Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...most of the original experience is impressively intact, including the late start, the indulgent length, the annoying sound of kicked beer bottles hitting the floor of the theater, and the sense of collective, petty rebellion. Some of the former cast members, including the cheerily over-the-top Ellen Stoneking and the inimitably mean Ken Manthey, are back on stage, looking much the same. And the new twisted ingénue, Colleen Murray seems born to the task. No inappropriate subtlety or maturity has been added to the mix. This isn’t exactly Annoyance looking forward, but you still understand the appeal of the laughs and the love."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Directed by Mick Napier, this show about a ragtag group of prisoners in a dysfunctional (and, oddly, coed) prison seemed bracingly fresh and original when it opened in 1988. Faith Soloway’s songs are at once amazing parodies and solid compositions in their own right."
Windy City Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...If the cast is good comically, musically their singing is nothing to write home about ( just listen to Cordt who not only sounds like he's smoked a daily pack of cigarettes for 10 years, but eaten them as well ) . Perhaps I'm being too harsh for what aims to be nothing more than a late night show for tipsy crowds to laugh their heads off. After all, Co-Ed Prison Sluts came of age in a time when it was easier to shock. Now it looks juvenile in light of the competition."
Chicago Free Press
- Somewhat Recommended
"...at just $15, the price is right for some live late-night yuks—as long as you can find the humor in a song-and-dance show that loves to slip in some jokes about cannibalism and pedophilia. Last Friday night, amidst some enthusiastic laughter, the following exclamations were heard from two separate people: “Oh God!” and “Oh geez.” They did not return after intermission—thus missing the rousing X-rated sing-along at the end."
Centerstage
- Somewhat Recommended
"... Romances bloom, charades-prompted knife fights ensue and plenty of expletives are uttered, including a ditty that incorporates George Carlin's seven words you can't say on television, which is admittedly quite catchy. The shock-tactic humor, while garnering many chuckles at first, became old quickly as the shelf life of blow-job hilarity is about as long as an Olsen-twins run at the box office."
Edge
- Highly Recommended
"...If you’re looking for a night of cross-dressing, sex-crazed fun, then The Annoyance Theatre has it. The Annoyance celebrates 20 years with the return of its flagship show, Co-ed Prison Sluts."
