Shoes and Baggage

"A very slight, but often amusing, piece, it is at its best when Stern is dispensing dishy backstage stories that merge her obsessions with the oddball details of an actress' life…'Shoes and Baggage' could be made fifty percent better with the addition of better songs…Indeed, the songs add so little that the show might benefit from their being removed altogether…Pleasant company for 80 minutes or so; if you're looking for a few laughs, this one constitutes a bargain." Full Review

"If you loved 'Love, Loss, and What I Wore' you’re likely to revel in Cheryl Stern’s 'Shoes and Baggage'...It’s a show, but it’s also a confession, and like many confessions, it’s a compulsive confession...But listening to her tell it, as she prances up and down the all-white set, she presents herself—in monologue with songs—as not only someone who delights in whatever costumers create for her when she’s behind the footlights but also what get-up she can sport to the opening night party." Full Review

"A cleverly insightful autobiographical musical...Beyond its sleek facade (for the show is expertly crafted and directed by Joe Barros) 'Shoes and Baggage' is excellent satire; entertaining, enlightening and challenging. It’s fascinating to see Ms. Stern try to decipher how exactly she became this person obsessed with shopping…'Shoes and Baggage' has such sincerity and lovable awkwardness that one can truly call it the theatrical equivalent of a 'wardrobe basic.'" Full Review

"You might think that this is a light, comedic romp about silly shopping but it is not. The buying is a metaphor for our need for validation, acceptance, and self-love...Cheryl Stern is an old pro, a working actress who knows how to enliven the boards with a mighty performance. She was a dynamo, dancing full-out, belting beautifully, and taking us to very real emotional places with her tender words and heartfelt performance." Full Review

"A wildly entertaining one-woman show that explores shopping and life...Stern hits the nail on the head when she reveals her conflicted relationship to shopping. She manages a delicate balance between revealing the inner turmoil as well as the ameliorating effects of shopping during some of life’s more difficult moments...Weaving in past experiences that go all the way back to childhood with more contemporary experiences, Stern does a fantastic job." Full Review