“…Collette Pollard’s clever in-the-round set design provides for multiple entrances and exits and a few well-hidden surprises when Clara goes “into the walls” to confront the Rat King at the play’s climax. Director Tommy Rapley admirably manages the heavy traffic, and Minton and Klapperich’s use of cast doubling feels particularly rich in Brenda Barrie and Benjamin Sprunger’s turns both as Clara’s increasingly distant parents and the rat vanguard. The play’s smattering of songs, composed by Kevin O’Donnell with lyrics by Minton, still feels as half-baked as Clara’s underdone cookies, but on the whole this Nutcracker is an engaging, family-friendly treat.”
~Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
“…In a sea of overproduced television movies that just manufacture their so-called ‘magic’ in bulk, The Nutcracker is an authentic piece of real life Christmas cheer pitched right at the sweet spot of transformative spectacle and enthralling tale. This is one spellbinding tradition I hope The House Theatre lets Chicago continue keeping every year, if only to remind us-as Uncle Drosselmeyer states with a deadpan sobriety-“Magic is real.”
~Clint May, Chicago Critic
