Tune in to critics’ responses to RADIO GOLF
Critics across Chicagoland highly recommend August Wilson’s Radio Golf, with the Chicago Tribune awarding the production four stars and boldly claiming that “Radio Golf was never considered August Wilson’s best — then it came to Court Theatre.” Audiences and critics alike agree that Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson’s production is as excellent as it is prescient. See for yourself what the buzz is about; get tickets to Radio Golf.
“Parson, though, is the first I’ve seen to foreground the twinkling humor in Radio Golf, to let it breathe, to give it a beating heart, to embrace its life force. He’s a director who always insists on calamitously high stakes, which is true here although often overlooked with Wilson, but what will stick with you is just how relaxed you will feel watching the show, safe in the company of some masterful actors who understand that you have to live, you have to be believed, before you can teach.”
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, ★★★★ Highly Recommended
“…resonates with same anger, love and cynical humor that make his plays seem more like sacred texts than play scripts. Director Ron OJ Parson is an experienced interpreter of Wilson’s chronicles of African-American life, and this production is yet another vibrant, rough-hewn gem.”
—Alex Huntsberger, Chicago Sun-Times, ★★★½ Highly Recommended
“Court Theatre is presenting a brilliant (and, yes, masterful) interpretation of this play that is something that shouldn’t be missed…Parson has created a definitive production of this show, allowing it to take the place it deserves as the final piece of an ambitious accomplishment. Wilson would be proud.”
—Karen Topham, Chicago On Stage, ★★★★ Highly Recommended
“There is an urgency and relevance to Radio Golf that Wilson’s other, more historical plays cannot quite match, and those qualities shine in a particularly brilliant fashion in Court Theatre’s new production of the play…marvelous and invigorating.”
—Peter Thomas Ricci, Chicago Theatre Reviews, Highly Recommended
“Allen Gillmore expertly heads up Court Theatre’s five-person powerhouse ensemble…Radio Golf feels like home to anyone who has had the pleasure of being intimately involved in the African-American experience, and welcomes the rest of America to peer through the window, feel the warmth and also perhaps catch a glimpse their own reflection.”
—Sheri Flanders, Chicago Reader, Highly Recommended
“…revelatory, brilliantly acted…there are many priceless speeches to be heard here – written as only [Wilson] could write them, with the loopy, circuitous logic of a man who sees the power of common sense and life experience in contrast to ‘the law.’”
—Hedy Weiss, WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, Highly Recommended
“Parson, who continuously shows us why he is one of Chicago’s greatest asset to the theater world, masterfully brought Radio Golf together and provided the vigor and painful truths of deceit to the forefront in Radio Golf.”
—Rick and Brenda McCain, The Chicago Defender Let’s Play, Highly Recommended
“This sober and angry new production by master director Ron OJ Parson and a splendid cast shows me how wrong I’ve been…a revelation to those, like me, who thought they knew it.”
—Jonathan Abarbanel, Windy City Times, Highly Recommended
“…a most gratifying experience. Parson’s ability to capitalize on how characters project emotions within a defined space always finds a magical sweet spot of confinement.Great writing time travels and breathes meaning into an entirely different dimension while gaining even greater relevancy to newcomers.”
—Naima Dawson, PerformInk, Highly Recommended
“There is an urgency and relevance to Radio Golf that Wilson’s other, more historical plays cannot quite match, and those qualities shine in a particularly brilliant fashion in Court Theatre’s new production of the play…marvelous and invigorating.”
—Peter Thomas Ricci, Chicago Theatre Reviews, Highly Recommended
“Steeped with metaphors...the poetry of this script moves deep and deeper still. A classic for the ages.”
—Amy Munice, Picture this Post, Highly Recommended
“A timely and propulsive revival at Court Theatre… a powerful and engrossing dialectic that offers much food for thought and few answers. Parson’s interpretation creates a sense of community and warm comradery among the characters, which accentuates the fact that the real threat lies beyond the action onstage. Given the surging poetry of Wilson’s script, it seems that this is the production that Wilson was writing to receive.”
—Kerstin Broockmann, Buzz Center Stage, Highly Recommended
Photo of Allen Gilmore and James Vincent Meredith by Michael Brosilow.