Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...This certainly isn't the first Profiles foray into the desperate underbelly of the white underclass. Such characters are this theater's specialty. But even though playwright Will Kern is certainly operating in very familiar stylistic territory in Chicago, you never know where this wildly intense and unfettered show is going next. Better yet, “Kid Sister” captures a level of social realism — amid all the outrageously violent shocks — that puts you in mind of the kind of panic that can set in among the young and ill-educated when their lives spiral out of control. It's a pulpy thriller, sure, but it also paints a vividly recognizable picture of a world, a world with consequences, where overgrown children have been suckered into the wrong kind of American dream."
Chicago Sun Times - Not Recommended
"...There is not a single redeeming feature to be found in any of this. And while the actors hold nothing back, under the direction of Joe Jahraus-- who has staged many powerful productions for Profiles in the past -- the enormously gifted Torem makes the first misstep of her young career, working at a single, unrelentingly shrill pitch for virtually all of the play's 90 minutes."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Joe Jahraus's staging consists of 90 minutes of close-range screaming—a shrill parody of the Chicago theatrical tradition of in-your-face performance and in-your-lap performers. Allison Torem has shown promise playing troubled teens in several recent productions around town, but she trades depth for decibels as Demi, delivering a performance that amounts to a sustained temper tantrum. Though probably a conscious choice meant to illustrate Demi's monstrous childishness, the approach steamrolls any subtleties in its path. Darrell Cox starts out with an air of brooding melancholy as Cassius, the one character for whom Kern shows less than complete contempt, yet before long he's got nothing to do but rage and roar along with the rest. I kept thinking: I sure hope the cast is drinking plenty of tea with honey to soothe those scream-ravaged throats."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Kid Sister's premiere at Profiles Theatre inevitably invites comparisons to its recent revival of Killer Joe, another kitchen-sink drama premised on American dreams gone hideously awry. Joe Jahraus has assembled a superlative cast led by company members Darrell W. Cox and Allison Torem as, respectively, the gentle Cassius and volatile Demi, augmented by Eric Burgher, Marc Singletary and Emily Vajda's likewise textured portrayals of stunted human beings reduced to desperate inhumanity by a universe bereft of moral guidance."
Copley News Service - Highly Recommended
"...The relentless intensity of the play is created by the ensemble in partnership with Joe Jahraus’s no holds barred direction. Roger Wykes designed the functional set in the intimate Profiles playing area. Myron Elliott designed the grungy costumes, Mattisson Voell the lighting, and Jeffrey Levin the sound (he also composed the original music)."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...As one of Chicago’s most easy-to-watch actors, Cox has no problem conveying the complex emotions of a caring brother desperate to save his baby niece from his sister’s negligent care. In the manner of a Greek tragedy, the battle becomes who can manipulate the other first, with brother and sister fighting each other for their lives. Cox brilliantly shows us just how far co-dependent family obligations can lead one away from oneself, and Torem succeeds in convincing us of her craziness. In love with her brother, on the run from a deranged baby daddy, and making boyfriend Babe (Eric Burgher) into her slave, Torem shows us the twisted webs a woman can weave when she’s never had enough real love."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...
Sister satisfies on levels other than pure pulp. Torem shouts her way through every scene, but maintains a captivating, feral honesty. Cox and Singletary deftly convey the needy depths beneath their weapon-wielding veneers."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...It is often argued in our footlight-rimmed circle that the most eagerly approached yet ultimately effusive ingredient to live performance is that of fortitude. Even the most masterful of intrepid craftsmen have often turned in the bold and brass for what frequently makes way for a more solvent venture. In a market where palate too commonly dictates profit, the helming of the more sobering truths of human grit fall to our nation’s most venerable of nonprofit theatres. And with the recent mounting of Will Stern’s “Kid Sister”(playwright of the long-running “Hellcab”), Chicago’s Profiles Theatre has cemented its position as its most seminal of harbingers."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...The action and the well choreographed violent scenes are shocking and scary but the din from the screaming (especially fromTorem) made the work hard to endure. If raw, emotionally wrenching theatre with an evil, child-like girl maneuvering the men in her life appeals to your theatrical tastes then Kid Sister will rock your world. I become irritated with all the screaming. This show is a powerful experience for brave at heart; it is not for children or those who are deeply affected by graphic violence."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...In normal cases, I really enjoy the work of this theater company, but I found this one to be loud, vulgar and saw no real point to what Kern was trying to say. There is death, bloodshed and in the end, when the curtain falls, thank God, Babe and the baby are still in one piece. We never really know what happens with Greta, but by that time, who really cares. Demi has a dream as do many young girls ( and guys for that part)- her problem is that although she is willing to do anything to see that dream become a reality, she is not pretty and certainly has no talent. The set by Roger Wykes is very near to what they use in many of their shows , a kitchen and a couch, card table and chairs. Costumes are fitting for the type of people we are connecting with ( Myron Elliot) and the highlight for me was the incidental music (Jeffrey Levin) and the lighting (Mattison Voell)."
