The Whoopi Monologues

By: Darryl Reilly

“What the fuck is Oscar doing HERE?!” exclaims an “educated drug addict” upon seeing Shelley Winters’ Academy Award for The Diary of Anne Frank at Amsterdam’s Anne Frank House in The Whoopi Monologues. Vivacious two-time Tony Award-winner Kara Young majestically plays “Fontaine” a wisecracking New York City PhD junkie who is abroad due to larceny. Ms. Young offers ravishing odes to Frank and Winters while grandly philosophizing.

This Off-Broadway presentation is a reimagining of the landmark 1984 Broadway solo show Whoopi Goldberg which launched the star’s career; she played several self-written characters. Here, each figure is vividly portrayed by a different actor.

Employing an ultra-valley girl accent is the luminous Kerry Washington as the soon to be 14 years old “Surfer.” Ms. Washington is initially hilarious but builds to poignancy as she depicts adolescent wonderment on a beach; there is an encounter with a “hunkola,” a young male surfer. A wire coat hanger later becomes pivotal in this ultimately chilling vignette.

“Jamaican Lady” is uproariously performed by the radiant Danielle Pinnock. With her beaming stage presence and booming perfectly accented voice, Ms. Pinnock enacts this tale of an island woman who comes to the United States to be the housekeeper for a lecherous elderly man. There is bawdiness galore especially when Pinnock describes her gifted Frederick’s of Hollywood outfit.

“Look at my luxurious hair!” says a child. “That’s a shirt on your head!” says her mother. In “Blonde Girl” a Black girl rhapsodizes over white attractiveness. The magnetic and willowy Kai Heath (substituting for Dominique Fishback) is quite touching and amusing conveying this child’s romanticized heartbreaking point of view.

“My first sanitary napkin was a joy to behold!” says the charismatic Tony Award-winner Kecia Lewis as “Lurlene.” Ms. Lewis is electrifying as an urban everywoman in this richly detailed universal tribute to womanhood from teenage years to menopause. While joyous and often comic, this epic sequence does not flinch from psychological darkness and is the show’s fitting finale.

Director Whitney White’s energetic physical staging highlights each monologue as if it were a one-act play. Ms. White also has the cast interacting with each other during scene transitions and throughout for visual and tonal effect. White’s striking presentation truly reimagines Goldberg’s work.

Scenic designers Adam Rigg and Anton Volovsek of Studio Bent have crafted a blue-accented runway-style playing area which aids in occasional audience interaction. Lavish upstage doors create a sense of being backstage as actors enter and exit them. These elements all achieve a dreamy abstract dimension. That is enforced by Cha See’s grainy and often dim lighting design. Video designer Hana S. Kim provides fantastical flourishes. Sound designer Fan Zhang renders the music and effects with bracing clarity. Qween Jean’s costume design beautifully ranges from everyday wear to opulent attire. Hair and wig designer Nikiya Mathis’ arresting contributions are integral.

The Whoopi Monologues is a glorious incarnation of Whoopi Goldberg’s pop culture-centric magnum opus. It also reclaims her as a dramatic writer. These timeless pieces are all filled with stinging observations, keen insights, and humorous depth.

The Whoopi Monologues (through August 30, 2026)
Lincoln Center Theater
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, 150 W 65th Street, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.lct.org
Running time: one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission