Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway (1985)

Whoopi’s original Broadway one woman show paints her as not just a funny comedian but also a masterful storyteller. From her portrayals of a little Black girl who dreams of being white to a young teenager who gives herself an abortion to a disabled woman who has recently gotten engaged, she somehow manages the tone from funny to sad extraordinarily well without it feeling jarring. She incorporates the characters so thoroughly that each one feels a bit like they must be a part of her. Some of them, like the disabled women, were re-worked somewhat for her Back to Broadway performance and it’s interesting to compare how she advances their narrative.