The First “Cuckoo’s Nest” Review

Feb 8, 2010 by Joe Von Bokern    No Comments    Posted under: Thousands of Stories

Opening weekend of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is in the books, which means it’s time to await the reviews!

I Googled our production this morning and found our first review, written by Timothy McGuire at ChicagoCritic.com.

Sadly, it wasn’t well-received by Mr. McGuire (I suppose “brutally disheartening” would be a better descriptor). But, for the sake of honest, unbiased analysis and conversation, I’d like to share some excerpts from his review:

“Miss cast, sloppy costumes and poorly directed, the classic play written by Dale Wasserman is butchered and left me unexpectedly bored.”

“…characters are never developed…”

“This production is sloppy; from the clumsy blocking to the doctor’s untied tie…”

Thankfully, we managed to leave one positive impression:

“The daunting task of starting a new theatre company is one to be commended and I enjoyed watching the passion and efforts put forth by everyone involved.  Their company is working for respectable causes and institutions that help the Greater Chicagoland area, and they attracted an enthusiastic fun crowd to hang out with on opening night… Keep your eye on Consortium Project… They’ll come back strong.”

I feel truly blessed to have worked with an incredibly gifted group of artists during this 4-month long process, and it doesn’t surprise me that our passion leaves a strong impression on those who watch us. This particular production may be a bit rough around the edges, but every single person involved is extremely dedicated to his or her craft, and that’s worth more than all the good reviews in the world. You can’t have art with out passion, and I give this cast and crew a five-star rating in that respect.

I’ll write more entries as the reviews come out. In the meantime, you can read the ChicagoCritic.com review in its entirety here.

~JVB

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