The Most Massive Woman Wins

This play makes a sure impression thanks to Lish Ananda's direction. It feels like a feminine companion piece to Neil LaBute's "FAT PIG". I found the monologues at the end by Terry Goon, Emma Klages, Jenelle Russell & Brazil Jimenez especially powerful. ... full review

This is a fantastic, beautifully directed play about issues that are often pushed aside in our society. The directing and acting are wonderful, and the themes within the play are quite moving. Go see it!... full review

There’s no doubt that body image is still very much an issue for most women – at least most women I know (myself included) have expressed some sort of dissatisfaction with their own body. Here we meet four women at a liposuction clinic. The play is interspersed with monologues, childhood flashbacks, and playground songs. The text is highly problematic as it tries to be too many dogmatic issues into one 40-minute play, but there are a few lovely poetic moments. The only reason the play doesn’t turn into just a depressing look at the pressures of the female body is due to director Lish Ananda’s inventive direction. Her young cast makes a valiant effort, however this piece really needs more mature and experienced actors. Ananda paces the pie... full review

As far as I'm concerned, this is a subject that cannot get enough attention in our culture. I didn't know the play, so was very glad to see the material produced at Fringe. The direction was **excellent** (so much of Fringe is not- or under-directed…actors sort of wondering around or giving us 'actor naturalism' that actually feels pretty darn artificial.) The director used very smart stage business to literally punctuate the script. Very effective. And the cast really committed to the direction they were given, so the total production had a vitality and force that really worked for me. The first half was interesting. But I felt the script and the acting both really kicked into gear with the major monologues of the second half. A... full review

Lish has a very visual way of directing. There wasn't a moment when I felt distracted from exactly what she wanted me to see. The actresses are nothing short of extraordinary. Beautifully written and sure to cause every audience member to question the idea of "beauty." ... full review

In an age where pin up models ruled, the curvier woman was indeed more acceptable. As recent as the 90s has society accepted waif thin, heroine chic models. Fast forward 20some years later and we as a society are battling a serious problem. A problem where society tells us that curvy and shapely women will not and should not have a place in media and society. The Most Massive Woman Wins, explores this issue with its sharp storytelling, witty and smart direction and effortless performances. Never mind the elementary and clumsy stage movement, this could have been remedied with longer training of the technique, this was still a beautiful production. My hats off to my fellow academites for a job well done. This moving piece is a conversation st... full review

"The Most Massive Woman Wins" is a heartbreaking glimpse into the lives of four women whose perception of beauty has been so warped by our culture's beauty ideal of thinness and the criticism of those around them that they have committed themselves to plastic surgery. As seemingly outlandish as their stories and reasons behind their drastic choice for surgery are, they sadly ring true and are universal to the pervasive hatred that the majority of women feel towards their bodies. This production captures that sad yearning to be perfect and the actresses are wonderfully vulnerable in their own stories, yet cruel as they mete out ridicule in the other character's flashbacks. This ensemble does a fantastic job in this short, yet poignant piece.... full review