[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Lessons Learned: The Time of My Life! written and performed by Denise Fennell at the Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest 2026.
Denise Fennell brings her extraordinary solo show, Lessons Learned: The Time of My Life! to Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest. To a packed house, she opens up about her life as a stepmother, being a transplant in L.A., and proves she is a uniquely gifted storyteller. As she navigates the history of ‘her’, she uses her incredible and effortless comedic talents to describe everything from meeting her husband, to parenting teenagers, to growing up in Boston.
For a solo show to really work, the performer has to be able to connect with their audience. They have to charm us, beguile us, entertain, and keep us glued to our seats. Denise Fennell has the ability to do all these things and much much more. Funny? How about hilarious, I don’t think I have laughed out loud so much at a show in a very long time.
With absolutely no filter, Denise lovingly describes her life now and how she got here. For 90 minutes or so, she flawlessly works her magic. As if she were just hanging out with us, her ability to seem totally unrehearsed is phenomenal.
There is some improvisation to the show, as she picks out and picks on several audience members to include in her conversation. I was one of them, drawn into to the world of Denise. I totally forgot I was there to observe and found myself sharing my own teenage failures…what can I say, she charmed me!
But then Denise is very very charming. Natural, funny, clever and kind, she makes you feel like one of the gang, and that’s probably her superpower. It’s also a brilliant way to ensure every single person in the audience is not only paying attention, fully engaged, and committed to the show, they are also rooting for you. Deeply involved in your success for the few minutes they are watching. Once you win them over, the audience is yours, and Denise won the audience over within the first 30 seconds.
She’s an amazing performer with truly wonderful anecdotes, totally relatable and nuanced stories and a heartfelt and authentic delivery.
As she walks us through her journey, she highlights her ‘lessons learned’ and uses those moments to remind us that we are all just infants, really, stumbling our way through life with far less control than we might like to think. But the point is that we all learn from our mistakes and missteps. That every time we hit a wall or stumble, we remember that we learn the most from our failures and we will be the better because of them.
Lessons Learned: The Time of My Life! is a glorious show, full of fun and laughter, and poignant moments. It really is Denise Fennell’s life we are privy to, and might I just say, it was an honor!
You can find out more about Denise and where you might see her perform on her website, https://www.denisefennell.net/
If you have the chance to see her work, I highly recommend that you do!! You will have a lot of fun!!!