The math doesn’t quite add up in Lincoln Center Theater’s production of The Whoopi Monologues. Repurposing the solo material presented not just once but twice on Broadway by Whoopi Goldberg, the show features five extremely talented actresses divvying up the short pieces and making feasts out of them. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that the original production was less effective for its writing than its spotlighting of its talented star delivering a virtuoso performance. That effect becomes lessened in this adaptation which mainly serves to reveal the essential thinness of the sketches.
Not that there aren’t fun moments in the 100-minute intermissionless evening flashily staged by Whitney White, recently Tony-nominated for Liberation. There are some decent-sized laughs, and the material provides a field day for the powerhouse ensemble consisting of Dominque Fishback, Kecia Lewis, Danielle Pinnock, Kerry Washington, and Kara Young.
But the material hasn’t aged particularly well, nor does it benefit from repetition for those who’ve already seen Whoopi perform it live or through the 1985 HBO special. Despite each skit running no more than 15 minutes or so, they feel repetitive and obvious in their satirical targets.
[Read Melissa Rose Bernardo’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Still, it’s a pleasure to see Young stealing this show much as she does every other one in which she appears, as the junkie Fontaine, delivering his sing-song rendition of “Around the World in 80 Motherf—ing Days” and regaling us with an account of his visit to the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. Or Pinnock sporting a humorously exaggerated accent as the “Jamaican Lady” who describes moving to American with an elderly man she describes as “The Old Raisin” and becoming a millionaire twenty times over when he kicks off.
Fishback delivers a poignant portrayal as the young Black girl who desperately wishes she had blonde hair, while Washington deftly mines both the laughs and horror as the “Surfer Girl” whose monologue begins humorously before a harrowing description of a self-induced abortion.
Performing a piece created for Goldberg’s 2004 Broadway revival of her show, Lewis pulls out the stops as Lurleen, bemoaning the deleterious effects of aging on her body ranging from menopause to her “balding pudenda.” The Tony-winning actress called for line prompts more than once during the preview performance, but recovered nicely. (I assumed it was also a mistake when her character referred to McCoy Tyner singing “The Hustle” when it was actually Van McCoy, but the error is also in the script.)
White’s staging proves more elaborate than when Goldberg performed the show, including a set (designed by Studio Bent) featuring five doors through which we see the performers’ supposed dressing rooms, video projections by Hana S. Kim, and several dance interludes, including one to Jamaican reggae duo Chaka Demus & Pliers’ “Murder She Wrote,” in which the five performers get to cut loose. The actresses frequently appear onstage together between segments, and the intimacy of the theater allows them to amusingly engage with delighted audience members seated near the stage.
The writing also features several tweaks nodding to the present day, including one of the characters mentioning seeing Whoopi Goldberg on The View and another declaring “Knicks in five!” to predictably rapturous response.
But while The Whoopi Monologues serves as a showcase for its five performers much as it did for its creator, the divvying up reduces rather than enhances its impact. The evening ultimately feels like less than the sum of its parts.
The Whoopi Monologues opened July 14, 2026, at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater and runs through August 30. Tickets and information: lct.org
