"Two MIGHTY royals face-off in Chicago Shakespeare’s POWERFUL ‘Mary Stuart. COMPELLING...

SPECTACULAR...a BEAUTIFUL LOOKING and FITFULLY ENGROSSING production."

- Chicago Sun Times

 

"A ROYAL CATFIGHT GETS A ROYAL PRODUCTION...TAUT and PULVERIZING... 

a THEATRICALLY THRILLING STAGING by Jenn Thompson, this nearly three-hour tour-de-reines IGNITES CHICAGO'S NAVY PIER."

- Stage and  Cinema

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"MARVELOUS...Thoroughly zeitgeisty and a little subversive. Oswald's fluid, wryly funny script is a hell of a yarn, and JENN THOMPSON'S WITTY STAGING FEATURES PLENTY OF VIVID PERFORMANCES. Thompson and company are great at lining the circles of hell Schiller created especially for government servants."

- Chicago Reader

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"EXPLOSIVE...DYNAMIC...MODERN and VITAL. 'Mary Stuart' is an ESSENTIAL EXPLORATION of the intersection of gender and power, FIERCELY ACTED and FINELY STAGED in this EXEMPLARY NEW PRODUCTION."

 - Theatremania

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"AMBITIOUS, CONCENTRATED, HANDSOME and SMART – the sort of GRAND production that defines the company. A THEATRICAL MASTERPIECE NOT TO BE MISSED...Jenn Thompson's FLUENT DIRECTION and the MASTERFUL, knowing work of a large cast, CST’s “Mary Stuart” is a many-splendored TRIUMPH."

- Chicago on the Aisle

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"THEATRICAL HEAVEN...A GLORIOUS 'Mary Stuart' at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. RIVETING...CAPTIVATING...Director Jenn Thompson has guided AN EXQUISITE CAST to

A VIBRANT PORTRAYAL."

 - Northwest Herald

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 "JUST AMAZING...people should GO SEE THIS in droves. It’s WONDERFUL drama and SUPERB work by the cast and crew."

- Splash Magazine

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"POWERFUL...HARSH and BEAUTIFUL...Director Jenn Thompson chooses to highlight the humanity of the relationship of the two queens...watching these two strong women spar is

A MOVING EVENING THAT TICKLES THE INTELLECT. Sinking your mind and your time into a showcase for female actors is A DISTINCT JOY."

 - Chicago Stage Standard 

 

"Jenn Thompson’s COMPELLING DIRECTION and Linda Cho’s EXQUISITE costume design, not to mention PHENOMENAL  leads K.K. Moggie and Kellie Overbey, make Mary Stuart an UNFORGETTABLE tale of political intrigue and dire consequences."

- Chicago Theatre Beat

 

"PERFECT...FLAWLESS...nearly three hours of CAPTIVATING theatre...Seduction, greed and,

of course, deception abounds."

- Around the Town Chicago

 

"THEATRICAL FIREWORKS...THE POLITICAL POT IS ON THE BOIL....Jenn Thompson’s directing is unobtrusive but EFFECTIVE, allowing the SKILLED ensemble to speak Peter Oswald’s language with realistic fluency...there is much to be said for a stage full of fine actors delivering so much RICH dialogue with such conviction and intelligence."

- Chicagoland

 

"FRESH and MODERN, but never artificially tricked up. Jenn Thompson...keeps it SHARP, CLEAR and HIGHLY ENERGIZED."

- WTTW Chicago Tonight

 

"FORCEFUL, LUCID and WITTY. It's a FLAWLESSLY ACTED PRODUCTION under director Jenn Thompson, with VIBRANT work by K. K. Moggie as Mary and Kellie Overbey as Elizabeth, supported by a cast of top veteran actors..."

- Windy City Times

 

"WONDROUS...SIMPLY SENSATIONAL...BROUGHT TO LIFE WITH EXUBERANCE by director

Jenn Thompson. This political potboiler is a SPELLBINDING thriller that’s laced with romance and sexual intrigue. It’s a production LAYERED WTH DEPTH and COMPLEXITY...likely to be one of the finest, most memorable evenings of theatre that Chicago audiences will enjoy this Spring."

- Chicago Theatre Review

 

"...a thoroughly WONDERFUL PRODUCTION...given a SHARP and GORGEOUS reimagining.

Director Thompson paces the production with the INTENSITY necessary in this life-or-death situation, yet finds the delicate balance between two rulers battling it out for supremacy...a BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF STAGECRAFT."

- PerformInk

 

"Tells a CAPTIVATING historical tale...STUNNING....EXCEPTIONAL....COMPELLING...This new production fills over two and half hours of stage time with INTRIGUING history and FASCINATING lessons about women in power."

- Buzz

 

"POWERFUL...EXCITING...Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s “Mary Stuart” STANDS REGALLY TALL.

ASTUTELY DIRECTED...it has SUPERB casting, direction, costumes and a simple but clever set design by Andromache Chalfant that complements the action."     

- Chicago Theatre and Arts

 

"INTENSE and ENGAGING...history is made LIVELY and women take the stage with their own agency, a rarity in Early Modern narratives as well as in current theater."

- 3CR: Third Coast

 

"When it comes to intrigue, it doesn’t get any better...Chicago Shakespeare Theatre’s LARGER-THAN-LIFE  production of “Mary Stuart” is MAGNIFICENT."

- PanoramaNow

 

"WORTH SEEING...Chicago Shakespeare Theater brings this fictionalized history to life thanks to director Jenn Thompson and a commendable cast."

 - Hyde Park Herald

 

"LUSH...COMPELLING...STUNNING...A FORCEFUL work of intrigue, history, and politics. 

Mary Stuart is a MUST-SEE!

- Le Bon Travel & Culture

 

"A RIVETING ROYAL SHOWDOWN...ELEGANT...FIERCE...Director Jenn Thompson orchestrates the SOPHISTICATED cat-fight."

- The Fourth Walsh