Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...By the time the murderous marshal in charge of the war machine sees the white spots on his own skin and realizes he's done for, his deathbed agreement to lay down arms is too late to save him from the epidemic. We're not told if the doctor saves the people or lets them continue perishing. That ambiguity makes what could have been a mere apocalyptic farce into a timely tragedy for this Trap Door production."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Wiesner's treatment of The White Plague is what the term "problem play" was created to describe, being something that's hard to give a unified treatment to. But over the course of the performance, the narrowing of focus and greater allowance of emotion feels natural and welcome. Ĉapek is a literary treasure whose works American audiences rarely get to see. This adaptation is a treat; a transformation of Oedipus for the 1930s that still resonates."
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...As Chicago stages turn to Dickens and Tchaikovsky, you can find darker but equally fun fare in Trap Door Theatre’s high-flying production, The White Plague. This imaginative, high-energy show brings us the black-gowned denizens of a futuristic nation in the throes of a plague, with rising fascism and an imminent war as backdrop."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...The White Plague or a new form of leprosy is what everyone fears in the new play at Trap Door Theatre. However, the disease described in Czech playwright Karel Čapek's 1937 play is probably the more feared disease of fascism, then on the rise in Europe. With slick direction by Nicole Weisner, tube Trap Door troupe worries through 80 minutes of family trauma and war preparation. Like most Trap Door productions, this one is smartly choreographed (design by Miguel Long), costumed (design by Rachel Sypniewski) and made up (design by Zsófia Ötvos)."
Chicago On Stage - Recommended
"...Trap Door Theatre, known for its avant-garde presentations of material that is, for the most part, significantly out of the mainstream, has once again put its highly idiosyncratic stamp on a rarely seen play. It's probably safe to say that early 20th Century Czech writer Karel Capek's anti-fascist White Plague has never been produced quite like this, and that's one of the things that keeps people coming back to see this company's shows: they are always inventively directed and staged, and never anything less than fascinating."
Picture This Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...The White Plague,would particularly appeal to those who hunger for politically charged and thought-provoking European theatre. It also will have strong interest to fellow admirers of imaginative stage design. Others, however, might find the ultra-cerebral nature of the script less engaging or even difficult to follow."
