Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...There's something about the acts of sex in the show-and, no less importantly, the political satire of social mores in the novel -- that demand more messiness, more of an edge, less playfulness, deeper consequences. It might not seem that way at first blush, but "Tom Jones" needs sharp edges. Brown's sometimes tentative production, with its romantic soundtrack, doesn't find them, preferring the safer, prettier route. You can see that ambivalence in Jeffrey D. Kmiec's tough-to-grasp setting, with its bucolic influences and its tendency to push a lot of the passion up and away from the audience, is if all were worrying how much the Northlight audience could take. Rachel Anne Healy and Carolyn Cristofani's costumes really are the stars of the show, not least because of their consistency and daring."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Director William Brown, a director of great style, wit and playful intelligence, has cast this production to perfection, with Sam Ashdown, a young, physically fleet actor with lean, craggy good looks, immense grace, and the easy command of language by way of extensive work in Shakespeare, proving himself a marvelous Tom Jones. It says a great deal that watching him I never once thought longingly of Finney."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Many of those rollicks trace back to a sharp ensemble. Sam Ashdown looks like something out of a Georgian Abercrombie & Fitch ad as Tom, entirely justifying the magnetism he's supposed to project. Chris Amos is perfect as various malign doofuses, while John Lister and Eric Parks seem to have fallen out of a Hogarth satiric print as Squire Western and a pedant called Thwackum. Nora Fiffer's Sophia maintains a nice balance between the earthy and the ethereal. But it's the sadder but wiser women-Molly Glynn, Melanie Keller, and Cristina Panfilio-who rule here."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Brown's nimble staging uses just nine actors (fewer than Jory's own production in Louisville), with everyone but Ashdown and John Lister, as Sophia's blustery father Squire Western, playing multiple parts. Among the women, Glynn and Keller both get in some delicious comic bits; as for the men, Chris Amos is properly obnoxious as Tom's hypocritical rival, Blifil, and Marcus Truschinski and Eric Parks (both regular collaborators with director Brown) have fun out-Sean Connerying each other as a pair of sword-fighting Scottish peacocks. And just in case it still hasn't disarmed you by the end, Northlight's production tacks on the most winning curtain call in recent memory."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Yet, there is an audience for Tom Jones and the work from Sam Ashdown as the horny Tom Jones as well as nice turns from John Lister and Molly Glynn anchored the show. Rachel Anne Healy and Carolyn Cristofani's period-perfect 18th Century costumes added color to the show. This is a light heart period comedy with a most charming and empathetic lead character that we can't help but cheer for. And we have a good time along the way."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...There are some very solid performances from many who play many roles, Chris Amos, Molly Glynn, Melanie Keller,Christina Panfillo, Eric Parks and Marcus Truschinski. As you can see , the cast is not as large as the number of characters, so what may confuse you is that the female characters appear to be someone other than who you think they are. It doesn't matter to "Tom Jones", of course, because he beds them all! By the way, the food scene is still a part of the play, although nowhere near what we ay in the film, but nonetheless, a very seductive and sensual feeling as they "share a pear""
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...Audiences of a certain age may fondly recall the 1963 motion picture version of the novel that won all kinds of awards and wonderfully re-created life in mid eighteenth century England, both in the sticks and in sophisticated London. The film wasn't much longer than Jory's stage adaptation but had much more narrative drive. It was particularly noted for an erotic eating scene between Tom and one of his lady friends that comes up a little tame at the Northlight. But viewers willing to stay the course to the final third of the show still will be rewarded with some vibrant action and rousing comedy that leads to the satisfying happy ending."
