Review by anonymous
July 17, 2026 certified reviewerWhat I liked
Midge is clearly a committed performer and bringing audience members in as “third wall” characters was a genuinely fun, creative choice that I wish more solo shows attempted. That risk paid off! There was also a bit referencing a past corporate job that had real potential to bond with the audience and was interesting in the moment, but it didn’t end up sticking with me afterward.
What I didn't like
Since it’s billed as a musical, I wanted the songs to carry more of the emotional weight, but musically it just didn’t do that for me. The compositions leaned heavily on the same handful of chords throughout, without shifting genre, texture, tone, rhythm or instrumentation (aside from solo singing with keyboard to solo singing with backtrack) to mark the emotional turns in the story. With a piece this personal, there was room to be much more ambitious with the songwriting; bringing in a collaborator or musical director could help unlock more range and specificity in future iterations. I understand it’s a one woman show, but this could be built on, and be so much more entertaining. As it stands, the songs felt more like placeholders for feeling than a fully realized score.
The emotional core also lost me. The show telegraphs its grief about mom reveal so early and so directly that by the time it landed, there wasn’t much surprise or build left to feel. It read as on the nose rather than earned. Grief is universal, which is exactly why I think it needs more specificity or restraint to hit. Here it stayed pretty surface level for me, and the sad/absurd tonal mix didn’t quite land as comic relief the way I think it was intended to. I found myself watching the clock, feeling uncomfortable/wanting to leave, rather than connecting.
This may partly be a taste mismatch. I gravitate toward quicker, sharper comedic writing (think Ali Wong, Jordan Peele, Chelsea Peretti), so the show’s rhythm and tone just weren’t for me. I don’t doubt it works beautifully for other audiences, it clearly has, it just wasn’t the experience I hoped for.
My overall impression
Went in with high hopes since a friend raved about this one and I can see the concept works for a lot of people. Midge is clearly a committed performer, but for me, the show’s music and emotional pacing kept me at a distance rather than pulling me in. I think this is partly a taste mismatch but I left feeling more like I’d lost time than found catharsis.
