Read what the critics and others are saying about HMS Media’s work

Lookingglass Alice

“Could become a seasonal perennial and family tradition… Acrobatic, slapstick, quietly dramatic and magical… the benefits of the television coverage include an intimacy with the performers that a live audience doesn’t get, and makes viewers wish they had been there. Savor the charms of this Alice.”  
— The Wall Street Journal

“Innovative and thrilling… the circus tricks energize and echo the whimsical script… it’s a lovely metaphor for life.”
— Associated Press

“Theater companies are no longer able to do as much school outreach as they used to; video is a different, potentially more feasible way to get the arts to students. I will always support anything that seeds the love of theater in children; Lookingglass Alice could do that.”
— Broadway World

Some Old Black Man

“The actors only ever move between a breakfast bar, dining table and sofa, thrashing out their pasts for almost two hours, but it does not feel static for a moment.”
— The Guardian

Music of the Baroque

“The camera work exhibited careful pacing between changes in camera angles and well-framed close-ups of the soloists’ hands, further accentuating the intimacy of the scene… With so much of the public’s collective experience with live music—or prerecorded music that posits itself to be live—coming through screens, livestreamed concerts like these offer a reminder of the inherent sense of risk involved in a live performance that comes with knowing that there no do-overs, no second chances. The decision to livestream concerts such as this one is a shrewd one on MOB’s part, as its organizers seem to understand that it is the element of spontaneity that in large part lends live performance its magic. This concert, even remotely, came close to replicating that feeling in both its stumbles and most captivating moments.”
— Chicago Classical Review

Dance For Life

“Genius. There are not enough accolades… Nothing short of stunning… beautiful… spectacular.”  
— WGN TV/WGN 720AM

 “HMS may very well possess the greatest gifts for filming dance of anyone around... (They are) masters at work (with) a fabulous understanding of how to film dance in a way that makes it a totally visceral experience… a thrilling work… absolutely ravishing.” 
— Chicago Sun-Times

 “Profound… a stirring, deftly shot celebration… beautiful, illuminating, insightful and uplifting… artful and stunning… HMS are among the top dance documentary filmmakers in America.” 
— Chicago Tribune

First You Dream: The Music of Kander & Ebb

 “The equation couldn't be simpler: a suave songbook plus the right singers equal bang-up entertainment.”
— The Washington Post

 “Not only will it enchant audiences, it should be required viewing.” 
— Variety

A Christmas Carol: The Concert

“Glorious… a stellar dramatic concert (that) gains immeasurably from artful camera work which seamlessly and thrillingly moves from actors, to conductor and musicians, to the glowing, deeply immersed faces of the multi-generational audience.”
— Chicago Sun-Times

 “Offers a new take on a timeless story, blending the sweep of symphonic performance with dramatic musical theatre and the visual delights of dazzling TV.”
— The Huffington Post

 “A Christmas present that deserves many a Christmas-Yet-to-Come.”  
— Think TV

Steppenwolf Theatre Company: 25 Years On The Edge

 “Takes a simple approach to complex and insightful ends... It’s not an easy thing for such a film to cut through the pomp and circumstance to get to the substance beneath, but HMS Media pulls it off. Steppenwolf benefits from that. So does the viewer.”
— The Daily Herald

Second To None

“A documentary about The Second City ought to be, first and foremost, funny, and Second To None meets the test... it captures on video a very elusive thing: the birth and growth of comedy... artful… with skillful editing and what seems a dogged pursuit of the subject... it is fascinating throughout.”  
— Chicago Tribune

“Astonishing… Fascinating as a peek into the workings of comic minds… There’s poignancy, too.”  
— Chicago Sun-Times

 “(This is) The Second City process caught for the first time, and a hell of a lot of lightning has been caught in a bottle.”  
— American Theater 

The Chicago Dance Project

 “Valuable, effective and, best of all, whimsical and fresh arts television… aims a dust mop at public television's venerable but sometimes cobwebbed approach to dance programming… beautifully designed to show off the variety, to focus on individual talents and, in scene after scene, excerpt after excerpt, to explore the flesh-and-blood beauty and passion of a visceral, accessible art.”  
— Chicago Tribune

 “Expertly shot and invaluable in helping spread the gospel of dance.”
— Chicago Sun-Times

 “The most thorough and important documentation of Chicago dance ever done.”
— WBEZ/NPR Chicago

Jump Rhythm Jazz Project: Getting There

"Highly enjoyable... thoughtfully shot... amply demonstrates the troupe's mix of effervescent material and sly, backhanded commentary... Fred Astaire and the Nicholas Brothers are smiling." 
— Chicago Tribune

 “Gives the viewer a unique look inside creative inspiration. Both strangers to the company and longtime fans will be surprised and delighted."  
— Windy City Times

Every Dancer Has A Story

 “One of the best dance films to arrive on television since the fabled PBS ‘Dance in America’... Gorgeously composed…superb camera work… brilliantly edited… gives a whole new appreciation for this hugely demanding art form… TV audiences (will be) racing to the box office for tickets.”
— Chicago Sun-Times

 “Breezy and beguiling… sneaks up on you and touches on critical insights… HMS has mastered the tricky elusive art of dance photography, capturing both choreographic design and intimacy… sways true believer and skeptic alike.”  
— Chicago Tribune

  “Striking, raw and real.”
— Chicago Reader

 “This is special stuff.  Beautifully produced… substantial and sensitive. The company looks gorgeous throughout.”
— Time Out Chicago

Just Passing Through

 “You don’t have to be a fan of singer/songwriters Shawn Colvin, Julia Fordham and October Project to enjoy this nifty documentary... through a combination of deft editing, intelligent questioning and wise subject choice, the filmmakers present a rich and revealing portrait... it’s a vibrant portrait of the artists’ offstage life that almost anybody who’s attended a concert has wondered about.”
— Chicago Tribune

Through The Night

 “A multiple-personality live wire that keeps the audience spellbound… seamless… brilliant.” 
— The Jewish Times

“Uncanny… a fast-changing, often comic emotional collage… Beaty is a moving and eloquent performer, fully convinced of the power of theater to heal hearts and change lives.” — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Beaty ties it all together beautifully… you might be surprised at how deep it is as it successfully tackles religion, parental and personal responsibility, self-esteem and relationships… well worth your time.”
— The Southern Voice

“A positive message of hope, driving it home not with preaching but with powerful suggestion.”
— Winston Salem Journal

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago: Always In Motion

 “Exceptionally revealing... filmed with exemplary musicality... with skillful direction, the program’s rehearsal and studio performance sequences have been sensitively filmed.”
— Chicago Sun-Times

Why Am I Hiding?

 “This is a powerful, thought-provoking and informative documentary.”
— Chicago Tribune

“A hard-hitting documentary.”  
— Chicago Sun-Times