The Ritz Reviews

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"... McNally's period references feel dated and the bathhouse's carefree sexual activity is hard to relate to in today's post-AIDS world. But the humor shines through in wild-goose chases and well-choreographed go-go dance numbers."

Centerstage - Recommended

"... Dazzling the senses with pulsating disco music, Afros, shiny bellbottoms and skimpy towels, Terrence McNally’s 1975 comedy is staged almost entirely in a Manhattan gay bathhouse. As with every farce there’s lots of running, door slamming, fast-talking and mistaken identities, from frantic beginning to happy ending. True, this comedy is a throwback to a more innocent time when any gay-themed play was a theatrical novelty, but it’s still a crowd pleaser today. And Circle Theatre, in its new, improved venue, does a bang-up job recreating this funhouse of a period piece."

Wednesday Journal - Highly Recommended

"... Circle Theatre's new production is an uproarious revival of the 1975 comedy, The Ritz. Set in a gay bathhouse, this rollicking show garnered huge laughs on opening night. Director Bob Knuth's large and lively cast of 20 serves up a very entertaining evening."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"... Bob Knuth’s ensemble does adequate work with a lackluster script, including solid performances from Alexander Sharon as a studly detective with a prepubescent voice and Shawn Quinlan as the Ritz’s resident nymphomaniac. John Cardone is a highlight as Claude, the petite older man who becomes enamored with Proclo’s girth. As Puerto Rican entertainer Googie Gomez, Elizabeth Morgan adopts a strangely Eastern European accent. There’s no denying the cast is having fun onstage, but The Ritz should have been left in the ’70s."

Chicago Theatre Addict - Somewhat Recommended

"...Yes, watching a bumbling straight dude (Dennis Schnell) find himself mixed up in the bizarro world of a gay bath house (where it seems like gay sex involves nothing more than donning feather boas mincing about) must have been quite something back in the day. However, there are only so many times one can endure seeing a hetero outsider, in an attempt to dodge a hit man (did I mention it’s a farce?), naively run into the illicit steam room only to run out screaming in horror (while holding his backside) before the conceit quickly, well, loses steam."

ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended

"... With a cast of twenty—the gay male’s libido is an uncredited character,as is heterosexual insecurity—a massively complex stage and a two-hour run time, the question I had to ask upon exiting was “Why?” Why revive this play now? Was it so charming it was felt thatit deserved tobe shown to a new audience? It can’t be thatpeople born after 1980 will find this lifestyle relateable, or the humor timelessly timely. Why expend the effort of so many people? The only purpose in producing or viewingis as a piece of social archaeology, a fossil of a another age that demonstrates just how much evolution has occurred in the interim."

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"...While the first act starts off a little slow, this show really shines in the second act when all the mistaken identities and chases take place along with an amateur show ( a great Andrew Sisters spoof)- this is where Bob Knuth’s direction truly shows that he is into the farce. Kevin Bellie handles the choreography ( along with the lights) and Jesus Perez does an amazing job with the construction of the costumes, making towels the fashion of the day. Knuth also designed the set, a double decker set with lots of doors and rooms. While there is not as much door slamming as one is used to in a farce, Knuth manages to keep the action flowing."