New York Times: "Very
good Shepard play, which means that it's one of the American theatre's most
precious natural resources. "
New York Post: "You should go to True West. In fact, you should go twice."
Newsweek: " It deals with American myths as they curdle into pop fantasies"
Time: "Enough of the true Shepard is here to do him honor"
Broadway Reviews: "In spite of its basic, somewhat follow-the-formula sitcom construction and rudimentary dialogue, this dark, not very funny comedy manages to say significant things about American civilization and the way we have been socialized to instinctively assume a defensive posture in the face of our own limitations."
Gambit Weekly: "The play shows the dystopia of "pure" America and in particular, "the great American West" -- the myth gone sour. There is no cultural ballast to keep these driven individuals upright. They founder. They drown."
The Yale Daily
News: "Shepard's play portrays a grim sibling rivalry in all its glorious
violence and treachery. But the challenge of making the familiar ennui of
everyday life fiercely profound and captivating are tasks not so easily
accomplished."
Idyllwild Town Crier: "Shepard paints his dangerous and notorious characters on the broad canvas of the western United States, making statements about the dying myth of the Old West and the longing in our society for something real that no longer exists."
Summer 98, Germany: "Bruderzwist auf die Bühne gebracht und Männlichkeitsmythen und Illusion der heilen Familie. Neben der Erkenntnis, daß selbst gestandene Männer immer kleine Jungs bleiben und die meisten Morde im Familienkreis passieren, wird letztlich eines klar: Der Wilde Westen lebt!"