Alabama Story
“Lily, played with fast-paced fragility and irrepressible yearning by Maeghan Looney, is shown to be isolated by her status and thus capable of feeling the disdain normally directed at the less privileged. Her evolving sympathy, rooted in fond memories of an odd fantasy bonding with Joshua over the Uncle Remus tales of Joel Chandler Harris, symbolizes the slow dissolution of inherited prejudice.”
-James Harvey, Jay Harvey Upstage
“Bass and Ms. Looney play out their reoccurring meetings in genuinely truthful terms. She is naively “southern belle flirtatious”, while he stays proper and cordial. Their dilemma – he remembers the significant occurrence (the trouble from which changed his life), while she has conveniently “forgotten” – symbolizes the barrier segregation brings to their lives.”
-Ken Klingenmeier, A Seat on the Aisle
My Name is Annie King
“Looney’s Hannah is perfection, so emotionally complex and interesting that I wish her character had more to do in the first act.”
-Lauren Whalen, Chicagotheatrebeat
“Maeghan Looney gives a tender, yet terrifying, performance as the cult leader’s wife and mother to Rosalie. As the most unpredictable character, she may be the most difficult to encompass. Looney never loses sight of the journey of this woman and grips the audience until the very end.”
-Stephanie Dykes, PicturethisPost
“Their performances are supported by another newcomer to Chicago, Jeff Mills…paired with actress Maeghan Looney as his wife, Hannah. This striking young woman, who makes a welcome return to musical theatre, is almost pure, unbridled emotion. Hannah’s conflicted devotion to both Cash and Rosalie, and the story behind the formation of their family, is mostly in this gifted actress’ hands.”
-Colin Douglas, Chicagolandmusicaltheatre
“Jeff Mills, in his Chicago debut, fearlessly and deliberately handled every subversion and manipulation of cult leader Cash. Counterpointed by Maeghan Looney, as Cash’s long suffering partner Hannah, their final conflict demonstrates Looney’s mastery of emotional control.”
-Bec Willett, Perform.ink
“Fortunately, the roles of Rosalie (Paige Daigle) and Hannah (Maeghan Looney) have quality in spades.”
Patrick O’Brian, Broadway World
Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest
“Maeghan Looney plays Gwendolen Fairfax to prim perfection. She is uppity, ultra-sophisticated, and given to unexpected moments of unbridled delight. Ms. Looney is truly Lady Bracknell’s daughter, and this actress’ beautiful command of language and dialect is perfection. The courteous, very civilized tea party scene in Act II stands out as one of the highlights of this production…This polished gem shines brightly and radiates with style.”
-Colin Douglas, Chicago Theatre Review
“If you think you just aren’t the type of theater goer who belly laughs I dare you to keep it bottled up when Maeghan Looney’s character, an ingénue whose tight corseted finery belies her randy core, does her spot-on imitation of the goofy voice Megan Delay (Cecily) uses to bathe her every word to emphasize the vacuity of her character. You’ll see these two feuding debutantes sitting demurely at high tea where manners demand that in lieu of pulling out the rival’s hair and rolling in a mud fight they both crave, one simply laces the tea cup of her adversary with many extra cubes of sugar and serves her cake instead of bread.”
-Amy Munice, Chicago Splash Magazine
Megan Delay and Maeghan Looney play Cecily and Gwendolen; you will wonder how you’ve gotten this far without seeing such skillful comediennes decimate each other and the men who love them. I couldn’t recommend this performance more highly, nor have I been as charmed by a stage production in a long time.”
-Sean Margaret Wagner, Theatre 1234
“…his best friend, Algernon Moncrieff has a lovely cousin, the ravishing Gwendolen Fairfax, who Worthing wants to marry…Standouts include the lovely Maeghan Looney as Gwendolen who looks as though she walked off the pages of a London fashion magazine.”
-Mira Temkin, Urban Matter
“Exquisite in her artificiality, Maeghan Looney’s pert and sweetly smug Gwendolen proves deadly at snapping a throwaway zinger to the last row. In her devastating tea-party squabble with Cecily, she drops the demurely dull facade and bares some pearly teeth.”
-Lawrence Bommer, Stage and Cinema
“Maeghan Looney (Gwendolen) and Megan Delay (Cecily) give one another the gift of allowing their performances to be wonderfully co-dependent. Delay’s unapologetically broad, wide-eyed portrayal of Cecily is deftly balanced by Looney’s cool, reserved woman-about-town demeanor that’s every bit as absurd in its own way. Looney’s performance is also ever-mindful of Mary Anne Bowman’s tremendously, hilariously imposing Lady Bracknel. Without ever resorting to mimicry, the two women give truth to Shakespeare’s claim, “Thou art thy mother’s glass and she in thee.”
-Christine Malcom, Edge Media Network
Jane Austen’s Emma
“Maeghan Looney is delectably brazen as Mrs. Elton.”
– Michael J. Roberts, Showbiz Chicago
“Elton rejects dour Harriet to marry the insufferably elitist Mrs. Elton (Maeghan Looney in fine flourish).”
-Lawrence Bommer, Stage and Cinema
“Elton will seal his fate with the domineering socialite and fashionista played with ideally bitchy panache by Maeghan Looney.”
-Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun Times
“Maeghan Looney was exactly right as the despicable Mrs. Elton.”
-Christopher Kidder-Mostrom, Theatre 1234
“… I thought [ ] was stealing the show…until Maeghan Looney arrived as Mrs. Elton. For me she was not performing, but living in the period, in a spectacular costume and hat. If every element and performance in the show had been as fully achieved, it would have been a visual and emotional feast.”
-David Zak, Chicago Stage Standard
Boeing Boeing
“All three stewardesses are well played…Maeghan Looney is appropriately sultry as the American stewardess Gloria who has a seemingly insatiable sexual appetite.”
-Rikki Lee Travolta, Northwest Herald
“Initially skeptical, Robert comes to appreciate Bernard’s lifestyle after meeting American fiancée Gloria (the deliciously sharp-edged Maeghan Looney)…”
-Barbara Vitello, Daily Herald
Bonnie & Clyde
“Maeghan Looney, who plays Blanche, Buck’s wife and Bonnie’s foil…shattered my heart with her sweet, clear-toned rendition of the soprano ballad “That’s What You Call a Dream” and with her portrayal of grief toward the end of the show.”
-Jessie Bond, Splash Magazine
Bomber’s Moon
“…both Looney and Moreland do outstanding work, showing the strong emotions of fear, desire, and compassion and also more light-hearted moments than you might expect. I found myself caring deeply about these two people…I also enjoyed the musical ability shown by both actors; Moreland plays three different instruments and Looney ably plays the piano….a world premiere adult drama of this caliber only comes around once in a blue moon.”
-Paul Lockwood, Northwest Herald