Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The great majority of these one- and two-character plays will crawl right under your skin, leaving you chastened, questioning and nodding. But also, at times, you might be ready to shout: “Okay, this time you’ve just pushed things too far.”"
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Both programs feature some magnificent work, but of the two, "Virtues" contains the most pleasant surprises, particularly 10-K, a naturalistic flirtation with infidelity featuring Betsy Bowman and Tom McGregor, and Swallowing Bicycles, a pushback against unyielding artists. With good reason, some of these shorts will no doubt be fast-tracked into workshops; see them here first."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Vices and Virtues comprises two programs of dialogue-driven one-act plays exploring the vagaries of human behavior. Vices numbers five shorts, Virtues six. Each program lasts about two and a half hours with a single intermission. It’s worth pointing out that there’s nothing obviously moral or immoral about either one, so don’t go to Vices expecting it to be juicier. Both programs are mixed, full of gray areas, much like real life."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Profiles Theatre’s long relationship with playwright Neil LaBute has resulted in a strong enough sense of trust for them to collaborate on an unusual kind of premiere. Vices and Virtues, now playing at the Alley Stage, is two night’s worth of short one-act plays, each with their own casts and directors, each being performed for the first time in Chicago, and in some cases, ever."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...Neil LaBute has a very distinct style. In life, we can reference things with friends or enemies without specifying because they'll know exactly what we're talking about and that's how LaBute writes. If you enjoy his style, you'll love LaBute-fest 2016. Even if you're like me and you involuntarily twitch every time an argument on stage circles around to a point that, dramatically, should have been built upon rather than repeated, you'll be able to find pieces to enjoy. If you've never seen a Neil LaBute play, (one, where have you been?) go ahead and give one of these nights a try. Use it as a LaBute thermometer. The spectrum of great LaBute to only okay LaBute is put on display here. You'll leave knowing exactly how you feel about this famed playwright."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Profiles Theatre is producing two series of one act plays on alternating nights under the titles "Vices and Virtues", but there are plenty of both in each. That said, as a theme, Vice, or at the least potentiality for it, wins by a very thick strand of hair, even in Virtue. Mercifully, the first play in each series is tamer than its successors, prepping us gently for the oncoming intensity."
Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended
"...I enjoyed Vices slightly more than I did Virtues, but that comes down to personal taste. The two collections are structured very similarly in terms of length and even type of play. For instance, each first act begins with a lighter subject, followed by an angsty/jaded play, and concluding with a solo performance with direct address to the audience. Naturally, some pieces work better than others do, and the overall result is an evening of theatre that, while mostly enjoyable, you won't hate yourself for missing."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...An evening of Vices. An evening of Virtues. That’s how Profiles Theatre describes the collection of 11 short plays by Neil LaBute now being staged at the theater in Buena Park. Each play has its own cast and directors. Amazingly, in this 4.5 total hours of theater over two separate shows, there’s not a dog in the pack. Each play is sharp and memorable. A few will make you gasp, most will provide a laugh or two, and you’ll leave with memories of some remarkable and nasty characters."
