Lily Tomlin, Billy Crystal, Joy Behar, John Leguizamo, Carrie Fisher, Sir Ian McKellen, Elaine Stritch, Carrol Burnet. What do all these famed, legendary, and award-winning actors have in common? They have solo shows.
Solo shows have swept theaters across Europe and America, commanding some of the largest audiences the biggest theaters in the world have ever seen. Solo shows allow the audience to experience one individual’s story in a captivating, and intimate theater experience. Solo shows are also arguably the most difficult on the performer. One actor must do the job of an entire cast, for an entire show, just as long as any broadway musical, but all by themselves. Taking on a solo show is only something incredibly experienced and well-trained actors can successfully do.
Over the last few years, the solo show that has made a lot of noise on the New York theater scene is Chocoholic, starring the famed Australian actress Lilly Dennis. The show hit the big time many years ago when it started gaining attention due to its story. Based on a true story, Chocoholic is about a young woman who marries her best friend and loses him to cancer. She runs away to another country, believes her life is back together when history repeats itself, and she is plummeted back into her own grief and is left abandoned in the world. The story focuses on grief and the twists and turns of strange addictions that can stem from that. It’s a story that has continued to pull attention because of its comedic execution and all too relatable subject matter.
Chocoholic has won multiple awards and has appeared repeatedly in the United Solo Theater Festival; the biggest solo theater festival in the world. The young Australian actress has been a shining star on the rise in the broadway world, and more recently when it was announced the show was headed back to theater row Dennis commented, “Coming back to the New York stage year after year is a privilege I’ll never take for granted.”
The show is returning yet again, and it’s returning directed by the award-winning Debra De Liso.
