If you are easily swayed into buying a ticket based on a show’s title, though you may be enticed into seeing the All-Nude College Girl Revue, you may be rather disappointed. Despite the fact that ‘nude’ is in the title and it is held at a cabaret bar, this show does not have any of the things that these two features would suggest.
Lisa Faith Phillips walks out onto the stage unannounced and, just as unexpected as her appearance onstage is, so is the astonishing journey we embark upon. From stripping to working the Penthouse phone sex line to a night in jail, the ride certainly is a colourful and eventful one.
This show is not so much a comedy as it is an autobiographical recounting of where Phillips has been to where she is now. Growing up in Findlay, Ohio, it became clear to her – and quickly to the audience too – that her vivacious personality and dreams were much bigger than this small town on the east coast.
The things that happen in her life range from the hilarious to the outrageous; it’s the kind of thing you would think could only happen in the movies. However her earnest delivery makes you unquestionably believe every word of what she says.
There is no doubt that Phillips is an entertaining storyteller – she has a warm and jovial disposition that makes her very easy to listen to. However while the story in itself is a mildly interesting one, it doesn’t really engage nor is there anything you can truly connect with. Overall I felt for a pretty exciting and extraordinary tale, it lacked energy.
Considering it is in the comedy category, this show did not inspire many laughs apart from the odd chuckle or two, but Phillips’ story is an inspirational one. It is a candid look behind closed doors of the sex and drugs industry and how a self-proclaimed ‘bad girl’ went from being a stripper to making it to Wall Street.
