Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Sounds like smart-eyed fun? It is, to some extent, although I wish the bumpy and uneven new production at Theater Wit from director Jeremy Wechsler felt more believable, rather than being a collection of stagy and often overplayed scenes that go more for the laughs than the requisite underpinning reality. That’s always one of the dangers in plays about such easy targets as Hollywood agents and executives; the rush to cliché is such a grave and present danger that it requires far more vigilance than appears to have been the case with this Chicago premiere of a play previously seen at the Denver Center Theatre."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...The episodic plot offers a rich series of encounters, starting as Dan and Rich grin, slap hands and talk contracts and story treatments for Eli's next project. Sitting on a couch slightly apart from the pair, Faigus gradually, silently, masterfully shows Eli's sudden, revelatory shifting moods: We see him suddenly appeaer to crumble, ultimately blurt-muttering that he's changed his mind. He has to go home."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...It takes a while for Jeremy Wechsler’s staging to find its groove, and I don’t think that’s just because Eli is (intentionally) so repellent. But by the time of the incendiary encounter between Eli and Eleanor, the stakes begin to feel real. Or at least as real as anything is in this sometimes exasperating, but ultimately well-crafted portrait of the folly of expecting stories to save us with their “truth.” It starts out with cynicism, but by the end, The Whistleblower is a handy reminder that, while we may not be “authentic,” we’re all absolutely real."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...In this clever little comedy, Moses' hero is a writer,Eli ( a strong performance by Ben Faigus) who after working for years has the opportunity to have his own TV show, and walks away from doing this, leaving behind his agent ( played by William Anthony Sebastian Rose II, who also plays a best friend from his past) and Richard ( Michael Kostroff, who also plays Eli's dad, Joseph) behind. Kostroff is new to Chicago stages and a welcome addition. Both of his characters are strong. and he has a marvelous comic touch."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Theater Wit has returned with a brilliant, hilarious and thought-provoking new play that really is a must-see for every smart theatergoer. It's being given a polished, professional production that will have audiences laughing, cheering and talking for weeks to come. The show is performed with mirth and an unstoppable momentum that never once loses its steam, all the while challenging theatergoers with more questions than answers. This is, to tell the truth, what great theater is all about."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...What if you told the truth to everyone—friends, family, people that you screwed over? Playwright Itamar Moses (The Band’s Visit) presents this question in The Whistleblower in a world premiere production. Theater Wit artistic director Jeremy Wechsler directs the play, keeping the edges sharp and the punchlines—well punchy. The premise is not only telling the truth but also how people receive the truth."
Chicago On Stage - Somewhat Recommended
"...Honestly, I’m not sure whether the flaw here is in the episodic structure of the play, which pretty much forces Wechsler to reach again and again for laughter over honesty, or what. It is telling, though, that the two times Eli faces a realistic character—his sister and his ex, both played by Gray—the Truth becomes, instead of a bludgeon for him to wield, an arrow to the heart. The scene with his long-abandoned ex is especially poignant. However, this makes the overdone parents and the wilder moments of other scenes feel as if they belong in some other play."
Life and Times - Recommended
"...There is an ideal medium for every quality story, and The Whistleblower is indeed a quality story. More of a dramedy hybrid than a laugh-out-loud comedy, The Whistleblower definitely works as a stage show, but it seems like the most ideal translation of the story would be as a film. And, it’s a film that could be made on a relatively low budget. Further, many of the performers in this premiere cast have the credentials to help make a film adaptation a viable option."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...There’s a depressing inescapability woven into “The Whistleblower,” a tale written by a playwright-screenwriter about a TV screenwriter who pitches a story about a screenwriter who seeks to turn his actual life into a morally heroic screenplay. One exits the theater desperate to find solid ground and re-enter real life. To its credit, this play leaves us wondering what that even means in a world shaped by manufactured images and narratives."
