TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION
"From Green’s cast there are some stand out performances – Jennifer Mathews’ Irish mother and Netta Walker’s specter of a schoolgirl come to mind. Yet the true strength of the performance is the expertly crafted ensemble of twenty-two actors."
-Bec Willet, Performink
-Bec Willet, Performink
"The piece is full of strong performances. Standouts in the cast include David Lawrence Hamilton as a Tutsi victim of Hutu violence, Monette McLin as an obstinate South African woman in mourning, and Ann James and Jennifer Mathews as a pair of Irish mothers who must face their sons' actions."
-Adelaide Lee, TheaterMania
-Adelaide Lee, TheaterMania
BETTY'S SUMMER VACATION
Non-Equity Jeff Award Nomination, Supporting Actress
"The evening belongs to Jennifer Mathews as Mrs. Siezmagraff, the hostess whose maniacal embrace of joie de vivre eclipses rationality."
-Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
"The cast (especially Jennifer Mathews as the relentlessly obtuse, drunken hostess of the group) understands how to play the farce and high-pitched absurdity."
-Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
"Jennifer Mathews as a delusional matriarch is totally at home in Durang's world, both hilarious and crazy to the core."
-Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
"Shining moments delivered from Jennifer Mathews as the frenetic, oblivious, narcissistic and sex-charged Mrs. Siezmagraff. Mathews is commanding and explosive in this larger-than-life role."
-Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago Magazine
-Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
"The cast (especially Jennifer Mathews as the relentlessly obtuse, drunken hostess of the group) understands how to play the farce and high-pitched absurdity."
-Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
"Jennifer Mathews as a delusional matriarch is totally at home in Durang's world, both hilarious and crazy to the core."
-Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
"Shining moments delivered from Jennifer Mathews as the frenetic, oblivious, narcissistic and sex-charged Mrs. Siezmagraff. Mathews is commanding and explosive in this larger-than-life role."
-Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago Magazine
ESCAPE FROM HAPPINESS
"Once the story shifts to Jennifer Mathews as the eldest sister (the one with the temper, but also with the most horse sense), the production becomes insanely focused. 'She's worse than guys I've met in prison who kill people with saws,' is how one person describes her, but Mathews has a very clear and precise idea of how to make this hair-trigger personality believable. When she spits out her dialogue, the words that emerge might as well be sharp, tiny, angular sculptures covered in glossy black lacquer."
-Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
"Jennifer Mathews creates a grounding force. She is infinitely present, infinitely compelling and infinitely intelligent as oldest sister Elizabeth. Mathews uncovers the only honest emotional reality of the story, even in the midst of her most insanely explosive scenes. Extraordinary."
-Venus Zarris, ChicagoStageReview.com
-Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
"Jennifer Mathews creates a grounding force. She is infinitely present, infinitely compelling and infinitely intelligent as oldest sister Elizabeth. Mathews uncovers the only honest emotional reality of the story, even in the midst of her most insanely explosive scenes. Extraordinary."
-Venus Zarris, ChicagoStageReview.com
THE CRUCIBLE
"Elizabeth Proctor [is] brilliantly realized by Jennifer Mathews. Mathews creates the shocking terror of the times with subtlety and restraint that is lovely, breathtaking and almost poetic."
-Venus Zarris, ChicagoStageReview.com
"In an unadorned performance as Elizabeth, Jennifer Mathews glows with real righteousness, an unforgettable moment of human strength that needs no allusion." -Megan Powell, Time Out Chicago
-Venus Zarris, ChicagoStageReview.com
"In an unadorned performance as Elizabeth, Jennifer Mathews glows with real righteousness, an unforgettable moment of human strength that needs no allusion." -Megan Powell, Time Out Chicago
THE GRAPES OF WRATH
"It is the Ma Joad of Jennifer Mathews - an actress of glorious emotional heat and depth - who helms this show as a loving, protective, life-affirming and indomitable matriarch."
-Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"Especially rich and moving work from Jennifer Mathews as Ma Joad, plugging away for [her] struggling family."
-Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
"Leading the charge, Jennifer Mathews gives Ma Joad haunting dignity and humor. She provides a forceful center for the other powerful performers to orbit around."
-Brian Kirst, Chicago Free Press
"Jennifer Mathews holds the entire show together as Ma Joad. Mathews gives strength to vulnerability and common sense to madness...a woman strong enough to prop up a family of broken men."
-J. Scott Hill, ChicagoStageReview.com
-Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"Especially rich and moving work from Jennifer Mathews as Ma Joad, plugging away for [her] struggling family."
-Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
"Leading the charge, Jennifer Mathews gives Ma Joad haunting dignity and humor. She provides a forceful center for the other powerful performers to orbit around."
-Brian Kirst, Chicago Free Press
"Jennifer Mathews holds the entire show together as Ma Joad. Mathews gives strength to vulnerability and common sense to madness...a woman strong enough to prop up a family of broken men."
-J. Scott Hill, ChicagoStageReview.com
MY THING OF LOVE
Chicago Reader Critics Pick for Year, Theater Performance (Jack Helbig)
"Jennifer Mathews improved on Laurie Metcalf's [original] performance...where Metcalf as the beleaguered wife treated her lines as a sitcom audition, Mathews played the character's serious side, turning scenes that at Steppenwolf had been mildly funny into some of the evening's most moving moments."
-Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
"The central performance of the play is Jennifer Mathews' wronged wife Elly. Mathews conveys an acid resentment so corrosive to make one momentarily sympathetic to [husband] Jack, and then readily switches gears to reveal the devastation his actions have caused her. Ferocious and tender, resolute and broken, the rich tones of Mathews' portrait push this production beyond the relatively easy laughs of Gersten's situations."
-John Beer, New City
"Jennifer Mathews' fascinating portrayal of Elly, the betrayed wife, elevates this production to a must-see level. Her eccentric characterization is filled with unique comic timing that catches you off guard and vicious dramatic moments that remarkably create the range of emotion one is faced with when their foundation is shattered."
-Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago Magazine
-Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
"The central performance of the play is Jennifer Mathews' wronged wife Elly. Mathews conveys an acid resentment so corrosive to make one momentarily sympathetic to [husband] Jack, and then readily switches gears to reveal the devastation his actions have caused her. Ferocious and tender, resolute and broken, the rich tones of Mathews' portrait push this production beyond the relatively easy laughs of Gersten's situations."
-John Beer, New City
"Jennifer Mathews' fascinating portrayal of Elly, the betrayed wife, elevates this production to a must-see level. Her eccentric characterization is filled with unique comic timing that catches you off guard and vicious dramatic moments that remarkably create the range of emotion one is faced with when their foundation is shattered."
-Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago Magazine
THE KENTUCKY CYCLE
Non-Equity Jeff Awards & After Dark Awards, Outstanding Ensemble and Production
"The acting is on a hugely impressive level throughout, with Jennifer Mathews particularly formidable as the woman who stands up for the union."
-Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"In Mary Anne's eyes, expertly played by Jennifer Mathews, there is the fire that reveals she is a Rowan."
-Brandon Hayes, ChicagoCritic.com
"Jennifer Mathews gifts us an impassioned performance."
-Novid Parsi, Time Out Chicago
-Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"In Mary Anne's eyes, expertly played by Jennifer Mathews, there is the fire that reveals she is a Rowan."
-Brandon Hayes, ChicagoCritic.com
"Jennifer Mathews gifts us an impassioned performance."
-Novid Parsi, Time Out Chicago
VIEUX CARRE
"As the landlady whose strident voice and fiery temper hide a deep sorrow, Jennifer Mathews commands the stage from her first appearance."
-Mary Shen Barnidge, Chicago Reader
"The characters are operatic in proportion, especially the landlady, Mrs. Wire (an astute performance by Jennifer Mathews), who presides over her mildewed fiefdom with a sharp-edged nuttiness that is both comical and frightening."
-Nina Metz, New City
-Mary Shen Barnidge, Chicago Reader
"The characters are operatic in proportion, especially the landlady, Mrs. Wire (an astute performance by Jennifer Mathews), who presides over her mildewed fiefdom with a sharp-edged nuttiness that is both comical and frightening."
-Nina Metz, New City
NEVER IN MY LIFETIME
"Jennifer Mathews conquers brilliantly one of the toughest challenges a playwright can throw at an actor. She stands alone in a spotlight, getting no help from other actors or from a set or props...but Mathews speaks her character's words with such soul-rooted conviction that her every syllable riveted me. Her face effortlessly shapes itself to the anxiety, bewilderment and sorrow of the soldier's wife. She measures every moment to rhythms that grow from the core of the character."
-Bob Wilcox, Riverfront Times
-Bob Wilcox, Riverfront Times
