Broadway World - Highly Recommended
"...A semi-finalist at the prestigious National Playwrights Conference in 2021, ACCORDING TO THE CHORUS is another solid offering from the Road Theatre Company, which is a consistently underrated and reliable source of thoughtful and thought-provoking Los Angeles theater."
LA Splash - Recommended
"...ACCORDING TO THE CHORUS is entertaining and showy, and it will probably resonate with those who have been in show business for long enough to remember those “good old days.” It is cute, but not terribly comic; and it will certainly appeal to those with an interest in the history of live theater."
Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended
"...Backstage comedies pretty much have me at hello. No wonder then that I've fallen head over Capezios for According To The Chorus, Arlene Hutton's captivating journey back in time to Broadway circa 1984, the latest World Premiere delight from North Hollywood's Road Theatre Company."
On Stage Los Angeles - Recommended
"...The actual star of the show is Olivia the Dog (Gidgit Carradine) as Mallory's (Maria Spassoff) brand new pup. How director, Emily Chase, got a sweet little Egyptian Spider Dog (Mallory wanted her to have a pedigree) to be so cooperative and even sit on command is a feat of fine directing. Cherish Monique Duke will play Mallory for the remainder of the run. Cherish was a stand out in the recent Antaeus production of "Everybody.""
Hollywood Progressive - Recommended
"...On one level According to the Chorus is mined for its humor, nostalgia and small-bore pathos. But taking place where and when it does, it inevitably addresses not only the growing consciousness about treatment of women, both outside of work and on the job, and the mounting AIDS crisis that absolutely decimates the ranks of the Broadway community-actors, singers, dancers, Equity members, writers, stagehands, dressers. Every other day, in those years at the height of the epidemic, a new death would haunt the survivors' and coworkers' lives."
NoHoArtsDistrict - Highly Recommended
"...There are rivals and jealously and spite, wringing hands and wrung necks, joyful reunions and a depth of being known... but under it all, there is always love. Hard-fought love of course, in this gorgeously funny, sad, poignant, phenomenally acted and fabulously directed play. Bravo Emily Chase!"
Stage Raw - Somewhat Recommended
"...Hutton's denouement also leaves the impression of things left out - interchanges between KJ and the chorus women which might have led to this final scene (with its aura of unkindness) seem to have been cut. This reinforces the impression of a work with a promising premise, meaningful themes, and plum roles for women that's still a couple of versions short of stage readiness."
Ticket Holders LA - Somewhat Recommended
"...Although the sharply designed and expertly performed According to the Chorus is more than entertaining, unfortunately the play itself simply isn't worthy of such a perfectly mounted and detail-oriented production. Although each of the characters has a story to tell, from explaining black eyes to dealing with onstage injuries to whining about food not being allowed in the typically rodent-challenged basement quick change room, we never really get to know anyone besides KJ or, even more importantly, to care much about what happens to any of them."
