Emmy-nominated actress Naomi Grossman, best known as fan-favorite “Pepper,” the first multi-season crossover character from Ryan Murphy’s hit television series, American Horror Story, returns to Taos with her raucous, irreverent love letter to AHS fans, chronicling her pre to post-Pepper adventures in her most recent solo show, American Whore Story. This return 3-day engagement is set to play at the Wildflower Playhouse in Taos from December 27-29, 2024.
Following its extended, sold-out run here last winter, American Whore Story made its Off-Broadway debut, took residence at the Regent Theatre in Boston, headlined the Denver Fringe, and played 27 consecutive nights at the Edinburgh Fringe, where The Scotsman named it one of the festival’s “10 must-see theatre shows.” Winner of the 2023 BroadwayWorld Award for “Best Solo Production,” it also garnered the attention of the 2024 LA Women’s Theatre Festival, who presented Grossman with this year’s Maverick Award for her “high standard of individuality and self-styled creativity.”
Directed by multiple Ovation Award-winner Richard Israel, American Whore Story is Grossman’s third entry in her trilogy of solo shows. Its predecessors, Girl in Argentine Landscape and Carnival Knowledge, also enjoyed critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe, on London’s West End, in New York and Los Angeles, and at universities nationwide… all following successful runs in Taos.
From the face that launched a thousand AHS memes, gifs, clickbait, and fan art, American Whore Story is an anthology of autobiographical tales of self-compromise. In the show, Grossman reveals her history of hustling— from her compromising odd jobs to her compromised love-life. She gives it to us straight (with a slight gay detour), recounting everything from her Red Bull car crash to her boyfriend in a coma. Hailed as “wildly entertaining” by British Theatre Guide, American Whore Story takes its audience on a transformative trip to Burning Man, an acid trip to a 60's Rat Pack-rager, and along her own triumphant trip to #1 on IMDb. Taos even gets a few mentions along the way— her mother, Martha Grossman is featured as a particularly colorful, Taos local character.
Theatre producer Kate Atkinson (Part of the Plan, A Very Brady Musical) and documentary filmmaker Sarah Anthony (Kiss the Future, The Defiant Ones, Light and Magic) have partnered with Grossman to bring American Whore Story to the stage under their AWS Entertainment Group banner. From Taos, they’ll return to Los Angeles to shoot it as a 1-hour comedy special with the intention of selling to streamers. “If HBO isn’t calling, they should be,” touted Off-Broadway critic, Electronic Link. The team is hopeful that they will.
WORKSHOP MONDAY DEC 30th
In addition to the show, Grossman will also offer a post-performance talkback Friday, December 27, as well as a creative writing workshop in the evening of Monday, December 30. Contact the Wildflower Playhouse for details and booking at theater@wildflowerplayhouse.org.
Grossman’s affinity for Taos is palpable: “Only in Taos will folks line up in 10 below zero weather on New Year’s Eve to see a one-woman show. I’ll never forget my mom (Martha), manning the reservation line for my last shows at Metta… Talk about respect for the hustle! We were adding performances the day of! Then, when my Taos Air flight got delayed last winter, we extended that run as well. Tempo Magazine came, called it ‘side-splitting.’ Local casting director, Jo Edna Boldin came, and cast me in a film shooting in Albuquerque! People here get me and my art… and I get them and theirs!”
It is anticipated that this limited engagement will sell out. Please reserve your tickets early to avoid disappointment.