"...As the show progressed I found myself empathic for his plight. I accredit Ernst for this brilliant arc. He was a standoffish, hard to like pompous kid who hated the world which made his transition into a husband and man who wanted to do what he thought was right all that much more powerful. A truly standout performance!!!"
- BroadwayWorld.com
"In the tour-de-force role of Jackson is University of Utah graduate J.C. Ernst, who SLAC brought in from his New York City home... His performance is magnetic. Pulling his handheld mic from his holster when it doesn't contain his well-used single-shot revolver, Ernst has all the swagger of Jagger."
-The Deseret News
"Ernst plays a fiery Jackson, but sometimes plays up the character's frontier Tennessee roots a little too. His Southern accent highlights the hick as opposed to the emerging political huckster... When Ernst digs fully into his songs, Jackson comes to life with swagger that translates his populist appeal from past and fully into the present."
-The Salt Lake Tribune