Cat Cohen's 'Broad Strokes' Turns Stroke Survival into Comedy Gold

Comedian Cat Cohen's new one-woman musical comedy show 'Broad Strokes' recounts her experience of surviving a stroke at age 30, blending self-deprecation with self-aggrandizement. The show, running at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York, has been extended through September 25 due to popular demand. Cohen discusses themes of mortality, anxiety, and modern life, connecting her medical emergency to mundane social and romantic setbacks. She performs in a corset, a costume choice she developed with designer Kelsey Randall, and the set was designed by Derek McLane. Cohen reflects on her premonitions about the stroke, noting a joke in her first special about googling stroke symptoms. She also touches on her creative process, crediting director Alex Timbers for helping structure the show. In an interview with Emmeline Clein, Cohen discusses her fears of physical, emotional, and social death, and her belief that everyone is a 'basic bitch' at heart. She also shares her thoughts on overrated things (vacations), perfectly rated things (stone fruit in summer), and underrated things (soup in summer, silk neck scarves). Cohen, who calls herself 'Countess Gratitudina,' expresses gratitude for her recovery and a new sense of creative conviction.