What I liked
The the steady escalation in craziness was definitely what I found most compelling, taking the “deluded actor” archetype about as far as it can be taken. There are several stand-out scenes, one in particular involving a chicken who, I must say, is a very good actor.
Asta gives a stellar and empathetic performance portraying a character who it’s hard to feel empathetic towards. She’s willing to take us to vulnerable and ugly places in a way that’s truly admirable.
Outstanding ending. That’s all I’m going to say about that.
What I didn't like
I say this as someone who has never had to perform in heels before, but it was driving me crazy how for most of the show the lead didn’t stand still and ground herself for large portions of the performance. i’m sure i’m the only person this bothers oh god i’m a bad person i’m starting to sound like my acting professors kill me
A more substantial critique is that I wasn’t given enough reason to want to follow Lola’s story early on. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but despite Lola facing eviction from the start, it took me a long while to get invested. Eviction from the get-go is serious stakes, yet I didn’t actually feel any sense of stakes until about halfway through the performance.
My guess as to what didn’t work was that n0t only did Lola treat the threat of eviction with little weight for a lot of the runtime, it’s paired with a main goal that’s so outlandish and clearly not accomplishable that there was little tension.
There’s a way to pull off that sort of nihilistic “this character will never succeed or change” storytelling, but I don’t think that’s what this show is going for.
My overall impression
“Desperate” is the key word in this title as Lola Luvv’s desperation leads her to increasingly bizarre lengths to get the attention of a famous director who, I personally think, is overrated, but that makes the situation even more hilarious to me. That said, the sense of stakes felt way off.
