The poster for the new show by Australian comedian/monologist Hannah Gadsby features the performer without their trademark geeky spectacles. Yet the glasses are back on when Gadsby appears onstage at the Abrons Art Center. If you want to know the reason why, you’ll just have to see Woof!, which represents the performer’s loosest, funniest outing yet.
Gadsby has ascended to fame and fortune thanks to such acclaimed shows as Nanette and Douglas, both of which were subsequently shown on Netflix. So it’s not too surprising that they seem happier now, the current show focusing less on their struggles with autism and ADHD and more on … well, pretty much the sort of wide-ranging topics that any observational comedian might address. When Gadsby begins the evening by asking the audience “What’s up with whales?” you might think you’ve wandered into a Jerry Seinfeld show by mistake.
“This is a show about big questions,” the comedian continues, but the statement is clearly meant to be tongue-in-cheek, since those questions include whatever happened to Cabbage Patch Dolls and why anyone would ever own plastic plants (Gadby brilliantly mines huge laughs simply by repeating the phrase over and over, long after you’d think they’d stop).
True to its name, Woof! is a bit of a shaggy dog evening, seemingly wandering all over the place but always kept cohesive by the performer’s keen observations and willingness to puncture such cultural sacred cows as the Barbie film (“I really wanted to join in,” Gadsby laments) and Taylor Swift.
Gadsby is, as usual, most interesting when talking about personal matters, including how fame has inevitably caused them to think differently. “I am vibing on a different level of dissonance these days,” Gadsby informs us. “I have these skills. I have nothing to fall back on,” they say, before asking in mock distress, “Why am I allowed to do this? Where’s the oversight?” And while the comedian expresses disdain for Netflix (“Do I want to be content, or do I want be content?”), they admit enjoying the fruits of success, including posh hotel rooms and two mattress covers.
For all its philosophical and confessional musings (“Is it really anxiety if it’s rational?”), the show also proves deeply funny, especially with a hilarious anecdote involving Gadsby’s old job of cleaning hotel rooms and the experience of discovering a particularly disgusting object left behind by a guest. Not to mention a vivid description of how Fleshlight sex toys serve as a metaphor for Silicon Valley. And while talking about their sleep apnea and need to use a CPAP machine, Gadsby asks, “What lesbian doesn’t want a snorkel?”
Gadsby describes how this tour began with a different type of show, one centering on the recent death of her father, before evolving into the version being performed today. But there are still remnants of that earlier version, notably a moving account of the circumstances of his demise and their regret over not having been there when it happened.
It’s notable that Woof!, smoothly directed by Jenney Shamash, is playing at this intimate theater when Gadsby could easily sell out much larger venues. But the intimacy proves perfect for this particularly confessional performer who only gets better and better.
Woof! opened October 6, 2024, at Abrons Art Center and runs through October 27. Tickets and information: abronsartscenter.org
