"You Oughta Know: The Road to Making a '90s Anthem a Broadway Hit" The New York Times, Alexis Soloski - September 12, 2019
"Is She Broadway's Next Rock Star?" Ozy.com, Jed Gottlieb - October 9, 2018
"Lauren Patten is a showstopper you oughta get to know" The Boston Globe, Meredith Goldstein - June 14, 2018
"Days of Rage" TimeOut New York, Helen Shaw - October 30, 2018
[Steven Levenson] has made a wonderful character in Jenny—she has a dozen reasons to leave the movement, and it’s moving to see how much it costs her to hang on—and Patten is tremendous. There’s no vanity in her, no sense of the actor behind the character’s face.
"A 'Jagged Little Pill' for these times" The Boston Globe, Christopher Muther - May 25, 2018
Everyone on stage practically fades into the omnipresent video screens when scene-stealer Lauren Patten enters. Her character, a teen named Jo who is exploring gender identity, is clearly Cody’s favorite vessel. Here’s an individual who’s written as the ultimate outsider with a fragile heart of gold. Jo is an amalgamation of pop culture’s best, wittiest teen outcasts. It could be argued that Patten’s command is a result of performing two of Morissette’s biggest numbers, “Hand in My Pocket” and “You Oughta Know.” But Patten’s “Hand in My Pocket” rivals Judith Light’s extraordinary performance of the song on “Transparent,” which is no small feat.
“You Oughta Know” is an instant crowd-pleaser. But Patten’s vocals and thrashing shoulders invoke the urgency of another 1990s benchmark, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and frosts it all with a “Spring Awakening” kick. She is able to bring the audience to its feet. Even those who have no context for the song in their lives were standing at the Loeb Wednesday night.
"'Jagged Little Pill' Musical Review" Variety, Bob Verini - May 25, 2018
With master orchestrator Tom Kitt (“SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Next to Normal”) expanding the sound to Broadway size for the onstage band, the result is intimate songs transforming before our eyes into explosions which — in the case of “You Oughta Know,” the lacerating indictment of sexual betrayal assigned here to the rejected Jo — inspired a spontaneous standing ovation on opening night for Patten and the troupe. Patten, a dead-ringer for Ellen Page in “Juno,” is one of two breakout stars in this production.
"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...
"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.