Lombardi wasn't perfect; play isn't, either

The reviews are in for "Lombardi: The Only Thing," a Madison Repertory Theatre production that debuted last week at the Playhouse at the Overture Center on State Street in downtown Madison.

Those reviews are mixed, but generally complimentary.

Here's a sampling from four Madison newspapers and two others:

The Wisconsin State Journal: "'The Only Thing' shows Lombardi on the downside of his career, a Pepto-Bismol-guzzling autocrat struggling with fading success, hungry reporters and players demanding fat contracts. ... (A dream sequence set in the Milwaukee airport is) a cheap-trick play that undermines the building drama and transforms the proceedings into 'Lombardi: A Christmas Carol.'"

The Capital Times: "Despite a raft of conflicting behaviors, Lombardi himself does not seem complex, which makes playwright Eric Simonson's revelations about the Brooklyn, N.Y., native both frustrating and endearing. In the end, however, it's as close as any of us will ever get to understanding the humanity behind one of football's true heroes. For that achievement alone, the play succeeds."

Isthmus: "Simonson has constructed a fantasy around a series of conversations Lombardi has in his mind while suffering through a blackout caused by his ill health. ... At the play's conclusion, Lombardi's theatrical alter ego delivers a moving homily to the power of loving what is imperfect. From a man who could tolerate nothing less than perfection in anything or anyone, these are rare words. Simonson has found a way to make good on them."

The Daily Cardinal: "This is not a play about Lombardi, however, as a mythic football hero, the greatest coach in gridiron history whose quotations are constantly scratched on inspirational posters. This is a play about Lombardi, a complex and flawed man. He is a character like Willy Loman from 'Death of a Salesman,' or King Lear. He is remembered as football’s patron saint, but somewhere in all of that he was also a human being."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Although Chicago actor Jeff Still doesn't have Lombardi's imposing physical bulk, he plays big, to borrow from basketball terminology. Still has captured the coach's abrupt speaking style, purposeful facial expression and organic gravitas. There is no doubt he is Vince Lombardi."

Chicago Tribune: " Stuck in Miami after losing the postseason 'toilet bowl,' a testy Lombardi is fighting off invasive reporters, needy players and the start of the intestinal troubles that would later kill him. ... Thanks to a gutsy, uncompromising performance from the relentless Chicago actor Jeff Still, we smell one of those tragic American colossi undermined by his own hubris and the niggling rules and regulations that are as much as a part of America -- and its gladiatorial sports -- as its heroes. ... Then after about a half-hour of this back-office realism, Simonson completely blows up the reality of his own play. The explosion doesn't work, but you admire it nonetheless. ... Like the film-obsessed Lombardi, Simonson should review the current footage and regroup."

Simonson -- a 1982 graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton -- based the play on David Maraniss' biography of Lombardi, "When Pride Still Mattered."

"Lombardi: The Only Thing" runs through Dec. 2. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $16 to $48. Information: (608) 258-4141, the Madison Repertory Theatre or the Overture Center.

-- Jeff Ash, jash@greenbaypressgazette.com