"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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