The Nacirema Society at Goodman Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...All of these performers, as led by the indefatigable Brown, a Chicago treasure, are very funny throughout. There’s a lot of diversity of comic styles, too, ranging from Jones’ zany antics to Rivers’ physical comedy to Butler’s fulsome embrace of her Lady Bracknell-like character. Abercrumbie offers the edgiest performance, as befits her character: it’s an empathetic turn, and it does a good deal to deepen the largely situational action."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...Directed by Lili-Anne Brown at the Goodman Theatre, the production is bursting at its seams with intrigue, romance and comedy. It is also a nuanced, fraught and incongruously hilarious exploration of class privilege, generational wealth and family betrayal."

Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended

"...Goodman Theatre's The Nacirema Society is considered a romantic comedy, is the creme de la creme of theater, and is deliciously entertaining. The critically praised and best-selling author (What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day) novelist, activist, and playwright Pearl Cleage, who currently has another one of her top plays featured at Remy Bumppo Theatre via Theater Wit, Blues for an Alabama Sky, masterfully brings the audience into this engaging and enthralling production that will have you excessively laughing throughout. Cleage provides us with the full title of her play: The Nacirema Society invites you to a celebration of their first 100 years; however, she noted that it was too lengthy, thus shortening it to The Nacirema Society."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...As part of Chicago’s citywide celebration of all things Pearl Cleage, “The Nacirema Society” is a textbook example of how theatre can both entertain, enlighten and educate the audience. The farcical comedy is filled with witty dialogue, extraordinary characters portrayed by a cast of brilliant actors, providing plenty of laughs and just a modicum of drama. To delight the senses there’s a banquet of beauty to behold, thanks to a brilliant creative team of talented theatre artists. But there’s also some not-so-subtle social commentary to give theatergoers something to discuss on the way home. The Goodman Theatre once again has given Chicago audiences a winner that’ll be talked about for years to come."

Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended

"...The Goodman Theatre opens its 2023/2024 season with The Nacirema Society, written by Pearl Cleage and directed by Lili-Anne Brown. In Montgomery, Alabama in 1964, the Dunbar family prepares for the centennial cotillion of the Nacirema Society, a social club for well-to-do African American women. Under the surface, however, trouble is brewing, and the result is a rip-roaringly funny play that examines social class and the role of history in our everyday lives even as it strikes a lighthearted tone."