JULIA SWEENEY: OLDER AND WIDER by Carol Kaufman Segal

           

          Comedian and actress Julia Sweeney, undoubtedly, is most recognized and remembered from her years (1990-1995) on Saturday Night Live where she created the genderless character Pat.  I was first cognizant of her prior to those years when she was a member of the wonderful improvisational company in Los Angeles, The Groundlings.

           

          If you have missed Julia Sweeney in the entertainment world, it is because she has been living in the Chicago area for the last ten years with her husband and daughter as a housewife.   Now that her daughter is in college, she has returned to Los Angeles to resume her career as a writer and performer. It is a joy having her back as an Older and Wider entertainer in her newest monologue playing at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

           

          As she stands alone with a microphone on a bare stage, her audience becomes her confidants as she exudes her charm by telling her stories of the past ten years with humor and honesty.  She admits that she is a staunch atheist, her adopted daughter is Chinese, and her husband is Jewish, all of these characterizations revealed with humor.  She has no qualms about letting us know her political views when she has a change of heart about her daughter’s boyfriend after discovering that he is a Trump supporter!  Throughout the entire monologue, Julia Sweeney is witty, charming, affable, and down-to-earth.

            

         

Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider is playing in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, 1886 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles.  Performances are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 3 PM and 8 PM,, Sundays at 2 PM and 7 PM, through February 17.  Tickets are available by going online at geffenplayhouse.org, by calling (310) 208-5454, or at the theater box office.

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