Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The cast races out onto the set with the dial already at 10 and then manage to push the scale of energy even beyond that. The well-cast quartet of bachelorettes —Hillary Marren, the edgy Linda Augusta Orr, Amanda Powell and the bride-to-be, played by the quirky Pollard — all have their moments, but Powell, who plays Gena, the one character imbued with something approaching sisterly responsibility, is a standout. This is a performance of quite startling range, going from intense sexual posturing to sweet, needy compassion, with a little break to allow her messed-up character to snort some coke."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...If you have a pressing need to watch several unquestionably hot, dirty-talking, royally screwed-up women in their late twenties get totally wasted (and in one case come close to death) from booze, cocaine, pot, pills and anonymous sex-in-a-stupor, then Leslye Headland’s awful play, “Bachelorette,” now in its Midwest premiere at Profiles Theatre, is right up your alley."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Not content with sitcom hijinks, the actresses assembled by Profiles director Darrell W. Cox attack their gynecentric archetypes with a ferocity that makes you scour the playbill credits for a referee. Playing the volatile Katie, Linda Augusta Orr conveys the self-loathing of a former prom queen chafing under post-grad disappointment. Hillary Marren likewise lends the statuesque Regan a vulnerability belying her hard-boiled veneer, while Amanda Powell's Gena emerges the most fully recovered from her obligatory trauma-crippled past, and, therefore, the most capable in an emergency. Adam Soule and Erik Burgher, as the ( respectively ) wily Jeff and nurturing Joe, delve their characters for subtextual continuity. Finally, Rakisha Pollard rejects cheap sight gags to forge a schadenfreude-free portrayal of the plus-sized woman of the moment."
Copley News Service - Highly Recommended
"...Audience opinions may differ on “Bachelorette.” Some viewers will love the play as an incisive set of character studies buoyed by razor sharp writing. Others will dismiss the play as a noisy and vulgar evening spent with disagreeable, pointless characters. But like it or hate it, the spectator has got to be blown away by the acting."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...Director Darrell W. Cox and his uniformly strong cast understand these characters, and add enough nuance to their broad and recognizable comic characteristics to bring us into the story and make it feel fresh. Cox sets the perfect pace for the piece and commits to a definite point-of-view that allows us to laugh and feel some pity for these young women."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The play works largely thanks to Hillary Marren’s bombastic turn as Regan. Dressed skimpily, with hair teased like a massive wig, Marren commands the stage in a sometimes sensual, often abrasive performance of female-to-female drag. The performativity and apparent smarts she brings to the role perfectly match this over-the-top material. Other elements (a very current sound design by Jeffrey Levin, a cozy, realistic set by Scott Davis) help set the scene for a final showdown between Regan and Becky (the sonorous, well-timed Rakisha Pollard) that feels truly electric."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"... By the time Jeff (Adam Soule) and Joe (Eric Burgher) arrive, Jeff to lure Regan into bed and Joe to try to help Katie from her drunken maze, I couldn’t care what happens to the three loser women. All the noise and gross-out actions of the women made for a long 80 minutes. I can not find any redeeming value to Bachelorette since we witness actions like Katie barfing on the stage among other crude actions. This is a worthless work that seems to appeal to our base crudeness. Profiles Theatre usually picks better plays."
Around The Town Chicago - Not Recommended
"...This is a play filled with smoking, drinking swearing, sexual situations and general mayhem that may appeal to younger theater audiences, but for the average theater-goer, the comic touches were few and far between and there was far to much insanity and hate between these girlhood friends. The characters are not sympathetic at all. In fact, I didn’t’ like anyone except Gena and Joe, and even those were not 100%."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Darrel Cox has done well to weave a layered, gilded web to trap all the characters in this pleasing ensemble piece. His actors are committed to the roles and never seem false or pretending. With the realistic dialogue, perhaps that is why I think all who see “Bachelorette” will be able to find themselves in at least one of the characters, or if you’re honest with yourself, maybe two."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...These women are gorgeous on the outside and unattractive messes on the inside. Bachelorette is a tightly-paced whirlwind of destruction. The dark absurdity disturbs. This isn’t the sequel to the movie “Bridesmaids.” But for me, the fat girl getting the guy has a satisfying fairytale-like quality."
