Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Call me naïve, but I prefer tragedies that offer at least a kernel of hope that “maybe it will turn out this time,” to quote the Greek mythology-inspired musical “Hadestown.” For me, that’s the missing piece in “’night, Mother.” At no point does it appear that Thelma will succeed in her efforts to change Jessie’s mind. While this inevitability may be true to life, who does it help? From the perspective of many viewers, whether they’ve struggled with suicidal ideation or loved someone who has, surely, it’s better to leave the theater with a sense that staying alive is both possible and desirable."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...While I wasn’t already familiar with Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, ?night, Mother, this profound story of grief, isolation, and personal crises has stirred my soul. Set during one fateful night between a suicidal daughter and the aging mother she’s been caring for, ?night, Mother is an edge-of-your-seat heartbreaker."
Stage and Cinema
- Recommended
"...‘night, Mother touches on a whole host of issues: abandonment, isolation, mental health, and crippling depression. There’s a cruel irony in the fact that it is the success of Jessie’s new medication that initiates these events. It has given her a year of clarity. A year in which she has had time to evaluate her life and decide that she no longer wants to continue."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...It is just another Saturday night. A mother and daughter are at home doing routine things. A harrowing evening unfolds between these two ordinary women in a completely ordinary setting in a small ordinary town. As you sit in the immersive, intimate Red Twist Theatre, Marsha Norman’s ‘night, Mother comes to life immediately with intimate details in the lives of an aging, dependent mother and her mentally deteriorating daughter."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...Mother-daughter relationships are somehow deemed different. More seminal than the bond between a father and son. More instinctive than between sisters. When trust is broken, all bets can certainly be off. But that doesn't seem to be the case for Thelma and Jesse, a mom and her daughter who live together in Marsha Norman's magnificent 'night Mother, just opening at Redtwist Theatre in Edgewater. They have a balance and flow that suggests a seasoned understanding. A harmonic acceptance of their lives together."
Werner's Theatre Reviews
- Recommended
"...Redtwist Theatre concludes its Season of Femme with Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play ‘Night, Mother. Premiering in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1982, the play later moved to Broadway and earned three Tony Award nominations, including Best Play. A challenging work centered on mental health and suicide awareness, ‘Night, Mother offers powerful roles and performances for its female actors."
