Complications Of Buying A Poodle Pillow

Mz Rajskub recently debuted her one person show at The Comedy Central Stage.

Originally titled It Was Then That I Carried You... (a riff on the Footprints poem), the name has been changed to Complications Of Buying A Poodle Pillow.

Here's my recap of the show...

The Cast:
Carlos Rota (who, incidentally, plays the ex-husband of Mary Lynn’s character on 24) stars as Mary Lynn’s Lawyer and Coke Buddy.
Stephanie Escajeda as Terry Gross
Ex-Fiance Duncan Trussel as himself (!)
The show was directed by Ron Lynch

This was a really well put together affair. Projected visuals served to illustrate Mary Lynn’s monologues. There was a great montage of images from her trip to DC, including candid shots of the woman with Chief Justice Clarance Thomas. There are two scenes where Mary Lynn interacts directly with the images; one where we view an email to Rush Limbaugh as she writes it. In another, the audience views cell phone text messages from her lawyer in real time.

The pivotal moment in this piece was illustrated with the, now much discussed, photograph of Rush Limbaugh kissing Mary Lynn. Much of the material in this show deals with the aftermath of this photograph being published.

The scene with Trussel was especially compelling. Trussel and Mary Lynn enact a cell phone conversation between the two following the wide distribution of the Rush image. He calls out of concern and disappointment, asking her if she is dating Rush Limbaugh.

Quote:

I would rather have seen you in a three-way gang bang, that see you kissing the mouthpiece for Satan in America. -Duncan Trussel

Quote:

I'm curious, when he sucked the soul out of your body, did he replace it with maggots? -Duncan Trussel

He mirrors the criticism of those that were less disturbed that she was kissed by Rush, than that she was hanging out at a Heritage Foundation gig in the first place.

The telephone conversation between MLR and Terry Gross follows. Gross grills Mary Lynn on her politics and the Rush incident. Trussel and Gross seem to stand in for Mary Lynn’s critics; Trussel: within her peers, & Gross: among leftists at large.

Quote:

F--k you, Terry! And fuck NPR, and the horse you rode in on! -MLR

Durring the conversation with Gross, she becomes the devil's advocate and insinuates that maybe she is dating Rush. She decides to actually make this happen, and emails Rush. Later, her lawyer calls with an offer of cocaine. They go bar hopping while planning how a relationship with Limbaugh would play out in terms of development deals.

There are many details from this show that I am forgetting, but those are some highlights.
Photo by Itslikeimsayin from her set at CDR4.