Review Roundup: Critics Sound Off On MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL at Goodman Theatre

What did the critics think of Goodman Theatre's world-premiere musical Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? The musical is a stage adaptation of John Berendt’s iconic non-fiction book—brought to life by creators MacArthur “Genius” Grantee Taylor Mac (book), Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (music and lyrics) with choreography by Tanya Birl-Torres.

Tony Award winner Rob Ashford directs a cast led by Tony- and Grammy-Award winning actor J. Harrison Ghee as The Lady Chablis; Tony Award nominee Tom Hewitt as Jim Williams; and Olivier Award nominee Sierra Boggess as Emma Dawes; the full company follows. The world-premiere production of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has been extended through August 11.

Southern charm is bountiful in Savannah, Georgia. But behind polite smiles, the eccentric residents are filled with secrets and motives. When wealthy antiques dealer Jim Williams is accused of murder, the sensational trial uncovers hidden truths and exposes the fine line between good and evil—which sparks Lady Chablis and other Savannahians to change the city forever. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil—John Berendt’s 1994 blockbuster non-fiction book, a Pulitzer-Prize finalist that was on the New York Times Best-Seller list for 216 weeks—becomes a seductive new musical.

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune: This show, evocatively designed by Christopher Oram, is something new, weird and gutsy enough to jettison most conventional expectations. Like many pre-Broadway tryouts, it has its strengths and weaknesses and a wildly uneven second half of a second act that suggests everyone simply ran out of enough time to fashion an ending that really satisfies.

Rachel Weinberg, BroadwayWorld: MIDNIGHT is a visual marvel. Oram’s sets and James’s costumes are gorgeous. Lighting designers Neil Austin and Jamie Platt also have particularly astute work; I appreciated the horror movie vibes of the lighting in the second act ensemble number “Reasonable Doubt,” in which the townspeople debate Williams’s guilt. That said, Tanya Birl-Torres’s choreography seems lost in the shuffle. MIDNIGHT’S not a dancey show, but I think Birl-Torres’s movement patterns also seemed haphazard at times.

Steven Oxman, Variety: Taken purely on its own terms, the musical (now premiering at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago) has an abundance of riches and certainly gets off to a great start. In the atmospheric Bonaventure Cemetery, voodoo priestess Minerva (Brianna Buckley) summons the town’s ghosts and we immediately become aware of the split nature of the past. Tom Hewitt, as the antiques dealer Jim Williams — white, rich, gay and therefore both insider and outsider —  then proceeds to welcome the writer (that’s us, the audience) to town with a cocktail offer, delivering some of the most perfect opening lyrics of what is likely composer Jason Robert Brown’s best score to date: “Raise your glass and sing a high hosanna/You who pine for fine Americana./Let me welcome you to sweet Savannah./What a lovely place to die!”

Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times:  “Midnight” looks and sounds great. Christopher Oram’s set feels thick with humidity and ghosts as the action unfurls under the Spanish moss cloaking Bonaventure Cemetery. Conductor Thomas Murray’s 12-strong orchestra sounds lush and intricate. The macabre, unearthly bones of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” are in place. Brown and Mac need to find a way to integrate them into the overarching plot, while making them gleam with the luminosity of the Lady Chablis.

Jessie Bond, Splash Magazine: The performances are exceptional. Tom Hewitt hits it out of the park as Jim, absolutely oozing Southern charm but also successfully capturing the character’s vulnerabilities. Sierra Boggess is hysterical as antagonist Emma Dawes, hitting all the comedic beats with skill while also lending a certain sinister air to Emma’s obsession with Southern history. But the real gem of the production is J. Harrison Ghee, whose portrayal of the Lady Chablis is packed with fierceness, sass, and a deep sense of humanity. Their powerful rendition of “More Room” brought tears to my eyes and the audience to its feet. 

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