Review by James Judd
Judy Gold has been doing a lot of swooping this summer. She swooped in from a week in a bomb shelter in Tel Aviv at the start of the season, and now she’s closing out her Provincetown run after swooping back from Hollywood, where she’s been shooting a role in a new BET series. At 62, Gold’s decades-long comedy career feels like it’s still gaining altitude—with a palpable sense that her best work may be yet to come.
Gold is the rare stand-up whose onstage and offstage selves feel virtually identical. The veneer is so thin you can’t tell where the comic ends and the person begins. Lithe, energetic, and razor-sharp, she performs with the verve of someone half her age but the authority of a veteran who has fully mastered her craft. Simply put, it’s a thrill to be in the room with this much talent.
At her first Provincetown show earlier this summer, Gold had just returned from Israel and recounted—raw and unpolished—the harrowing experience of sheltering in an underground parking garage as missiles rained down on Tel Aviv. Those stories have since been sharpened into a barrage of perfectly timed punchlines, especially when she reads aloud the hilariously blasé text messages from friends and family back in New York. No spoilers, but suffice it to say: New Yorkers, even your own kin, can be the toughest crowd.
Gold’s comedy shines brightest when she zeroes in on the absurdity of everyday life. A routine about automated pharmacy checkout questions had the audience howling. What happens if she says yes to the offer of “counseling from the pharmacist”? Does it have to be about the medicine, or could Judy unload some of her other challenges instead?
She also took aim at Provincetown’s shifting demographics, skewering newcomers who don’t understand the town’s LGBTQ history. Spotting a first-time visitor in the audience, she quipped: “The Pilgrims landed here first, did you know that? They stayed a few days, then left for Plymouth—because here was too gay.”
Throughout her set, Gold worked the crowd, peppering in questions about where audience members came from and why they were at her show. The give-and-take underscored what makes her such a master: she’s not just performing at you, she’s pulling you into her world. Gold will be performing most night’s Women’s Week. Do not miss it.
Judy Gold performs at the Post Office Cabaret, 303 Commercial St., Provincetown, Monday through Wednesday, 7 p.m. and Thursday through Saturdy, 8:30 p.m., October 13 – 18. For tickets ($35–$45) and information call 508.487.0008 or visit postofficecafe.net.
