​You don’t need to love country music...to love this play. Roberts leads a fantastic ensemble...See this play as soon as you possibly can. - The Chicago Reader

The execution is very good. Even at a preview the actors gave strong, committed performances...  - Windy City Times

★★★★★ Though generally interspersed with laugh-out-loud moments and dialogue ...at its core,  it is about heartbreak, disillusionment, ambition, infidelity, and loneliness... - Around the Town Chicago

​Recommended There are more than enough laughs and cringes to fill up the night. You’re likely to come away wishing New Country was longer. - Chicago Critic
 
New Country at the Den Theatre is great entertainment...It’s a short, snappy comedy with a human side.  - Third Coast Review
 
Recommended  This highly entertaining play by Mark Roberts is an auspicious debut. - Chicago Theatre Review
 
While Spears is technically the country music star, it is Uncle Jim that is the real heart of this great show. - Playlist HQ
 
This is a piece that really snuck up on me...That it is a very funny and frequently poetic look at the nature of aging, regret and dignity took me by complete surprise. - Chicago Theater Beat
 
“New Country” is not to be missed. Eighty-five minutes of nonstop action (no intermission, FYI) yield a surprisingly nuanced show that defies its billing as a comedy. - Make It Better

my on-camera work for WILD TRAVELS is up for a Midwest Emmy award tonight; my competition includes Mandy Pantinkin and Dennus Haysbert, so I'm not too sanguine about my prospects of winning...

Had 2 days on the set of CHICAGO PD, where I played the guest starring role of "Vaughan Besh", a registered sex offender.  Looks like it'll air in early October.

I travel to Traverse City, MI next week to portray "Uncle John" in the independent feature CAMP MANNA.