Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...If your moviegoing tastes lean toward the modestly budgeted independent film, especially those small, sad stories about underachievers and their prosaic-but-tough lives, often signaled by a setting in a cold, second-tier city, or by the casting of the likes of Mark Ruffalo, Laura Linney or Philip Seymour Hoffman, then Deirdre O'Connor's new play "Assisted Living" would merit an injection of live theater into your current entertainment diet."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Nothing is quite right in the Kelly home, an ordinary little house outside of Boston that could use the services of a home health care worker, a handyman and a whole lot more. Yet in “Assisted Living,” Deirdre O’Connor’s rueful “extended family” comedy — now in director Joe Jahraus’ ideally tuned world premiere production by Profiles Theatre — the place becomes an uneasy haven for a handful of lost souls just trying to make it to the next day in their decidedly imperfect lives."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Assisted Living wants to be a quirky, tender, Marty-esque misfit comedy with just enough dissonant notes to keep it modern, and Deirdre O'Connor certainly has the wit to make that happen. But watching it, I felt as if certain scenes were missing. Like the one that shows Levi and Anne's relationship evolving, so that their violations of standard employer/employee etiquette don't seem unmotivated. Joe Jahraus's Profiles Theatre staging has charm, but not quite enough to fill the holes left by those absent scenes."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Profiles Theatre, renowned for hard-hitting drama, now demonstrates its prowess with softer material, lending to the Kellys' progress a forthright candor deftly impeding any propensity toward cloying caricature. Under Joe Jahraus' direction, the quartet of Stacy Stoltz, Layne Manzer, Jordan Stacey and Shannon Hollander deliver sensitive, unmannered performances devoid of actorly swagger. Scenic designer David Ferguson's fully functional kitchen reflects domesticity gone temporarily awry, while sound designer Jeffrey Levin's score of delicate incidental music, hinting at sunshine on the horizon, promises warmth for a chilly late-fall season."
Copley News Service - Highly Recommended
"... The play may not be to everyone’s liking, but nobody can say a word against the pinpoint casting and superior performances. Connoisseurs of sensitive acting orchestrated by insightful and sure-handed directing will get a lot of pleasure from this production. Stacy Stoltz is perfect as Anne, a woman stretched to the limit by the demands of an ailing mother, a troublesome brother, and a social and professional life going nowhere. Yet there is spunk in the woman and a determination to hold things together."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Stacy Stoltz and Layne Manzer convincingly excavate a lifetime’s worth of sibling resentments, brought to the surface by their mother’s latest health crisis. Stoltz brings tremendous nuance to the way Anne’s crushing sense of obligation serves double duty as shelter from living her own life, while Manzer strikes honest notes as the man-child struggling under the weight of parental expectations and disappointments. Jordan Stacey’s Levi is mannered but charming, though he plays his hand too soon, telegraphing his character’s entire arc almost in his first scene."
Chicago Theatre Addict - Recommended
"... Deirdre’s play has many moments of heartbreaking truth, and it’s mostly thanks to Stoltz’s thoughtful and nuanced performance. Her Anne is a deeply conflicted woman: she resents what she’s become, but knows she has to fill this role to ensure her mother’s well-being. And, though she never admits it, we get the sense that Anne, as played by Stoltz, resents her mother for putting her in this position, but also knows its not her fault. She’s guilt-stricken, angry and sad, but deep down inside there’s still a vibrant, smart woman who yearns for love and happiness. It’s a complex role, and Stoltz finds many of the necessary colors."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...This nicely plotted drama is full of surprises that I’ll not reveal but as each character gets fully flushed out, we see how each character changes how they define themselves. Becoming an a adult has nothing to do with age as this tightly drawn drama so nicely shows. The fine cast produced two standout performances – Stacy Stoltz and the charmingly intense Jordan Stacey. The dilemma of responsibility for an aging family versus personal needs is vividly dramatized in this suspenseful play. It sure is worthy seeing."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"... It’s fascinating to watch how four flawed people, who individually managed to go wrong in more ways than they count, somehow counteract rather than exacerbate their mistakes just by coming together to create a second family and a new kind of “assisted living.” Anne’s fear of leaving the home and dating strangers, Christina’s terror of being abandoned with “the belly,” Jimmy’s dread that drugs will take him down again and Levi’s worry that good intentions have never excused his unsought malfunctioning—here these drawbacks check each other and break a bunch of bad cycles."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"... Profiles Theatre Company , one of the masters of “storefront staging”, with its new production, a World Premiere, proves why it is the “master” ,as they bring their magic to Deirde O’Connor’s “Assisted Living” now onstage at The Second Stage in . Directed by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus, “Living” is a stunning look at how lives can be affected by those we live with or rely on."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"... The focal point of the show is really the sibling relationship: Stolz and Layne Manzer (Jimmy). Stolz and Manzer do a fine job. It’s just not emotionally grabbing. It’s complicated but not really. Frankly, it’s listless when the subject matter has the potential to be poignantly haunting. As people live longer, today’s certainties are death, taxes AND aging parents. O’Connor has brought up a thought-provoking topic. With some assistance, Assisted Living could become a life-changing conversation."