Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...In a good play every speech should be as fully flavoured as a nut or apple," wrote Irish playwright John Millington Synge in the preface to his 1907 comedy The Playboy of the Western World. By that standard, Playboy is a very good play-indeed, one of the greatest and most entertaining works in 20th-century English-language drama. And, happily, it is served up "fully flavoured" in City Lit Theater's boisterous, intimate production."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"..."Playboy of the Western World" is more of a historical piece than anything else. If you take an interest in a script that is much too old-fashioned and if you have the will and ability to decipher heavy Irish brogue and its attendant vocabulary, then you will enjoy the show. Written in 1907 by John Millington Synge, this giddy yet serious comedy takes place in Ireland at the turn of the twentieth century."
Chicago Theatre Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...Still, on the strength of the acting, I think there is something to recommend the show, and as a piece of Irish literary history, I'm certainly glad I saw it. The finished product didn't grab me the way I hoped it might, but I certainly can't deny that the show was thoroughly realized by a talented and dedicated company."
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...'The Playboy of the Western World' employs a large cast and in Pastor's production the players work well together. Accents can sometimes be the Achilles heel of any production, but dialect coach Carrie Hardin's work pays off. There's a cohesion to the accents that help immediately place the audience in a time and place without distraction."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...Praise also goes to Adam Bitterman, who plays the gruff Old Mahan—Christy’s father. If you close your eyes, you might be forgiven for thinking Bitterman is performing a spot-on impression of Wallace Beery’s Long John Silver from 1934’s Treasure Island; his voice is almost exact. But watch Bitterman with your eyes open: he’s in a comedy and he knows it and more than earns his share of guffaws."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...here's a lot to love about The Playboy of the Western World. Well, not the actual playboy. There's not really all that much to love about him. That's kind of the point of the play. But there is much to love about City Lit's production of The Playboy of the Western World."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...All the characters were played to great effect, in this writer's opinion: Christy is equally confident in his storytelling and fearful of any possible retribution. Widow Quin, another one of the village suitors, is brazenly coquettish when trying to seduce Christy. Christy's father, Old Mahon, is crazed and bombastic with complete disregard for what the others might think of him (wait, I thought Christy had killed his father...)"
