[1] When writing the play, Roberts noted that "in the early nineties, Chanute Air Force Base closed down, sending the local economy into a tailspin.

He later compared the process of writing the play to "birthing an 80-pound snapping turtle that was wearing a spiked collar and a crown of thorns.

"[1] On April 22, 2011, Rantoul and Die Producers Stephen Eich and Don Foster returned with director Erin Quigley at the Victory Gardens’ Richard Christiansen Theater in Chicago.

The cast included Kate Buddeke, Cheryl Graeff, and Steppenwolf Theater Ensemble members Francis Guinan & Alan Wilder.

"[2] The Los Angeles Times praised the cast for "[tearing] into the material with canine ferocity" and called the play a "strangely captivating comedy.