Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...Both Morton and Smallwood are superb here, not least because they are two Chicago actors of different generations who share an obsessive interest in finding the humanity in unusual people and then listening not just to what their character is saying to them, but also to others with whom they share the stage. They're both a real pleasure to watch."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...This is a show where a choice needed to be made to go big in spectacle or find a different way - through movement, for example - to continually activate our imaginations. Steppenwolf's production gets caught in between. Neither the visuals nor other physical elements - such as the depiction of Smallwood's loss of mobility - build effectively, which means there's a lot that feels like falling action in a work that shouldn't really have any."
Daily Herald
- Highly Recommended
"...Watching these empathetic, unwaveringly authentic actors at the height of their powers is worth the price of admission. Smallwood and Morton don't need words to mesmerize an audience. Their presence - subtle, substantial - is enough."
Chicago Reader
- Recommended
"...Despite moments when Diaz's play threatens to collapse under the weight of its multiple metaphors, the final moments are lovely (thanks in part to a terrific set by Andrew Boyce, which achieves the description in the script of "the world folds in on itself"). And the interplay between Smallwood and Morton (with solid supporting work from Rifai and Chamberlain in a number of smaller parts) is hypnotic, funny, and absolutely truthful to the ways we sometimes find it easier to take solace in strangers than in the people who know us best."
Talkin Broadway
- Recommended
"...To close its forty-ninth season, Steppenwolf Theatre Company is presenting the Chicago premiere of You Will Get Sick by Noah Diaz. Directed by Artistic Director Audrey Francis and featuring a strong cast and impressive stage magic, both literal and metaphorical, the show is strange, funny in all senses of the word, and affecting, even as the text itself occasionally falls short of its own promise."
Stage and Cinema
- Recommended
"...Noah Diaz's You Will Get Sick, which opened last night at Steppenwolf, is an odd bird of a play. It begins with an irresistible premise: a middle-aged woman, Callan, responds to a flyer promising "$40 $20? to anyone who will receive a phone call from a stranger; the only requirement being that she listen to what he has to say."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews
- Somewhat Recommended
"...This is not to say that the dynamic between Morton and Smallwood on stage wasn't anything short of extraordinary; their nuanced performances captivated the audience. Smallwood's talent shines in every role he undertakes, leaving a lasting impression with his unique ability to bring complex characters to life. However, he may become ensnared in the theatrical trap of typecasting, being relegated to unusual and bizarre roles rather than being showcased on a broader array of opportunities that truly reflect his versatility as an actor."
Around The Town Chicago
- Recommended
"..."You Will Get Sick" is a quirky, surrealistic play with a stellar cast. What a joy to watch the chemistry and verbal sparring between Amy Morton and Namir Smallwood, who work so well together on stage! They play two needy characters, each of whom with their own vulnerabilities and weaknesses. But they both learn to accept each other for the flawed personalities that they are. Under Audrey Francis's direction, these characters nicely come to life. Yet over time, the story gets more convoluted than it needs to be."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...After pondering Steppenwolf Theatre's latest excellent production, the strangely titled YOU WILL GET SICK, I've come to the conclusion that I should simply accept what this play really is. Noah Diaz's curious and unsettling one-act is actually a throwback to a popular theatre movement from the 20th century. Labeled Theatre of the Absurd, this was a dramatic genre that began in the 1950's and continued through the 1980's. Plays of this genre haven't been written or produced very much lately. Until now."
The Fourth Walsh
- Highly Recommended
"...Playwright Noah Diaz pens a unique cerebral tickler. In his futuristic fantasy, giant birds are attacking, people are getting sick and every transaction costs money. A man hangs a flier asking for someone to call him. He has a secret and wants to unburden himself. A woman answers the ad and agrees to listen for $40 or $20 or $100. They form a wacky association. It’s fueled by his debilitating condition and her desire to star in a play. The weird combination is irresistibly endearing. Diaz’s script is a journey down a path with unknown twists and familiar turns. All his zig-zagging is wildly entertaining."
Third Coast Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Playwright Noah Diaz wrote You Will Get Sick in 2018, but its first production was delayed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ironically, the wisdom or conspiracy was that everyone would get Covid or a mutation of it. I do not know what sparked Diaz to write this play, but he effectively captures the transactional nature of healthcare, the pursuit of dreams, and the complexities of relationships. Steppenwolf Theatre closes its 49th season with You Will Get Sick. The casting could not be more perfect than Amy Morton and Namir Smallwood in the lead roles, along with a sparkling cast playing multiple supporting roles."
PicksInSix
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The irrevocable breakdown of the human body comes for all of us sooner or later, the inevitable manifestation of the most primal fear. Coping when you can no longer deny your end is nigh is a treacherous obstacle course of grieving, profundity, surrealism and gallows humor. Or so it is in Steppenwolf Theatre's production of Noah Diaz' "You Will Get Sick," directed by Steppenwolf Co-Artistic Director, Audrey Francis. But for all its undeniable humor and electric performances, "You Will Get Sick" ultimately delivers a confused web of references that are more baffling than meaningful."
Splash Magazine
- Recommended
"...Pay attention to this play. No words are wasted. No characters miss a step. Every action has a positive and equal reaction. This performance will move you, warm you, make you laugh."
BroadwayWorld
- Highly Recommended
"...Noah Diaz's YOU WILL GET SICK is an affecting and unusual play. With direction from Steppenwolf Co-Artistic Director Audrey Francis, it closes out the season in a moving and intriguing manner. The "will" in the play's title is pivotal to the proceedings - the central character, identified only in the script as "#1," has an unnamed degenerative disease. Although #1's experience with his body's failings is paramount, Diaz doesn't explore sickness through the lens of blood or body horror."
NewCity Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Morton and Smallwood are well matched as the comedy flocks around them throughout this darkly funny show. Like crows to something shiny, audiences eagerly snatch up every glistening morsel these two have on offer. The further we fall in love with this duo, the further down the Yellow Brick Road we tumble. A world we've come to know, even with the giant birds, becomes less and less familiar as we go along. And Andrew Boyce's imaginative set happily comes along for the surrealist ride."
