“The stories she presents here go beyond a single narcissistic narrative and demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of Western food, body image, and feminine shame culture...Lampanelli's writing is genuine and there is weight to it...We are cracking up the whole time!...Truly innovative writing that does not preach, does not over-sell the sentimentality, and will leave you feeling like you came to a slumber party and left having made some really good friends."
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“This four-person comedy jam session about women and food still retains much of what made it funny and daring a year ago...’Stuffed’ is basically what it would look like if Jean-Paul Sartre produced a show on the Food Network...An evening that is more vaudeville than confession...’Stuffed’ deserves points for boldness. It takes what could be a weepy very-important-issue play and turns it into 85 minutes of unapologetic comedy."
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"We are cracking up the whole time! Director Jackson Gay gives us smooth set changes, hilarious dance sequences and hysterical beats following some cathartic tears.... Lampanelli guides what is revealed on the stage with truly innovative writing that does not preach, does not over-sell the sentimentality and will leave you feeling like you came to a slumber party and left having made some really good friends."
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“The playwright tries too hard to be funny about a subject that ultimately is not funny, and which has been covered by comedians for decades…Jackson Gay’s direction is tangential at best and might have contributed to some of the questionable choices made in the staging…‘Stuffed’ provides some laughs but too often at the expense of the characters it wishes to lift up and champion. In short, 'Stuffed' is pleasant stand-up comedy; however, it is not theatre.”
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“Lampanelli’s humor is often um, tasteless...These vulgar jokes can feel as if they don’t belong in the same show as the serious monologues...Lampanelli’s fellow cast members are fine actresses but the playwright and star...simply doesn’t know how to employ them to best effect, and they wind up seeming peripheral and upstaged...Still, there is something in 'Stuffed' that will surely stay with me, a vivid summary of the love-hate relationship with food."
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“Lampanelli stuffs an awful lot into the 90-minute intermissionless play, allowing each character the opportunity to tell her story...The young ensemble rarely delivers the same gravitas or biting humor as their leading lady...’Stuffed’ will appeal to many women who can identify with the complex relationship between food and body image, as well as men who are willing to admit that we’re often judged by an easier standard than our female counterparts."
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"The strange thing about 'Stuffed,' the new ensemble piece by Lisa Lampanelli, is that she’s the only one in its cast of four who is portraying a real person...Lampanelli’s trying a kinder, gentler sisterhood approach. It’s an awkward attempt, and so, unfortunately, is the show as a whole. It’s more of a play manqué: a patchwork of stand-up comedy and monologues only loosely sewn together...Still, there are some laughs here, some genuine pain and even a bit of insight."
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"Though each woman gets her own meaty, melodramatic monologue, none transcends her stereotype, save for Lampanelli...The evening fares best when the so-called 'Queen of Mean' dumps the numbing naturalism, jumps off the couch, pulls out a microphone and starts doing her shtick...Every character gets at least one such solo, but they seem to come out of nowhere...Lampanelli offers no insight you couldn't glean at a Weight Watchers meeting...The show leaves you feeling bloated and unsatisfied."
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