

![]()
|
|
![]()
|
""Kinda schlocky. Kinda brilliant. Totally fun."
--Fabrizio O. Almeida
"Aggie Hewitt's hilarious take on the legendary Lizzy Borden parricide forgoes raunch and easy laughs, bubbling instead with smart dialogue and stranger-than-fiction historical curiosities, while Lisa McQueen's solid music bolsters the story with quirky charm." --Keith Griffith
"...any comedy that includes a hilarious Sondheim-esque number about the floor plan of the Borden house (and why this turns Lizzie into a ticking time bomb) deserves some attention. And when Jennifer Estlin (fully committed as Lizzie's put-upon stepmother) breaks out in a Carole King(sic)-inspired ballad (with confetti!), it nearly brings down the house."--Nina Metz
"Just who is Lizzie Borden to the average person today—a reclaimed feminist icon from the 19th-century or a poor little rich girl gone really, really bad? Lisa McQueen (music and lyrics) and Aggie Hewitt (book and lyrics) get to have it both ways with their masterful musical comedy 40 Whacks, now playing Fridays at the Annoyance Theatre. ... I, of course, am screaming for more and I hope Annoyance’s audiences will too." --Paige Listerud
"...this sketch-ish show bravely eschews contemporary-ness for Victorian-style laughs, and they no doubt came up with something that is as funny now as if it came out in the Gay Nineties. ... Not many can mine humor from notorious murders of the 19th-Century, so Marquette, Hewitt, and cast should pat themselves on the back." --Barry Eitel
"Consider the drought broken with the pleasurably perverse Swear
Jar--a Second City-style revue without the content restrictions. ...
"A supremely committed cast ... brings warmth to this darkly funny
show." --Steve Heisler
"The dissident style of “Swear Jar” is a breath of fresh air in a comedic world filled with stale political and healthcare jokes." ... "To put it simply, it’s crude and experimental comedy at its finest and frankly you’re not going to find a funnier bang for your buck. -- Kendall Hartenstine"
"the best material in Swear Jar makes for an intelligent, rip-roaring showcase that takes the Second City-style revue and gives it a perverted, giddy twist." --Jason Heidemann
"Director Dunbar Dicks, composer Sean Sykes, and the cast create a charming pastiche of old-fashioned musical comedy."
"...this funny show was significant in the development of Chicago comedy. And it's good to see it back, replete with some original cast members looking much the same Older, yes. Classier, no. Huzzah!"
"...a filthy, sometimes depraved, musical with real heart... It succeeds in shocking with one line and charming with the next." -Mathew Rose
-fringereport.com
"Chicagoland features some of the smartest improv hands in town — "
"Messing is a colossal talent."

