Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Newell has cast most of the show (which uses the Richard Wilbur translation when it really needed its own, as it needed a better musical soundtrack) with many of Chicago's leading black actors. That should not be particularly unusual in this day and age, yet issues of race and casting are thorny, and it's true that productions of Moliere, en general, lag behind productions of other classic authors when it comes to diversity. So this is a genuine provision of opportunity, the chance for us all to see masters like A.C. Smith (playing Oronte) and Allen Gilmore (playing Arsinoe, in drag) stretching themselves. There are further rewards there: The excellent Grace Gealey, who plays Celimene, comes off best of all when it comes to forging a character that you feel might actually exist in the real world."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Visually, “The Misanthrope” could not be more splendid, with Jacqueline Firkins’ costumes (Baroque Euro-trash chic with variations of metallic black heavily embellished with gold). They are paired with John Culbert’s high-end brothel decor — far from accidental in this play about a society with twisted values."
ShowBizChicago - Recommended
"...Simply, Court Theatre's production is a wonderful rendition of one of the great comedies, but the cast and direction also make for a performance that is uniquely enjoyable."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...When Molière’s satiric play “The Misanthrope” first came to the stage in 1666, at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal in Paris, its mockery of society as duplicitous, self-aggrandizing and narcissistic must have had audiences teary-eyed with laughter. Just so is Court Theatre’s deliciously decadent new production LOL stuff. Indeed, director Charles Newell’s imaginative, sharply executed enterprise is simply not to be missed."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Superb character work comes from the African-American supporting cast. Caught in the crossfire are Kamal Angelo Bolden as Alceste’s sensible philosopher-friend and Patrese D. McClain as his love by default. Scathingly representing the Versailles-soaked opportunists, flatterers and backbiters are Travis Turner as a twerpy marquess, Michael Pogue as an effete fop, a glowering and rubber-faced A.C. Smith as Celimene’s pompous suitor Oronte, and, in a devastating drag turn a la Lady Bracknell, Allen Gilmore as prudish, censorious, and treacherous Arsinoe, Celimene’s worthy nemesis."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...As stuffed full of well-measured comedic performances and lush production values as you are likely to see anytime soon, Newell's Misanthrope feels as hedonistically indulgent as any French courtier. Like an opulent Parisian banquet (or a drag ball in Harlem), it's strengths are in its cultivation of the surface's glittering allure. And in never deigning to take itself as seriously as Alceste takes himself, this production still manages to probe deeper than any hair-brained philosophy."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...If you have not seen a Moliere play, go see this one. It's a wonderful evening of entertainment with all working at the top of their game. If you adore Moliere plays, go see this one. It's fun to see it all done so deliciously. This is part of the Court's Moliere festival with Tartuffe up next."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Audiences willing to settle for comedy will find laughs aplenty in the Court revival. There is much pleasure in watching smarmy people trade high-flown insults. But Hellman gives "The Misanthrope" a depth and intensity too easily missed in versions satisfied to go for the laughs and reduce Alceste to a figure of fun, both as a social critic and as a lover. Not everything in the Court staging works, but Newell has put his stamp on a stimulating evening that virtually reinvents the play as long as Hellman, with his superior melding of anguish and humor, is on stage."