CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Chris Jones

4 Stars “…When the Rain Stops Falling," the deeply moving Australian play by Andrew Bovell now in a richly textured and searingly honest production from director John Gawlik at the Circle Theatre in Oak Park…”

“On the contrary, the small, rapt, deeply involved audience on Saturday night leaned into the show hungrily, seeking its center. And, glancing around as I often do, I could see several people wiping their eyes. That's a tribute to Gawlik's no-nonsense, superbly cast and completely unpretentious staging—and to a fleet of formidably honest performances from a strikingly gruff and unstinting cast, made up mostly of older Chicago actors clearly uninterested in cheap moves or other such worthless nonsense, and profoundly connected to the depth of this material.”

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

Hedy Weiss

"Recommended. …Director John Gawlik’s expert staging, in conjunction with his formidable cast of nice (who clearly did their dialect homework), keeps you listening as men and women betray each other in emotionally and sexually perverse ways, as parents bury the truth from their children.”

TIMEOUT CHICAGO

Oliver Sava

4 Stars! “All four women are exceptional, and Keberlein reaches the emotional high point of the production with her devastating breakdown late in the play. There’s a sense of comfort and familiarity among the cast even though most of the characters never interact with each other. When they sit together at the table, their relationships transcend time and space, and they become a family united.”

THE CHICAGO READER

Zac Thompson

“Recommended. Inasmuch as Circle Theatre usually sticks to crowd-pleasing musicals and comedies, John Gawlik's sensitive and layered staging comes as a welcome surprise. Likewise, the cast turn in performances distinguished by their depth and quiet honesty “

WINDY CITY TIMES

Jonathan Abarbanel

Highly Recommended! " Kudos to Circle Theatre for presenting a new (2008) Australian play, a bastion of English-speaking theater all but ignored by Chicago (and American) directors. This award-winning play by Andrew Bovell also is a highly literate piece of work, the type of play I'd expect to see at Writers' Theatre, City Lit or Eclipse Theatre.

" Director John Gawlik has coaxed lovely and poignant performances, across a wide emotional range, from all nine members of his ensemble. Even at a final preview, they didn't sound a single false note. And the projection-based design concept by Bob Knuth (set) and Kevin Bellie (projections) is visual poetry perfectly pitched to the play, with vast landscapes and smoky cityscapes.

See this one, a touch of real beauty at Circle Theatre.