Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...I’d like to have encountered Nick and Nora Charles at least a couple of weeks after their scheduled opening at the heart of City Lit’s ambitious, new dramatic adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s “The Thin Man.” The thing about witty repartee is that it doesn’t play unless those in the game really have it down. And while Wm. Bullion certainly looks and acts like a Nick, and Christina Gorman certainly looks and acts like a Nora—and who wouldn’t want to have a well-lubricated, mutually adoring marriage like theirs—the leading actors’ comfort level with the material is not yet sufficient for an audience to be comfortable hearing them spit out their bons mots."
Chicago Sun Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The show's first act moves quickly and amusingly, but its second hour grows tiresome. Style goes only so far. And it's difficult to be more than only marginally invested in the fates of these quirky characters."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Dashiell Hammett's last novel, a semi-snappy, intermittently interesting gumshoe whodunit, introduced the serviceably charming sleuthing team of Nick and Nora Charles. Lacking the crystalline prose Raymond Chandler brought to the genre, The Thin Man occasionally diverts but rarely matters, and Terry McCabe's faithful adaptation for City Lit Theater packs nearly every anecdote, episode, and digression into a script so detailed that most of director Adrianne Cury's underrehearsed cast weren't up to its challenges on opening night."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...A narrative whose personnel are comprised almost wholly of liars and betrayers requires a number of "re-cap" speeches, in which our guides review who knows what, who suspects whom, and what was said when. If these are to be prevented from slowing the action, they must be delivered with speed and precision. Fortunately, the cast assembled by director Adrianne Cury prove themselves more than equal to the task."
Centerstage
- Somewhat Recommended
"... it's dispiriting to report that the new adaptation at City Lit Theatre, written by Terry McCabe and directed by Adrianne Cury, misses out on much of what makes the novel and film so much fun. The plot is intact, but it's not nearly as exciting as it should be."
Chicago Stage Review
- Somewhat Recommended
"...There is decent comedy delivered by some of the cast and Michael B. Woods fight choreography stands out as an excellent touch but the overall production is dramatically flat and visually cartoonish. Nora provides the show’s punch line at the end when she responds to Nick’s closing recap with, “That may be, but it’s all pretty unsatisfactory.” "
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Nick’s past-tense narration dominates, while other characters simply duck in and out. There’s little show, lots of tell. The experience crystallized something common to all McCabe’s adaptations I’ve seen. Each has used a narrator, gone to inefficient lengths to be faithful to their sources and incorporated little visual flair. City Lit’s story-theater treatments aren’t adaptations so much as audiobooks: They’d be just as gratifying as radio plays. That the cast could hang on to its scripts wouldn’t hurt either."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...The production suffered from a much too frantic pace as several actors raced through their lines. A slower pace would let the dramatic tension and the mystery build more effectively. But the sheer wit and fine writing with excellent ensemble work prevailed to make for an engrossing fun suspense play. Fans of mysteries will enjoy The Thin Man."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The mother, daughter, an inquisitive son and handsome stepfather are joined by a supporting cast of detective, lawyer and various and sundry lowlifes. Following the tangled and intricate plotting and numerous characters generally referred to in the third person is a challenge. Too much narrative and too little action gives us little reason to care about what we are watching. The show is at its sizzling best in the fight scenes vigorously choreographed by Tyler Rich, where the play really comes to life."
