Women Laughing Alone with Salad

From March 6-April 3, the theater will find an Internet meme come to life in Women Laughing Alone with Salad. Sheila Callaghan’s rude comedy, receiving its West Coast premiere here, funnels modern expectations of women through the prism of the stock photo trope of, well, women laughing with salad, often alone. “Nobody likes salad that much; it’s not built for that,” the playwright told the Washington Post, explaining that her comedy confronts portrayals of women in media: “I don’t think salad’s the villain in the play; I think shaming is the villain.” The New York Times described the Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company production as “exuberantly vulgar… rich in expletives and frank discussions of sex acts,” while praising its stylistic boldness.