Reviews
Featured
"It’s a powerful, visually gorgeous production with a sophistication that matches the aesthetics of its spectacular building and a reminder that Spelman has become an essential director of immersive, mid-sized, Chicago-style musicals."
- Chris Jones, The Chicago Tribune
"Spelman’s sharp direction and the overflowing talent and sheer generosity of the cast lean into that same spirit and create a funny, compelling, and thoughtful show that is sometimes as giddy as a troika ride in the snow, sometimes as dark as a starless (or cometless) night in the middle of a Russian winter—but always infused with a life force that unites all the tangled threads and many names of these characters into one truly memorable theatrical cosmos."
- Kerry Reid, The Chicago Reader
"...the performances are universally remarkable thanks to brilliant work by director/choreographer Katie Spelman and music director Matt Deitchman. Despite the fact that it has utterly abandoned its initial Broadway immersive structure, this version, which fits Writers perfectly, may provide a framework for future revivals."
- Karen Topham, Chicago OnStage
“When you see Spelman’s name in the director’s slot at a Chicago theater these days, there’s good reason to buy a ticket. She’s become a potent auteur, a believer in simplicity, honesty and unstinting truth, reminding me of the kind of work director David Cromer did that then launched a Broadway career. This is no ordinary “Music Man”….that makes the show’s ending all the richer. In the end, Meredith Wilson’s masterpiece is saying that towns are strong when people love their children and delight in their tiniest accomplishments. You feel you are watching hearts melt at the end of this show, a testament to the power of love and arts education.Spelman understood what matters most.”
- Chris Jones, The Chicago Tribune
“Spelman’s directorial choices make some of the numbers positively delightful. They show the power of extraordinary stagecraft….this sparkling revival lets us believe in the storybook premise of a classic American musical.”
JT Newman, The Chicago Reader
“Brilliantly and creatively guided with sharp focus and incredible energy by talented Director/Choreographer Katie Spelman, she continually fills the Marriott stage with focused book scenes and astonishing musical numbers. The production radiates with intricate choreography, pulsating rhythms and subtle movement. The show dazzles as performed by a very large, truly multi-gifted cast of triple threats.”
-Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
“With its stunning performances, beautiful songs, and supreme stage directing, the musical succeeds in delivering a fresh spin on its original material while also making sure that Noah and Allie’s story is never truly forgotten.”
- Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly
“As the elderly versions of Allie and Noah, Plunkett and Harewood also tug at our heart strings….and Katie Spelman’s dreamy choreography, which presents a wonderfully fluid vision of time.”
- Zachary Stewart, TheatreMania
The show, which opened Thursday night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre after a hit run at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre…also delivers unexpectedly sophisticated theatricality with the requisite supercharging of the tear ducts, notwithstanding an archly familiar narrative.”
- Chris Jones, The New York Daily News
“…there is something special about Spelman’s new and beautiful production, beginning with how this director has a well- thought-out idea for every moment in this show…it makes a strong case for being the best show this particular company has ever produced. Spelman’s choreography…adds to the simple humanism of the work here.”
—Chris jones, The Chicago Tribune
“In a perfect marriage of artistic skills that joins Katie Spelman’s intuitive, soulful direction and exciting choreography and Matt Deitchman’s intelligent, almost ethereal musical direction…Writers’ intimate version of this musical is absolutely flawless.”
—Colin Douglas, Chicago Theater Review
“To celebrate Day 365, Mulvaney put on a live variety show at the Rockefeller’s Center Rainbow Room. The room was full of well-known faces, from the opening comedy sketch with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan to a dating segment with Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness, to a heartfelt serenade of “You Make Me Feel (Like A Natural Woman)” sung to her facial surgeon. (The online live stream, which ultimately got 20,000 viewers, was so popular that it crashed throughout the night). With tweaked versions of musical theater standards like “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid and “Sisters” from White Christmas, Mulvaney cheekily poked fun at the many missteps and backlashes to her transition, while stringing through the entire night the message that trans youth should always feel safe.”
—CT Jones, Rolling Stone
“in…a reflection of katie spelman’s choreographic expertise, older allie grasps for memories just beyond her reach as people she’s known turn and drift away.”
—Barbara Vitell, The Daily Herald
“absolutely gorgeous - not to be missed.”
— Chris Jones, The Chicago Tribune
"the creative team infuses ad 16 with just enough of ad 2022 for a savvy political bridging of the ages… Katie Spelman’s choreography and Emilio Sosa’s costumes harmonize with the dexterity of the storytelling.”
—Peter Marks, The Washington Post
“…this is revival work of the highest level — and a remarkable showcase of what this young director can do.”
—Chris Jones The Chicago Tribune
“…in director Katie Spelman’s masterful staging, she makes the audience complicit with the monstrous evil encroaching on Berlin and the world around it… the choreography’s evolution is vividly expressive and technically impressive.“
—Catey Sullivan The Chicago Tribune
“…for openers, ms. spelman’s choreography uses the shallow space of the stage so creatively…this ‘oklahoma!’ is as close to ideal as can be imagined.”
—Terry Teachout The Wall Street Journal
“katie spelman’s choreography is witty; the cast members must think as well as dance on their feet.“
—Ben Brantley The New York Times
“…gorgeously staged…Spelman turns her ensemble of women away from being merely acolytes and toward a powerful, supportive tribe….this feminist tilt works quite beautifully.”
—Chris Jones The Chicago Tribune
“…a highly creative production…with the help of some subtle choreography from katie spelman.”
—Chris Jones The Chicago Tribune
….with hypnotic choreography by katie spelman…there is such a sense of alienation and honesty at work here that you can feel the growing pains of the show’s early twenty something characters in all their feverish intensity.”
—Heidi Weiss The Chicago Sun Times