Review: Caitlin Cook’s “The Writing on the Stall” is hilarious ... and poignant

Caitlin Cook brought her one-woman musical “The Writing on the Stall” to The Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge for two shows Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2, 2024. Cook, a songwriting social media sensation, has penned a musical asserting that bathroom graffiti is art. She starts her show, seated on the commode, and asks the audience for toilet paper. Cook has taken her audience into the female sanctuary and confessional, a public restroom at a busy nightclub. It's there that she explains that the writings on the bathroom wall are the rawest form of artistic self-expression, and she launches into the first of her half-dozen songs.

Cook, who is as sharp-witted and quick on her feet as an experienced stand-up comic, accompanies herself on her acoustic guitar and entertains the audience with her hilarious song lyrics all composed entirely from bathroom graffiti that she has read or that others have sent to her. She compares the differences between the graffiti in the ladies' room and the men's bathroom. According to Cook, women write supportive messages of hope and love, while men simply draw pictures of male genitalia as cartoon caricatures. It is a riotous, laugh-out-loud bit. She lets the men in on the secrets of the women’s bathroom. Seems the women’s bathroom is a special place, a confessional of sorts where women share their deepest secrets, fears, and desires.

Cook then shared a story about a dark period in her life. As a 17-year-old girl she was involved in an incident that forever changed her. Her presentation of the events was raw and unfiltered. But she credited the humorous bathroom art as one of the things that kept her laughing through a very dark period. Whether her account was true, or fiction and scripted for story arc is unknown, but Cook’s genuine authenticity had connected her with her audience.

Cook is a songwriter, musician, actor, comedian, performer, and scholar. She holds a master's degree in art history from Oxford University in England. She’s found influence from classical art in bathroom graffiti and left these three indelible messages: Bathroom graffiti is art. It is the purest form of self-expression. Art is everywhere you look. Her show “The Writing on the Stall” is hilarious, poignant, and is highly recommended.

Cook’s fiancé, A. J. Holmes, serves as her director and tour manager. Holmes has traveled the world playing Elder Cunningham in “The Book of Mormon” including stints on Broadway and in London’s West End. He was a member of the company of the reigning Tony Award winning best musical “Kimberly Akimbo.” Prior to the show on Sunday evening, Holmes took a seat behind the grand piano on the stage at Blue Strawberry and previewed his upcoming cabaret show at 54 Below in New York City. Holmes is a proficient musician, an outstanding vocalist, and shares Cook’s penchant for writing witty tunes.

More information on Caitlin Cook's many projects is available at her web site, while information on upcomiong shows at The Blue Strawberry is available at theirs.