Hip Shot: ‘Super Glossy’
Super Glossy
Warehouse Arts Next Door – 1021 7th Street NW
Remaining Performances:
Friday, July 27, Midnight
Saturday, July 28, 9 pm
She says: “Cosmopolitan meets The Stepford Wives meets The Venture Bros in this sci-fi satire on women’s magazines. Courtney McLean is dorky and single everywoman Jane Fuller, who reluctantly caves to society’s pressures after *$@%ing a Hollywood heartthrob and unwittingly becomes a pawn in the plot to brainwash the women of Earth!”
Trey’s take: Solo performer Courtney McLean was one of the brighter (and noisier) spots at last year’s inaugural CapFringe, so I wanted to check out her new show; the very idea of a sci-fi sendup of the women’s-mag racket seemed to offer a wealth of possibilities, and God knows McLean (who’s somehow both dorky and sexy, and I say this as a confirmed Kinsey 5.8) has the attitude to sell it.
And for a while, it works nicely: The observations about glossy-mag brainwashing bite with a satisfying sharpness, the one-liners land with an agreeable thwack, and Courtney’s still got a bit of a potty mouth. If the mysterious subplot — it’s to do with ensuring an heir for a scary magazine queen and her empire — isn’t quite rivetingly suspenseful, and if it eventually takes over at the expense of the feminist wise-assery, it does at least pay off with a snappy little finish.
See if it: You’ve ever gone hoarse railing at your copy of Glamour — then did what it told you to anyway.
Skip it if: You wouldn’t dream of going on a date without consulting Cosmo’s sex tip of the week.
5 Comments
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9:44 am
You got it. Thank you!
11:03 am
Courtney rocks my face off. I am in such awe of solo performers. They are uber-responsible–for the concept, the material, the presentation, and for reassuring the audience they’re not a nervous wreck. Courtney gives a commanding performance and it’s so much fun to sit back and watch her do her thing. Plus she’s just a super amazing human being.
11:58 am
Excellent review, Trey! Courtney is very funny and delivers the self-deprecating woman-meets-magazine jokes with zing! The middle bogs down a little when the sci-fi plotline merges with the previously down-to-earth “Plain” Jane character discovery – but revs up again for the ending.
10:51 am
Awesome to see my good friend and talented performer getting the good reviews she so deserves. Courtney McLean is FANTASTIC. She is a dynamic performer and SO inventive!
12:50 pm
courtney rocks my face off too!