"Unquestionably Eden Creek is a masterfully moving triumph, a true testament to the power of a well-crafted experience and the creative potency of Chicago’s longest existing immersive company.
Tying Eden Creek’s brilliance together is its ingenious production design and staging. Mirroring the music’s minimalist nature, the production only utilizes several benches, a table-like structure, and (mostly) handheld lights. Throughout the experience, the crew quietly moves around, placing and switching on lights to great, dramatic effect. It’s impressive how masterfully a sweet family dinner is manipulated into a sinister flashback by stark, crimson light filling the space from harsh, low angles underscored by audible “clicks” thundering around the audience. Eden Creek is a fantastic showcase of less is truly more, especially when intentional sensory awareness is laced within an experience’s spectacle.
With a powerful narrative that is exquisitely performed and presented, The Last Days of Eden Creek is a profoundly phenomenal experience. It’s a testament to Birch House Immersive’s growth as a creative ensemble, confident in their skills and their understanding of the craft, rivaling any of the greats working today."
“Birch House’s knack for telling impactful, human stories with nuanced characters shines through here and cements them as a must-see in the growing Chicago immersive scene. By the time the three surviving sailors raised their pints for the second toast – the toast at pint’s end – I realized I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.”
“I was sold well before the final toast, but there’s much to admire, particularly Janie Killips’ arrangements of classic Irish folk music, as well as beguiling, yearning original music of her own…I’ll gladly stand ‘pon the shore for what Killips and her fellow writer/director/producer Lauren N. Fields offer up next.”
“The course set by Birch House Immersive shows that not only do they respect the stories of the sea, but, indeed, they’ve mastered them.”
“Birch House’s Cursed Brings True Emotion to An American Tragedy”
“Cursed delivers spooky in all the well-earned ways.”
“Historical Thrills Brought By Birch House”
"The Big Dance’s climax cultivates into a heartwarming message of cooperation over competition. Out of context, they’re the classic cliches about how people are stronger together and there’s more to life than winning. But when expertly and sincerely conveyed by talented artists, it feels profound and provocative. If Birch House has mastered one thing in all these years, it’s building and fostering inclusive communities that seamlessly brings diverse, random audiences successfully together.
Lonely Hearts: The Big Dance is a delightful mixture of Birch House Immersive’s robust tried-and-true formula and refreshingly bold choices on audience engagement. Chicago’s incredibly fortunate to have such a warm and welcoming group of artists reminding audiences how love and community is what this fractured world needs now more than ever."
"As always, my interactions with the radiant characters of the Lonely Hearts universe remain utterly delightful and profoundly moving. A private dance with a young spirit performed by Christina Renee Jones broke my heart, appreciating the complex importance of saying “I love you” more often to people. And while this year’s tarot reading from Jubilus didn’t bring me to tears, Leary’s ability to create a safe place among strangers is extraordinary. But the highlight was finally interacting with Gentlewoman Giles Henry, performed by Birch House co-founder Janie Killips, after all these years. Stationed behind a piano, playing little ditties as we spoke in a group, Henry’s bombastic nature faded into shocking vulnerability, a surprising versatility from Killips that left me pondering the nature of public personas."
"The evening’s pièce de résistance is the board game itself...While there’s initial hesitation among my table, after the first questions we realized not only can we trust the cards, but each other. By the game’s end, secrets, laughs, looks, promises, and dances are shared between us. I started Lonely Hearts with strangers but ended it with friends, being a night I’ll cherish for years...Between the ever-captivating performances, adopting elements from their remote experiences, and deliberately empowering the audience, Birch House Immersive has pushed themselves into a new chapter of artistic and immersive ingenuity with Lonely Hearts: The Game.”
"Special Delivery is a welcome and invigorating change of pace, the well-worn formula of being shuffled from between performers on a track unable to be duplicated for mail delivery. Each package is filled to the brim, seemingly never-ending with how intricately it’s been prepared. Audience interaction and usage has been carefully planned out, maximizing both discovery and dramatics. There are notes and objects wrapped within letters, allowing the audience to make connections instinctively. Also, each item is incredibly detailed and clearly carefully constructed.”
“While it is often difficult to lean into the pandemic as an element of a story, Birch House Immersive threads the needle successfully; there’s a kindness and safeness to all the encounters with various denizens of the Lonely Hearts world. The characters make themselves vulnerable and easy to connect with, while balancing between opportunities for the participant to share their own experience as to what life in lockdown has been like.”
“Lonely Hearts: The Sweethearts Soirée was a beautiful meditation on the human need to feel love. I laughed, I cried, and I didn’t want it to end. As I left the apartment, surrounded by friends, my heart was full, and I certainly felt anything but lonely.”
“So like the quest so many couples find themselves upon to celebrate a personal and meaningful Valentine’s Day, Birch House Immersive continues to explore, grow, and foster the experiences the audience can have in each year with Lonely Hearts, ensuring that each year is as romantic as the last one for all involved.
