Review: Gwyneth Goes Skiing

After a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024, Awkward Productions’ Gwyneth Goes Skiing has crossed the pond and is now playing at the SoHo Playhouse. After seeing their newest show, The Fit Prince (...), in Edinburgh this past summer, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see another of their campy productions—and it did not disappoint.

Joseph Martin and Linus Karp

Created by Linus Karp and Joseph Martin and based on the real 2023 trial, which became a pop-culture sensation for its bizarre testimony, unexpected one-liners, and the sheer absurdity of watching a high-profile celebrity earnestly declare, “I lost half a day of skiing,” this witty comedy is nothing short of delightful. With original music by Leland, prerecorded by Cat Cohen and Broadway favorite (and appropriately, Glee star) Darren Criss, Martin and Karp laugh their way through the innately comedic tale of a retired optometrist’s battle for legal justice and a Hollywood star’s… well, flamboyant defense, to say the least. Add in plenty of audience participation—featuring my brief off-Broadway debut as the “haggard journalist”—and the result is a riotous night that fully earns its reputation as one of the most entertaining outings in town.

Linus Karp delivers a hilarious and unapologetically irreverent Gwyneth Paltrow, drawing what felt like endless laughter from the audience. With a steady flow of Goop jokes and playful riffs on Paltrow’s persona, Karp offers a truly “Gwyn-credible” performance. Opposite him, Joseph Martin is equally

fantastic, bringing impeccable comedic timing to his grumpy retired optometrist, Terry Sanderson. He also voices Terry’s puppet lawyer in a brilliant double act that repeatedly sends the audience into fits.

As expected from an Awkward Productions show, the additional animal characters—such as Mrs. Rabbit and the Deer of Deer Valley—extend the company’s signature puppetry style. Handled by Ciara Pidgeon, the deadpan stage manager who becomes as essential to the show as Karp and Martin, these puppets add another layer of humor and charm.

Perhaps the best part of this production’s arrival in New York is that it still retains all of its Fringe chaos and scrappiness, not letting the bright lights of (off) Broadway transform it into something it isn’t. From the basic sets to the lighting and sound design, everything about it screams “Fringe!” My only critique? The run isn’t long enough. Gwyneth Goes Skiing closes on Sunday, November 16, so do whatever you can to secure a ticket!

5/5 stars

1 hour and 30 minutes, one intermission

SoHo Playhouse

Through November 16, 2025