Nagle Jackson's play is a funny, heartwarming, powerful night of theatre. "A fantastic dramatic comedy! The play provokes a huge amount of compassionate laughter ... we walked out of the theatre with our spirits lifted and hearts full..."
- New York Daily News.

"...a multi-layered play which combines a sunny outlook on the perils of Alzheimer's with the poignant struggles of a family as it contends with a parent's loss of integrity. The play is engrossing, vivid in its dramatization of illness as it is in its awareness of how a family can self-destruct... Jackson's writing is always assured and strong in theatrical values."
- Allen Young for VARIETY

"...a rich new dramatic comedy... Directed with a subtle, expert touch by Jackson, Taking Leave provokes a great deal of compassionate laughter, but it also manages to be heartbreaking as Eliot rages in his study as surely as Lear did in his storm."
- BACKSTAGE WEST

"This witty play is no tragedy, nor is it merely a maudlin disease-of- the-week exercise. Without trivializing a difficult problem, the play forcefully reminds the Viewer of the professor's personhood..."
- CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

"The whole effect is one of gentleness rather than rage at an implacable enemy. "Heartwarming" is the operative word... an exceptionally fine production."
- THE DENVER POST

"Another world premiere of a new play... one that hopefully will be seen in Anchorage someday, is Nagle Jackson's Taking Leave, a comedy about a family dealing with Alzheimer's that's loosely patterned on Shakespeare's 'King Lear'_ While the subject matter seems far from comedic, Tony Church's portrayal of the faltering college professor turns the plot into a celebration of life."
- ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS

Nominated for BEST PLAYS - 1998 by American Theatre Critics' Association

*Featured on THE JIM LEHRER NEWS HOUR, PBS, 6/10/98