Customer Reviews

Whoopi Goldberg: Live on Broadway [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the first time I'd ever seen Whoopi Goldberg - it was on HBO years ago...

I will never forget the Jamaican woman and her raisin man!

If you like Whoopi's recent performances, you HAVE to see this one - it's fantastic.

A one-woman show taped live, Whoopie Goldberg shows us five different personalities, and five different viewpoints on everything. [Characters include: Fontaine, a little girl, a surfer chick, a crippled lady and a woman from Jamaica [mon].] Funny, outrageous and at some points touching, you will never get tired of watching this tape.

The only thing that would make her performance flawless is if the publisher would actually sell the tape to the public. HEY! Yes, I'm talking to you, publisher-person! I know you're out there somewhere.... Re-release this one. PLEASE!!!

This video is a must for every Whoopi Goldberg fan and a non-Whoopi fan! The characters she portrays are funny, memorable and captivating. Whoopi magically becomes another person right before your eyes, so don't blink! Fontaine speaks the truth, Surfer Girl makes you weep, The Jamacian woman teaches you respect for others, the Little Girl teaches you respect for yourself and Ms. Physically Challenged teaches you there's no such thing as can't.

This is whoopi at her best. What happens when you let whoopi Goldberg loose on a stage on broadway? Some of the best avante garde theatre pieces ever. Whoopi does five different characters and tells their story from their point of view. Each story is funny, heart warming, and though provoking. Do not miss this.

Whoopi was discovered after writing and performing this piece in a L.A. club. Speilberg cast her in Color Purple after this and you could see why! I PRAY it goes to DVD soon!

I watched this show,when it was over I just sat there. Then I hit the rewind button and watched it again. Whoopi is truly extraordinary, not only is she funny, but she extremely intelligent and really invokes your mind to think. Her character Fontaine and her discussion on The Anne Frank house from the perspective of a child..all I can say is Deep.If you never see anything else...you have to see this....and yes...I hit the kleenex a couple of times.

I saw this on HBO and I was crying. when it came out on VHS, I rented it for my daughter, Almost 10-15 yrs ago, she is still asking me what is a old raisin and a puzzle rug.

Hawk in Chi-Town

I was blown away by the characters. My biggest regret is that I let the Laser disk go to my ex and now I can't watch this priceless performance.

I remember renting this on VHS when it first came out, from a local video rental place. I didn't know who she was, or what it would even be about, but I took a shot. I was FLOORED, and over the years have watched it many times.

This is NOT a stand up act, but a one-woman tour de force. She plays several distinct characters, and they range from hilarious to poignant to thought provoking. Once you watch this performance, you'll never have any doubt that this woman is a first class actor, writer and artist. I remember thinking, at the time, that this woman would one day be a HUGE star due to her talent.

When she was doing this on Broadway, I remember that she blew the house down nightly, and every one was talking about how amazing she was; so why the hell is this not on DVD???? Makes no sense to me!!!

Please put it out on DVD, as this is a true treasure.

Orignally called "The Spook Show" on the San Francisco stage, this is Whoopi Goldberg's debut. She does some really fascinating character-based monologues that show the humanity of some rather offbeat but strangely likeable characters that have been described in the other posts. I particularly like Fonataine, the drug addict. When Whoopi as Fontaine mentions that she has advanced degrees, the audience becomes shocked and she gives them a withering look that defies description as if to say, "Do you think I'm dumb? Why can't I have a Phd?" This reminds me of Richard Pryor's astounding wordless expression in response to a mention of his mother's prostitution in "Live an Smokin" some 15 years earlier.

The Surfer Girl seems like a ridiculous caricature at first, but in time, we see the true horror of her apparently airheaded existance. Her description of her sexual experience and the subsequent results will stay with you forever. The Black girl who literally wants to be white may seem to some a uniquely Black rexperience, but it seems to me that Whoopi is pointing out how all of us in childhood fantasize about being someone other than who we are.

I could go on, but I could sum up this show as being a moving and occasionally funny look into the human condition through the use of multiple-character monologues. Only one thing wrong here-why isn't this on DVD?