress), and brings him, and all those who move through his story, to vivid life."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"..."I learned how to love, and it is a terrible thing," he declares late in the play, and we can’t much argue with him given his successive losses. I could say the work, adapted by Dwayne Hartford from Kate DiCamillo's Newberry Award-winning book, is a testament to the (non-)human spirit, or an allegory of survival and hope; but I think you should just see it for the magic of this production, which features four actors in multiple roles as well as music, dance, and puppetry."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...This wonderful story is about the transformative power of love. Without sentimentality, Carden stages this engrossing tale so that the kids relate and the adults relish the story. It is not often that a children’s play is as sophisticated that adults who attend will enjoy the stage craft and the brilliant performances that makes The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane not only one of the finest children’s show in years, but one of the finest plays of 2015. It is a “must see” for children, teens, and adults. Kudos to Chicago Children’s Theatre for this amazingly powerful 80 minutes of theatre!"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Although "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" is billed as a children's show - it is produced by Chicago Children's Theatre after all - the whole family will enjoy it. My six-year-old granddaughter, Molly, liked it a lot. She said it was exciting, funny and sad. I thought it was an incredibly moving, nuanced performance, and one of the best I've seen this year."
