Tribune, Time Out Gives North Center’s ‘Columbinus’ 4 Stars

Never mind The Book of Mormon. American Theater Company’s performance of Columbinus is snagging a lot of buzz, and plenty of stars.

Located near the corner of North Lincoln Avenue and West Byron Street, the show earned four stars by both the Chicago Tribune and Time Out Chicago. Critics are saying it’s a play “you don’t want to miss,” according to the Tribune.

Based on the 1999 school shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, the performance is no light topic. The Tribune’s critic Chris Jones says some parts even puts the audience in a bit of shock.

“In essence, this new version of "Columbinus" now contains the back story, the day itself and the reflective aftermath, cathartic in some ways (it's striking how many of the Columbine survivors went into the caring professions) but also deeply unsettling,” Jones writes. “At the end of Act 2, which contains a re-creation of what happened in the school library and is very hard to watch, nobody in the audience moved a muscle. No applause. Just silence.”

The show’s revival adds more to the already acclaimed original, according to Time Out Chicago. The publication’s critic Kris Vire says a third act is added to take the audience through the aftermath of the school shooting, up to other, more recent mass shootings.

“Still, on the whole this production improves on the original columbinus, which felt well-meaning but unintentionally exploitative,” Vire writes. “With its additions, and in Paparelli’s strong staging featuring a heartfelt, achingly honest cast, the play finds a new power.”

Read the Chicago Trubine’s full review of Columbinus.

Read Time Out Chicago’s full review of Columbinus.