Selected Reviews

"Has Alanis Morissette Made the Most Woke Musical Since 'Hair'?" The New York Times, Joshua Barone - May 16, 2018
​But sometimes the production leaves Ms. Morissette’s cherished music alone: The staging for “You Oughta Know,” sung by the scene-stealing Lauren Patten, is so spare it could just as easily be an intimate concert. (At the performance I attended last week, Ms. Patten’s “You Oughta Know” stopped the show with a minutes-long standing ovation. I was told that this has been happening every night since previews began on May 5.)

"The Goree All-Girl String Band" The New York Times, Laura Collins-Hughes - July 30, 2017
[Goree] arrived at the festival with an enticing star in Lauren Patten...
Ms. Patten, who was such fun to watch as the leader of a team of teenage soccer players in the Off Broadway hit “The Wolves,” plays another leader here: Reable Childs, the convicted murderer who gets the band together.

"The Wolves" The New York Times, Ben Brantley - September 11, 2016
...some of the most exciting and affecting ensemble work on a New York stage.
And she never, ever betrays the distinctive selves of her characters, nor do the actresses playing them. I deliberately haven’t singled any one out, for fear of possibly slighting the others. (Check the cast box, and note the names; every one of these young women warrants watching in the future.)

"The Wolves" Variety, Frank Rizzo - December 10, 2016
In this heady rush of adolescent energy, ideas and emotion, the ensemble work is astonishing. The performers in this Playwrights Realm production have been sharpening their rhythms since early fall in this extended run, and the result is acting teamwork of the highest order. Particularly memorable [is]...Lauren Patten as the team captain who deals with responsibility and guilt...

"Fun Home" West End Frame, Andrew Tomlins - April 18, 2016
Lauren Patten excelled as Medium Alison; Patten aced the funniest song of the evening, "Changing My Major," which comes when Alison falls madly in love with her friend Joan. Patten's rendition went down a storm. 

"Spring Awakening" Stage and Cinema, Tony Frankel - September 26, 2014
Surrounded by a bevy of impeccable thespians, the distinctive Lauren Patten nonetheless stands out as Ilse. In one scene, Patten embodies an array of emotions: frustration, love, neediness, desperation, joy, loneliness, and selflessness. 

"Spring Awakening" Stage Scene LA, Steven Stanley - September 18, 2014
As for Lauren Patten...I have never seen a more extraordinarily powerful Ilse, no mere teen runaway this time round but a deeply troubled sexual abuse victim just barely holding it together, and Patten’s deep, powerful pipes give Adele a run for her money.

"Deaf West and Michael Arden Discover a New 'Spring Awakening'"   Broadway World, Ellen Dostal - September 17, 2014
Lauren Patten makes bold choices in a strong characterization of the wayward Ilse, accompanied by a dusky, warm singing voice that, once again, comes as a wonderful surprise, given her willowy frame.

"Our Town at the Rubicon"  Santa Barbara Independent, Tom Jacobs - March 20, 2013
Thanks in large part to a strong performance by Lauren Patten as Emily Webb, the conclusion is enormously moving. It’s Patten who gets to say the famous line, “Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it — every, every minute?” and her tone is perfect: pleading, confused, yearning...The final act, which she dominates, makes this production very much worth seeing...

"Theatre Review: Rubicon's 'Our Town' packs powerful message"   Ventura County Star, Rita Moran - March 13, 2013
The cast is solid throughout, but Lauren Patten’s luminous performance as Emily Webb is crucial to the central skein of the tale. An inner glow radiates through her as much as it did when she played the title role in Rubicon’s “The Diary of Anne Frank.” While her Emily is young and a tad capricious when she first appears, she grows in self-awareness and understanding throughout.

“Hundred Dresses Fits Company to a T"  Chicago Sun Times, Hedy Weiss - October 6, 2009  
The story introduces us to five elementary school students and the new girl with the foreign accent and unfashionable outfit, Wanda Petronski (played with great delicacy and self-possession by Lauren Patten), who joins them for one semester.

"Hundred Dresses Tales of Bullies and Bystanders Best Yet by Chicago Children’s Theatre"  Chicago Tribune, Chris Jones - October 5, 2009
It’s the story of Wanda Petronski, a Polish immigrant girl struggling for acceptance in her small-town schoolhouse…Lauren Patten taps into Wanda’s emotional pain with striking rapidity.

"Fiddler on the Roof"  Los Angeles Times, David Ng - April 1, 2009
Even better are the younger ensemble members who bring dewy innocence and good looks to their parts. …. Equally effective is Lauren Patten, who makes the most of her limited stage time as the most headstrong of the daughters.

"Rubicon Scores with New Fiddler" The Santa Barbara Independent, Tom Jacobs - April 1, 2009
Lauren Patten is the standout of the supporting cast, embodying the intelligence and passion of Tevye’s rebellious daughter Chava.

“Anne Frank lives anew; A 14-year-old actress makes the most of her pivotal role in `The Diary of Anne Frank” Los Angeles Times, Phillip Brandes - March 15, 2007 
The poignant and preternaturally insightful [Anne Frank] is both the play's pivotal role and its greatest casting challenge. Rather than the typical recourse to an older actress, director James O'Neil cast a wide net, and he hit pay dirt in 14-year-old Chicago native Lauren Patten. Patten, at exactly the right age and looking uncannily like photos of the real Anne, displays the accomplished stage savvy and emotional maturity to convey the full meaning and effect of every line. Particularly impressive is her assured handling of Anne's emerging sexual awareness in passages omitted from the initial published diary and incorporated by adapter Wendy Kesselman for the 1997 Broadway revival.