Philly Fringe Solo Comedy Show About The Raw Deal of Being a Woman

Why have women been handed such a “Raw Deal,” and what can we do about it?

From rights being erased, to still carrying most of the household labor, women are still buckling under many of the challenges their great-grandmothers marched for. If we laugh about it, can we transform it?

In her 18th original solo show across 30 years of Philadelphia Fringe Festival appearances, Jennifer Blaine playfully confronts today’s challenging reality for women through a personal lens. Armed with her brilliant impersonation skills, and her virtuosic ability to juggle humor and poignant perspectives, Blaine illustrates how she transforms her Raw Deal into a source of strength, inspiration, and power.

In addition to critiquing the current state of the union for women with her crackling wit, audiences can expect special “appearances” by a surprising range of real-life characters, from Emily Post to Nate Bergatze to Marianne Williamson. The show also features some of Blaine’s hysterical cast of beloved original characters including her old Jewish Grandma, Ruth (who will have you rolling with laughter at her dirty jokes) and her “everyman,” Danny (who doles out dating advice for incels).

Reflecting on the incredible feat of debuting 18 solo performance works across 30 years of Fringe appearances, Blaine says: “My art form is the solo show, and it’s always an evolving craft, where I employ the crucible of transformation. Some shows have been pure stand-up, some have 12 characters with no narration, some have songs, some are highly interactive, some are satirical. ‘Raw Deal’ combines many of these elements, along with some personal confessions of raw deals in my life that I believe will resonate in their absurdity and universality. With this show, I celebrate the sometimes quiet, solitary struggle we are going through to overthrow the patriarchy, each in our own unique way.”

Blaine, Philadelphia’s acclaimed solo performer, comedienne, and playwright “whose comic genius is like Lily Tomlin and Tracey Ullman” (Philadelphia Daily News), has been an outspoken feminist since she could walk. As a girl, she marched for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), later became a Women’s Studies major at the famously progressive Wesleyan University, and continues to speak out for women’s issues and experiences through her own extraordinary body of solo performance work.