The Whoopi Monologues tickets

The show was a collection of monologues that Whoopi Goldberg has done over the years. I believe that most are from years ago when she was performing in one person shows. They were performed by five different actresses who were very different from each other. Some appeared to really emulate Whoopi and others made the monologue much more personal. All in all it was a mixed bag.

Entertaining, Thoughtful, Funny, Well-Performed, Intimate, Provocative, Mature With wit, warmth, and sometimes a little bit of wickedness (scandalous, personal, sexual), Dominique Fishback, Kecia Lewis, Danielle Pinnock, Jurnee Smollett, and Kara Young embody five figures straight out of Whoopi Goldberg’s past performances, in The Whoopi Monologues. They flirt with the audience, encourage vocal responses (and some handholding and hair-touching), ad-lib a little (Young interrupted her opening monologue to “welcome” a family that came fifteen minutes late; Pinnock took an older gentleman’s cane and used it as a prop for a bit), and build a consistent tone and “story” for five pieces that could feel disconnected. Young’s male figure (a “thug” with a Ph.D. in literature and a huge chip on his shoulders) seeks goodness after being inspired by an unlikely historical figure; Fishback’s young child desires to be white, blonde, and beautiful—living in a world of imagination we can all understand; Pinnock’s Jamaican caretaker to an “old raisin” who is so rich he has rebuilt Tara straight from Gone with the Wind is riotous, a bit raunchy, and quite clever; Smollett’s “valley girl” surfer pivots from funny to gasp-inducing serious to a twist at the end that is like a twist of the knife; and Lewis’ menopausal lady gets so personal that some men in the audience seemed discomforted but the women were applauding. The topics here are more mature than I anticipated (this is my first experience with the show and the monologues): I would not take anyone under 18, to be honest, although a mature 16-year-old could be an exception. Overall, though, I got a great dose of laughter, of introspection, and community in this great show about drawing out stories from ever facet of life, and holding the ones you hold dearly in hand and memory (sometimes, it is rewarding. Literally!).

Great show, timely universal subject matter presented through humor and compassion.