“Blim and Shum are marvelous and completely endearing as friends who lift each other up…Shum delivers Puff’s tightly wound dread with jumpy unease and tearful despondence.” - Chicago Sun-Times

“Shum plays out Puff’s anxiety beautifully, as she teeters on the edge of panic in certain moments. She precisely captures the anxious struggle of wanting to keep all that anxiety bottled up but knowing that that’s impossible.” - Broadway World

“…the gifted Stephanie Shum is Puff. She plays this earnest, anxiety-ridden, sometimes indecisive young woman with a great deal of power and passion.”
- Chicago Theatre Review

“…a strongly etched portrayal by Stephanie Shum” - Picks in Six

“Shum does some really intense physical work in this role, and her comedic tendencies have found a place to shine here" - Rescripted

“The comically gifted Stephanie Shum” - Newcity Stage

“I was most impressed by Stephanie Shum, who not only performs with a prop attached to her leg the entire show, but also conveys such determined optimism in the face of excruciating pain that it’s breathtaking to watch.” - Splash Mags

“Shum is particularly engaging as Kim, her desperate optimism never curdling into something darker. She is easily the play’s most sympathetic character, and her command of the stage while working under the weight of an impaling object is impressive.” - Theatre by Numbers

“Disneyophile Kim (New Colony co-artistic director Stephanie Shum, WHO BRILLIANTLY PERFORMS THE ENTIRE SHOW WITH AN IMPALED LEG WHICH CANNOT BE OVERSTATED)” - Chicago Theatre Triathalon

“The majority of the play’s poetic language and exposition is handled with command by Stephanie Shum as “The Lake.” Even though Shum plays a metaphor, she engages the audience with such confidence that we hang off of her every word…She prowls the stage, wearing a beautiful, symbolic costume, created by Ann Wooden, consisting of nets draped about her diminutive frame with a bustle from which litter hangs…But through this elaborate ensemble, it’s her piercing eyes and husky voice that hypnotizes the audience. The beauty of Wooden’s costume in addition to Shum’s performance is that Shum wears the costume, it never wears her. She hosts the evening and dons the metaphor and outfit of a lake with such tenacity and assuredness that we would believe her if she claimed to be a highway or a car or a landline telephone…If you’re going to see this play, see it for the poise and steely strength of Shum” - Chicago Theatre Review

“…we are latched—maybe only breaking from Quinn’s spell long enough to make a mental note at how mesmerizing Shum’s performance is.” - Picture This Post

“It opens with her daughter, Quinn (Stephanie Shum) giving one of the most realistically-cadenced monologues I can recall seeing. Every word is delivered as if it is just coming into her head at the moment….Shum handles it brilliantly; within seconds, we can easily believe that we are hearing a real person talk, rather than the too-polished writing and performance one often sees.”
- Chicago On Stage

"Stephanie Shum and Felipe Carassco are especially strong as a mismatched, but still functional team: he's a traditional jarhead who doesn't believe women have a place in the marines; she's a marine who does." - Chicago Reader

"...deftly handled by Stephanie Shum, who in the second scene shows her true worth." - Around the Town Chicago

"Both actors are magnificent in this scene, she repressed and suspicious, he chauvinistic and rebellious." - Picture This Post

"...notable monologue is by Cassandra (Stephanie Shum) and is, fittingly, about the frustration of attempting to use Facebook to change the world....Shum is very funny and frantic as Varya, and is as adept at physical work..." - Around the Town Chicago

"Stephanie Shum’s Cassandra rages at Becky in a cathartic monologue...Shum, Kelsey Shipley and Alex Rodriguez provide lightness and grounding at the same time, pulling us from a laugh right into the darkness at hand." - Newcity Stage

"Shum's portrayal of Dusk's painful vulnerability is a strong counter to Lucy's self indulgence." - Newcity Stage

"Shum brings forth a lonely aspect as Dusk" - Chicago Theater Beat

"The well-tuned ensemble cast are each ideal in their roles, though I particularly enjoyed Stephanie Shum as an unexpected werewolf" - Buzz On Stage

Daily Herald Feature by Alicia Lee
Actress from Buffalo Grove blends fantasy, reality for 'Kin Folk' role 

"Kosmatka and Shum are both delightful: ideal travelling companions for a tough, sometimes difficult road." - Newcity Stage

"Shum is a fiery Dulle Griet, who has finally found a positive use for all her energy. She has several poetic monologues, which she delivers with intense introspection." - Chicago Critic

"Hilarious and heart-breaking...The hardened Shum awakens onstage as her maternal instinct overpowers her rebellious nature." - The Fourth Walsh

"The cast's powerful, often thrilling acting" - Chicago Reader

★★★★★ - TimeOut Chicago

Nominated for Best New Work (Joseph Jefferson Awards)

"Stephanie Shum is superb as the hyper psycho" - Chicago Critic

"Anyone who can relate to Becky needs to get a life, but Shum again seems hard to beat in her role. She never missed a beat delivering Becky’s rambling thoughts that spew from her mouth at machine-gun pace." - Showbiz Chicago

"a tiny whirlwind of disconnected aggression and faux-ingratiating kindness" - Newcity Stage

"Stephanie Shum’s mysterious, reticent Grandmaster offers several surprises" - Chicago Theatre Review

"often-funny deadpan line readings" - Chicago Tribune

"Front and center is Stephanie Shum whose Alice is defiantly likable in her warm-hearted openness to new characters and strange experiences." - Chicago Critic