Review: "Too Much of a Good Thing" Busts Out at Playhouse 46

Too Much of a Good Thing

Written, directed, and performed by Rachel Redleaf

Presented by RAR Entertainment at Playhouse 46 at St. Luke's

308 W 46th St., Manhattan, NYC

July 8-18, 2024

Rachel Redleaf. Photo courtesy of Rachel Redleaf.
If the number of slang terms for something is proportional to the space it takes up in the cultural imaginary, then, as the opening of actor, singer, and comedian Rachel Redleaf's coruscating solo show Too Much of a Good Thing suggests, women's breasts boast quite a footprint. That this video introduction is delivered by a puppet named Rachel Too quickly establishes the expert tonal balance that the show strikes, taking an overwhelmingly comedic approach to Redleaf's sometimes traumatic experiences as a woman carrying the weight, literal and otherwise, of very large breasts. Too Much of a Good Thing is currently part of Playhouse 46's Turn The Lights On! Festival, which presents, in collaboration with FRIGID New York and the New York City Fringe Festival, 11 shows from this year's Fringe Festival to raise funds to help the venue purchase its own lighting package (donations can also be made at this link).

This "three-woman show," as one early joke has it–Redleaf is a master at holding multiple sides of a conversation, and even her own breasts participate and are endowed with distinct personalities–is framed through a combination of Wizard of Oz pastiche, metatheater, and the experience of undergoing surgery. Under anesthesia, Redleaf embarks on a journey to reach The Pink Palace, wherein dwells the Wizard of Bras, and brings the audience on a parallel journey stemming from her early childhood desire to one day have big boobs through the onset of puberty (when her role models include a couple of nationally known short, large-chested women), rapidly ending up with the eponymous too much of a good thing, and, after a number of years that include a move to L.A. for college and television and film work, finally needing to determine if she is ready, in all ways, for a breast reduction (not the enlargement that men repeatedly seem to think that she would want). Having had her attitude towards and treatment of her own body impacted by patriarchy in both her personal and professional lives, can she reclaim that power for herself?
Rachel Redleaf. Photo courtesy of Rachel Redleaf.
The narrative does point out that Redleaf has some fun, in various senses of the word, with these "girls," but their, say, comedy potential, is always counterbalanced by a string of negatives. These range from double standards for women (no matter what they are wearing, for example, women with larger breasts are judged as being more sexual, which, in the contradictions of our puritanical culture, is both desirable and Very Bad; and men don't go around being evaluated on how sizable their penis appears) to physical discomfort and the difficulty of finding clothing that fits, not to mention the anxiety that Redleaf describes that partners or casting agents or fans only value her for an aspect of her body. And, at the same time, such objectification can carry a tinge of fetishization. While this may not sound like hilarious terrain, the show covers it with a great deal of humor and warmth - Redleaf makes a fantastic character of her mother - along with singing, physical comedy, and the colorful fantasy backgrounds of her journey's not-Oz. Redleaf is a wonderfully magnetic and malleable performer, invigorating anecdotes and characters with impressive inventiveness, dynamic energy, and comedic flair. The path to The Pink Palace may come to an end, but anyone would be happy with even more of Too Much of a Good Thing.

-John R. Ziegler and Leah Richards

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