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Bridezilla Strikes Back!

nytheatre.com review by Joe LaRue
August 15, 2005

Cynthia Silver believed the producers. She believed when she was told that she would be featured in a documentary called “Manhattan Brides,” that it would advance her acting career, and that it would be a way for her to share her bridal experience with other new brides. She was so very wrong. The show was sold to Fox-TV, where it was re-edited and retitled Bridezillas, putting Cynthia on the path to becoming one of the most hated women in America. Her one-woman show, Bridezilla Strikes Back, is a mostly hilarious attempt to find closure from that experience.Silver takes us through every step of the story, from meeting her future husband, to auditioning for the reality show, through the filming, as well as in and out of several fantasy sequences, most of which take place on Oprah. Bridezilla Strikes Back is most fun when she relaxes into the comedy, looks directly at the audience and really seems to want to explain her case to us. Silver is engaging enough to have us on her side the entire time, anticipating our questions, of which the main one is: “Why did you trust them!?”What works best about Bridezilla Strikes Back is the structure of the story. On a reality show, we are given small pieces of footage taken out of context, but here Silver provides us with all the context, walking us through the entire filming process. Then, in a jaw-droppingly funny climax, she shows us how such a horrible picture of her was painted by repeating three choice video clips and adding misleading voiceover and dramatic music.Silver really settles into the performance about halfway into the show. She is at her best when playing herself—affable, funny, and sparkling. We trust her on stage, and as she regales us with her tale of deception and humiliation, we are happy to share in her horror.