Archive for November 21st, 2006

I don’t know when Jenni Wolfson is planning to do her solo show again, but you need to be there when it happens. There was a line of people waiting in the cold outside the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater to see RASH, which is a pretty amazing feat for a Monday night.

Honestly, I’ve never really cared for the space at UCB. I hate the pole that divides the audience into two sections; I always end up missing something because I sat on the wrong side of it. Also, the seating is kind of broken down and it’s cold and well, a basement. But Jenni Wolfson used the space well and made it somehow feel cozy like I was sitting in her apartment having a cup of tea with her and I could not take my eyes off her the entire 60 minutes. I have to say I’m a little speechless and entirely inspired by her story.

I think one of the reasons I loved it so much was because she tells it with so much humanity and humor. She’s a gifted writer and storyteller. The show wasn’t just about her experiences in Rwanda as a UN humanitarian aid worker in the 90’s. It was about her relationship with her family, her on the job love affair with a man she both feared and admired, and her struggle with wanting a personal life but at the same time having a world view that wouldn’t let her sit idly by. Oh and she’s not perfect (yay!) and this isn’t a lecture. This just might be the best one person show I’ve ever seen. Jenni seems like such an amazing, brave, intelligent, warm, and funny woman. I’d like to have a cup of tea with her.