Whoopi Goldberg's 'The Whoopi Monologues' Revived at Lincoln Center

A revival of Whoopi Goldberg's early one-woman show, originally titled 'The Spook Show' and later 'Whoopi Goldberg,' is now playing at Lincoln Center Theatre under the name 'The Whoopi Monologues.' Directed by Whitney White, the production features five performers—Kerry Washington, Kara Young, Dominique Fishback, Kecia Lewis, and Danielle Pinnock—each embodying characters Goldberg created in the 1980s. The show includes Fontaine, a hood philosopher; Blonde Girl, a seven-year-old Black girl who tries to bleach her skin; Surfer Girl, who recounts a coat-hanger abortion; Lurleen, a menopausal mother; and Jamaican Lady. Goldberg, born Caryn Elaine Johnson, originally performed the monologues at Dance Theatre Workshop before Mike Nichols brought her to Broadway. The revival frames her work as matrilineal, passed to two generations of Black actresses. Produced by Kerry Washington's company alongside Goldberg's and Lincoln Center Theatre, the show uses projections and a set of individual dressing rooms. The original monologues responded to the Reagan era and the lack of options for Black women in entertainment; the revival appears in a similar backlash era. The New Yorker critic notes that while the performances are entertaining, the political context has shifted, and Goldberg's later ubiquity on 'The View' dilutes the original personas.