Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Julia McDermott spirals down an existential rabbit hole in Brian Watkins’ WEATHER GIRL

• By drediman
• September 23, 2025
• No Comments

This past weekend, Brian Watkins’ new dark comedy Weather Girl opened at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn’s fashionable DUMBO neighborhood. The solo show stars Julia McDermott as Stacey, a California weather girl who goes through a mental breakdown as she comes face-to-face with encroaching wild fires, triggering her to realize the absurdities of her day-to-day life within the existential context of a fast dying world. It’s no surprise that the play has been masterminded by the same folks who gave us Fleabag — Weather Girl uses the same kind of confessional delivery format that launched Phoebe Waller-Bridge to stardom.

Luckily, in McDermott, we don’t get just another facsimile of Waller-Bridge, despite the role of Stacey being equally unfiltered and oversexed. McDermott is the real deal, uncannily looking the part (kudos to Rachel Dainer-Best’s spot-on costumes) and imbuing the role with real grit beneath the veneer of a chipper and carefree Southern California girl. But in spite of the character’s outrageous impulsiveness, a certain unquantifiable likability unique to McDermott pervades the performance. And although not all of Watkins’ fever dream of a play — which can be characterized as part inappropriately amusing Amy Schumer flick, and part emotionally charged Carrie — holds together quite cohesively (e.g., the scenes involving the protagonist’s mother move the piece into a fantastical realm that doesn’t quite land within the context of the larger work; no spoilers here), McDermott’s performance is here for and thoroughly committed to all of it. It’s a harrowing, pitch perfect performance that digs in its heels and with a plastered grin as anxiety levels explode off the charts, spiraling Stacey down a an increasingly hallucinatory rabbit hole.

Tyne Rafaeli continues on with directorial duties, having previously staged Weather Girl to great acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival. The technically polished production takes place on a set that’s loosely suggestive of a television studio, unfolding with theatrical flourishes that beautifully enhance McDermott’s performance (thanks largely to the contributions of lighting designer Isabella Byrd and sound designer Kieran Lucas). Regardless of whether Weather Girl follows in the same footsteps to commercial success as Fleabag, Watkins’ urgent and timely play had me reflecting on the societal structures that block our vision of the larger (dire) realities we face.

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WEATHER GIRL
Off-Broadway, Play
St. Ann’s Warehouse
1 hour, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Through October 12