Alison Leiby: Oh God, A Show About Abortion NYC Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
Production Covid-19 Safety ProtocolsShow-Score Member Reviews (37)
See it if you want to feel all the emotions
Don't see it if you aren't about women's reproductive rights
See it if You want theatre that is political and current without feeling political.
Don't see it if You’re not interested in current events or story telling.
See it if An evening of truthful storytelling of a woman’s journey of her body while thought-provoking opinions on the topic of abortion. Brava!
Don't see it if Do not attend if the topic of abortion is uncomfortable or you prefer a musical or drama.
See it if Extremely funny, perceptive and ultimately moving with the concluding poetic reflections. Encourages you to look at the issues in a new way
Don't see it if you're turned off by one person comedy shows...but this is so much more. This is not a flashy, big production.
See it if You want to find humor in the uncomfortable.
Don't see it if You can’t handle hard topics.
See it if You enjoy stand up, particularly politcal stand up, respect/appreciate women's rights, are not easily offended.
Don't see it if You are looking for more traditional theatre, are easily offended, are a misogynist. Read more
See it if you enjoy a very clever and yet entertaining discussion of women's issues including abortion. This is a one woman show and well done.
Don't see it if you are against abortion at any stage and do not want a discussion of other types of women's issues. Read more
See it if you like stand-up comedy with a message, if you enjoy productions that tackle heavy topics.
Don't see it if you prefer your comedy to be lighter and more of an escapist experience, or like larger more highly produced shows.
Critic Reviews (10)
"In a smart and entertaining show, full of observations about the sometimes painful messiness of female bodies — menstruation, childbirth, lactation — and the social pressure to put on a happy face about all of it, her trip to Planned Parenthood is the least dramatic, most calmly straightforward part."
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Ultimately, Leiby concludes, "Abortion is a part of being a woman. And some women will have one, some will be afraid of having one one day, and some women will be afraid that they'll never need one and those are all real feelings and deserve to not be buried or pushed aside but felt and validated and said aloud." It's a topic that needs more discussion, to be sure, and it needs to be handled with more incisiveness than it gets here.
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Oh God, A Show About Abortion could not have come at a better time. Whatever side one takes on this important issue and however worried one is about the upcoming Court decision, Leiby’s show illuminates the subject with humor and an offhanded charm.
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"Alison Leiby has constructed such an intelligent, surprising, direct and unadorned story that you will want to listen. I promise. ... Not only has Leib nothing to hide, she has a boatload of stuff to share with you. Share as in – these are ideas that would like to make a home in your noggin’ and then you can share. See how this works?"
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"4/5 Stars! Leiby's goal is to discuss and destigmatize abortion, and her penetrating comic treatise seriously slays...Although Leiby spends most of the show center stage with a microphone, quipping to the converted, director Lila Neugebauer helps 'Oh God, A Show About Abortion' transcend its comedy-club origins to become a compelling journey with clear emotional beats; an unexpected story about a pre–Roe v. Wade pregnancy is particularly powerful. As hilarious as Leiby is, she does more than induce belly laughs."
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"By not hyper-focusing on her abortion for the entire 70 minutes, she normalizes it, and shows herself as a complete and complex woman separate from motherhood. Leiby stresses that doesn't define or change her, and that abortion is something we can and should talk about in everyday conversation, not just when it's in crisis."
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"Her final point, and the one that brought the room to its feet, is about the necessity of sharing, and thus normalizing, stories of our abortions. 'The more we talk about it openly and honestly,' she says, 'the less of a catastrophe it is.'"
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" The effectiveness of the piece stems from its utter ordinariness. Leiby's chronicle is not filled with agonized decisions, traumatic medical ordeals, or lingering regret. On the contrary, she unsentimentally states that she emphatically doesn't want children (another line which produced whoops and applause), and the folks at Planned Parenthood couldn't have been more professional and assuring."
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