If “Naked and Crazy: True Stories from Meghan Gambling and Sascha Alexander” had a theme song, it would without a doubt, hands down be Katy Perry’s “Firework.” Sascha Alexander (aka
Comediva giggle goddess) and Meghan Gambling owned the night like they were the grand finale on the Fourth of July. The truthful, commanding and, of course, funny storytellers make this show a poignant and hilarious reflection of the bumps and bruises toward accepting ourselves for who we are.Directed by the skilled Elissa Weinzimmer, what struck me most about the two, 45 minute solo pieces was the bold and courageous way Sascha and Meghan challenged the audience to relive with them some of their life’s greatest difficulties. The monologuesque format perfectly lent itself to intimacy with the crowd. Similar in tone to “This Feels Terrible: The Love Show,” it was a great example of millenial women connecting with their audience through gut-wrenching honest admissions of their own failings and foibles.
“Life isn’t boring! People underestimate the power of the tiny things that you do,” Sascha said in an exclusive interview after the show, and it was the weaving together of multiple tiny real-life moments that made the night such a delight.
Meghan recounted not just numerous rounds of rejection, from doughy pre-teens and pretentiously named coeds (seriously, who names their kid Haydn?), her much more mature best friend, and Hollywood bigwigs alike, but also her cringe-worthy over-reactions. “Drunkie on a rampage” doesn’t begin to describe the way Meghan’s 18-year-old self tore apart a make out buddy’s dorm room, nor does awkward begin to describe the way she danced to Heart’s “Alone”
Sascha Alexanderafter a falling out with her partner. “Part of coming into your own person as an artist and as a professional is being able to grab onto [your] voice and not apologize for it,” Meghan told me, and the audience reveled in her grab-the-bull-by-the-horns style.
Sascha’s piece was a well-crafted dramedy that made you ache and cheer for the girl on stage as she stumbled toward seeing her own beauty. Eating disorders are a tricky topic for any show, but Sascha expertly held our hands through her personal journey toward loving herself.
“When you reveal [truth] I think we all breath a sigh of relief. I think that’s why audiences love solo shows, they’re like, ‘Oh thank god, someone’s just being real.’” Nothing could have been more enjoyably real than watching her go from hating her sassy Guatemalan stomach (it loves the tamales), to a confident free-stripping goddess in love with herself and her pole-dancing classes at S-Factor. Yes, there is a stripper pole on stage folks, and you will cheer as an empowered Sascha climbs atop it, shedding her self-hatred and embracing herself in all of her beauty.
Don’t miss your chance to see these engaging storytellers.
“Naked and Crazy: True Stories from Meghan Gambling and Sascha Alexander” runs August 18-21 at The Elephant Studio @ Elephant Stages in Los Angeles! In the meantime, get more girl giggles from Sascha Alexander here.
[Check out more from my exclusive interview with the dynamo trio-- Sascha Alexander, Meghan Gambling and Elissa Weinzimmer -- on Monday, August 22!]
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We hate it when that happens, too, Lena. 
