Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...The Sugar Wife reminds us of the bitter truth that many of us are both complicit and victimized in global systems of exploitation."
Talkin Broadway
- Recommended
"...In this production, director Kevin Hagan and a strong cast do justice to an ambitious, complex story that continues to resonate in the contemporary world.""
Stage and Cinema
- Highly Recommended
"...This is a slow burn of a play, but it’s never less than completely absorbing, even as it builds to a gripping and devastating denouement. Ellie Fey’s lighting design frequently isolates the characters from each other, further deepening the chasms that separate them. And Petter Wahlbäck’s sound design is incredible, particularly during Sarah’s monologues, making them almost unbearable to hear."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...The story unfolds slow and easy with the performers sitting with us for the scenes they are not in, and this is not an easy task, I am sure. Rachel Lambert’s costumes are terrific and the lighting ( Ellie Fey) and sound (Petter Wahlback) help the story. When in their seats, often, the voices did not carry to the far end of the venue, so they might consider doing small microphones as they would not want audience members to miss any of the dialogue."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...The Sugar Wife is a masterpiece of a play, a kaleidoscope of humanity’s complex relationships – with each other, with hope and hypocrisy, and with morality in an immoral world."
Buzz Center Stage
- Recommended
"...Set in 1850, the 2006 script by Elizabeth Kuti revolves around the internal moral struggles of Hannah Tewkley (Annie Hogan), who has married the wealthy Samuel Tewkley (Todd Wojcik), a merchant whose fortune is in sugar and tea. The sugar trade, in Hannah's view, is contaminated by its reliance on slave labor for production. So in their marriage pact, Hannah has required that Samuel source sugar cane only from "ethical" sources not involving slavery."
Entertaining Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...The Sugar Wife is a quietly powerful, affecting show that lingers long after the final bow. A character-driven piece, you will find that you want to take in every morsel of what they had to offer, making sure that you didn't miss anything while rehashing it afterward."
Chicago Theater and Arts
- Highly Recommended
"...A Quaker couple living in Dublin, Ireland circa 1850, invite a former enslaved African-American woman and her companion to spend ten weeks in their home while touring the British Isle promoting the abolitionist movement. Their visit concludes on the spring equinox bringing a promise of rebirth and new beginnings."
Splash Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...With its excellent cast, beautiful construction and incisive character portrayals, we immediately see and agree how well the people in The Sugar Wife mirror all of us. When Sarah tells Hannah, “We are all greedy”, it’s not an indictment. It’s simply a truth. Like Hannah and everyone else in this psychological saga, what we do with it becomes the true definer of who and what we are."
NewCity Chicago
- Recommended
"...There is no ethical consumption under capitalism.” That phrase, one that lives forever burned into my brain, rang out over and over again throughout Elizabeth Kuti’s “The Sugar Wife.” In a time when it feels we are constantly pushing back against the evils of billionaire overlords, corrupt business practices and private equity, it’s an important phrase. Because, whether we like it or not, we are all complicit in some way with the moral grey areas within capitalism. Exploitative global commodity chains have long been there, even if we don’t always see them. That feels like the most pertinent point of this work in this moment in time."
