My overall impression
When I think “one man/woman show,” I don’t often leap in front of moving traffic for tickets. “How will we find dramatic tension with only one person on stage,” I ask myself? “Will the jokes really LAND, or is this another self-indulgent actor-bation session,” I query the stars? “How the heeby-jeebies is this lady/dude going to hold my attention for an hour by themselves,” I muse? Well rest-assured, self (and all of Los Angeles), Katie Rubin rocks the living shenanigans out of the “One-Woman Show” genre with this performance.
Bouncing between dialects, physicalities, characters, caricatures, and genuine, heartfelt, sincere story-telling with the deftness of a hummingbird nom-nom-nomming on all the nectar it can get on the Spring Equinox, Rubin kept me rapt and on the edge of my seat from minute one to minute done. And, mind you, I saw this production during a preview when all of her audio had crashed and she performed it in total tech silence. Never losing focus, never dropping her connection to the story and to the audience, she guided us along her journey like J Alfred Prufrock, but with a somewhat less aquatic finale.
In short – I’m writing this way late in the game – and there are only two performances left this weekend – so don’t miss your chance to see this show. It it truly a tour de force of an incredibly skilled and passionate woman.