Trumbo at TimeLine Theatre Company

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...Given its creator's pedigree, it's perhaps inevitable that a whiff of hagiography hangs about the edges of the play, and Trumbo's own changing feelings on militarism and communism don't come into sharp focus (he requested that his 1939 anti-war novel, "Johnny Got His Gun," be recalled after Germany invaded the Soviet Union). But director Louis Contey has found a comfortably wry tone for the material, and Witt and David Parkes (who plays Christopher and a few smaller roles, including an overbearing House committee interrogator) have an easy and engaging chemistry."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...Lou Contey's TimeLine Theatre production (staged on the same set being used for the company's Fiorello!) is gripping. As Trumbo, Howard Witt captures both the man's sharp-witted irascibility and his stirring, staunch commitment to his principles."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...With no dramatic action, Contey’s staging (playing off-nights on the set of Fiorello!) is pretty much sit, sit, sit, switch chairs, while projection designer Mike Tutaj provides some visual stimulation, applying the Ken Burns effect to archival photos. But it’s not quite enough. All we really learn is that Dalton Trumbo had a way with a pompous phrase and an admiring son, who apparently could have learned more from his pop about drawing the audience in."