White Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...There’s also a knockout central performance in “White,” now at Steppenwolf Theatre’s 1700 Theater. It’s the kind of on-fire comedic turn that should serve notice to Second City and other local locales looking for emerging Chicago talent. The performer here is Kierra Bunch, playing a Black woman named Vanessa who makes a Faustian bargain to serve as a surrogate for a white artist frustrated by being frozen out of a major exhibition due, he says, to his race"

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...WHITE does a fabulous job of interrogating respectability politics, the inequity of consequences for one’s actions based on the color of one’s skin, and the long history of fetishization and ownership of Black people’s bodies, all while somehow managing to be a mostly light and hilarious 90 minutes."

Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended

"...In its conclusion, WHITE highlights the miseducation of the black women who find themselves in a world of exploitation and how white privilege, like Trump, Kyle Rittenhouse, or white men in general, face minimal scrutiny for their actions. In contrast, one black man was banned from the NFL in March 2017 just for kneeling."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...The Chicago premiere production of “White”, directed by Ericka Ratcliff, is a brilliant gem. The perceptive and tidy script written by James Ijames has to do with issues surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion. The story is based on the notion of “white privilege” and the theme that a white man not only has the luxury of being able to define who and what he is but also has the power to define the other people around him. This show points up the cultural clash inherent when people of different racial backgrounds perceive of their lives and their interactions in different ways."

BroadwayWorld - Recommended

"...Director Ericka Ratcliff's production moves swiftly, and each member of the ensemble nails every line and milks every moment for maximum humor - and oftentimes, maximum (and justified) discomfort. Kourtis makes Gus affable, even as his blindspots are obvious. He and Allsop have a genuine rapport that makes us believe in them as a couple, but Allsop also demonstrates that Tanner isn't willing to let all of Gus's plans and selfishness slide. Bunch easily and compellingly shifts between her multiple roles. In addition to her roles as Vanessa and Balkonae, she makes a hilarious turn as St. Diana (as in Ross), who appears before Gus."

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...This review could easily be 2,000 words long without covering everything in Definition Theatre's production of "WHITE" that's worth talking about. We haven't even touched on how this is all based on a true story. (Google "Donelle Woolford.") What's definitive here is that "WHITE" is as thoroughly and transgressively entertaining on stage as one hopes it will be thoroughly discussed in the post-show."