Toronto, Mississippi Reviews

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...shoehorn a half dozen emotionally exaggerated contrivances into the second. The story is promising: A divorced mother struggles to grant her autistic 18-year-old daughter a modicum of independence while two men--her sweet, spineless boarder (a struggling poet) and her brash, errant former husband (an Elvis impersonator)--vie for her affections. But MacLeod's script is too uneven too make it cohere. Still, director Carlo Lorenzo Garcia coaxes graceful, textured performances from an impressive cast."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"... The rest of the performances in Garcia’s staging are serviceable but feel muffled. What plot there is in MacLeod’s uneven script involves the return of Jhana’s father, an Elvis impersonator, to the home in Toronto where Jhana lives with her overprotective mother and their boarder, a struggling poet. (Incidentally, William Anderson’s set is a dead ringer for the Conners’ living room on Roseanne.) MacLeod sets up a bad boy/nice guy showdown between the two men, but the story fizzles thanks to a lack of urgency or rising stakes. Those qualities are present only in the few gripping scenes between Rydberg and Behrendt’s versifying boarder, who have an unsettling relationship built on genuine, sibling-like affection and creepy sexual tension."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...The story is humorous and poignant with Jhana quickly becoming a buoyant lovable and precocious  character. We also cheer for Bill, the lost soul poet who desperately desires intimacy and love. King is the wondering minstrel preoccupied with the young Elvis that he no longer can play and audiences in 1987 no longer wish to hear. Can he and Maddie become an item again?  The play resolves its issues with credibility. Once you see this worthy play, you’ll have a new notion of the nature of mental disability. The show’s funny epilogue finds King performing in a white Elvis jumpsuit. It also finds Jhana sneaking to the microphone to render a fabulously funny bit."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...Actor Eve Rydberg played the challenging role of Jhana.  Actors tend to stay away from the mentally handicapped positions due to the extremeness and skill it takes to truly make the audience believe that you are that person.  At first she wasn't very convincing, it seemed overly drawn, as if she were trying way too hard.  By the end of the show however, she grew on me.  Perhaps it was just the character herself I fell for, but whatever the case Rydberg does an excellent job with this demanding role.  Now she won't have you in tears by the end of the show, but definitely feeling concerned about the way this young girl is forced to live."

Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended

"...Since the production can resolve these issues in the course of the run, I urge people to make time for Toronto, Mississippi. MacLeod’s script is not the same old kitchen sink. Rydberg’s performance elevates the play’s message about the unique beauty of every individual’s self-expression to lovingly brilliant heights. Jhana’s small victories make the grey drudgery in her world shrink away. Would that we faced each day with the same perspective."