Woof! Off-Broadway Reviews

At its core, Woof! is laced with deep messages—ones I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since I walked out of that theater, thinking and laughing (and once crying, when the truths hit a little too close to home), and I know I’ll continue to for a long time. Thank you, Hannah, for a few minutes of seeing the world through your eyes.

In Nanette, Gadsby spoke movingly about the interplay of punchlines and tension, and the need they have to tell their stories properly—beyond jokes, and beyond making themselves the subject of those jokes. In Woof!, whether that be about coming out, gender identity, the oppression of Netflix, or the meaning of whales, it means Gadsby has written and edited every word and sequence with care, despite the appearance of off-the-cuff-ness. By deploying these words with such dazzling acuity Gadsby means to fight ignorance, stupidity, easy reads, dumb conclusions, and expected tropes. Accordingly, you listen to every word as—right in front of you—they bloom into so many laughs, gut-punch sighs, and vivid meanings.

Gadsby’s voice is singular and a welcome one in today’s comedy scene. Their particular blend of humor and cultural commentary elevates the form and takes it in a new direction, which makes it all the more difficult when WOOF! doesn’t quite rise to the level we’ve come to expect.

It may be unreasonable to expect continued innovation from a comic whose signature work was such a mold-breaking masterpiece, one that paved the way for a whole subgenre of comedy rooted in breaking down trauma in artful and darkly comic ways. Gadsby insists that their creative well of personal tragedy hasn’t run dry — “There’s a whole herd of baby reindeer I could slay for your consumption,” they say in yet another Netflix reference — but there’s a sense that Gadsby is no longer as interested in dredging up fresh anecdotes of despair. Been there, bled that. What we’re left with are playful, artfully phrased riffs on familiar themes like lesbian culture, autism, social media, and contemporary U.S. politics that feel like they might have been discarded pages from the notebooks for past shows.

Most importantly even if we might actually hate her on some level for admitting that she only stays in “posh hotels” now, sleeps with two mattress toppers, and is severely uncomfortable with her current level of fame and wealth (of course, your level of pettiness may vary), one really has to cheer Gadsby for achieving the ability – wanted or not – to live the proverbial dog’s life.

The poster for the new show by Australian comedian/monologist Hannah Gadsby features the performer without their trademark geeky spectacles. Yet the glasses are back on when Gadsby appears onstage at the Abrons Art Center. If you want to know the reason why, you’ll just have to see Woof!, which represents the performer’s loosest, funniest outing yet.