Common Knowledge Off-Broadway Reviews

If the 75-minute solo show – the title comes from Clay’s insistence that her mental collection of facts and information is merely common knowledge, or should be – can feel a bit underdeveloped (it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last...

If the 75-minute solo show – the title comes from Clay’s insistence that her mental collection of facts and information is merely common knowledge, or should be – can feel a bit underdeveloped (it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year), O’Donnell efficiently and effectively ties up the family tales of her life by ultimately circling back to her own mother. The comedian sees her mother’s face everywhere in the women of Ireland, and draws a crucial lesson from them all: Life, when all is said and done, is about perseverance. Or as O’Donnell says at the end of her charming show, after all the tribulations of life and Trump , “I’m still here.”

It’s been about a decade since Rosie O’Donnell was on the New York stage, and she hasn’t lost an ounce of her panache. But while her last special, 2015's A Heartfelt Stand Up, was billed as a comedy act, her newest, Common Knowledge, is billed ...

It’s been about a decade since Rosie O’Donnell was on the New York stage, and she hasn’t lost an ounce of her panache. But while her last special, 2015's A Heartfelt Stand Up, was billed as a comedy act, her newest, Common Knowledge, is billed as a solo show. The difference between the two can feel like splitting hairs, especially for someone like O’Donnell, who started doing stand-up in 1979. But Common Knowledge does feel more like storytelling than an hourlong set of bits strung together.