What is happiness? Have you ever have an accidental orgasm in the shoe department? These questions are asked in the one-woman play, My High-Heeled Life: Or, How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Love My Stilettos, by creator and performer Katharine McLeod. During this play, you’re taken on a journey into an optimistic woman’s mind. This comedy discusses the relationship between high-heels and life in a way you’ve never thought of before—suggesting shoes can create happiness, euphoric experiences, and best of all, can be a great cleaning tool.
The moment I walked into the auditorium, I noticed a sleek blonde woman sitting on a bar stool, doing her makeup, dressed in a tight, little black dress and a pair of black pumps. Every couple of moments, she glanced at the audience with a sly smile on her face. At that moment, I know it wasn’t going to be an ordinary play.
This beautiful young woman says exactly what’s on her mind, but out loud. She’s easy to relate to and honest, capturing every woman’s heart (and innermost thoughts). Throughout the piece, I realized her rationale between shoes and life actually makes sense. High-heeled shoes can be a physical manifestation of empowerment and sexiness, which can trickle down to a sense of happiness. She uses an example of walking in front of a construction site every morning, to feel desirable, gaining confidence after every strut.
She also mentions that high-heels are great for cleaning those hard to reach shelves.
My favorite part of the play was when the bubbly McLeod decides to take off her heels, and in doing so, loses all self-esteem and confidence. She goes into deep thoughts about life that women of all ages can relate to. She makes you think of the negative things in your life and however bad they are, things could always be worse. You could have urine spilt on you instead of water while trying to strut your stuff in front of construction men.
Displaying both vulnerability and confidence, McLeod shines in this solo play; her acting was flawless. The play was well written, and a great comedic confessional into a woman’s mind.
More information about this play and other works by McLeod can be found on her website.