Review: Dylan Mulvaney Is a Campy Angel in The Least Problematic Woman in the World

As a Broadway actor turned TikTok influencer turned canceled trans activist, Dylan Mulvaney has experienced a lot in her 28 years. She relates her life story so far in The Least Problematic Woman in the World at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, a bitingly funny and often vulnerable exploration of what it means to be a trans woman in the social-media spotlight.

At the outset, Dylan goes all the way back to her pre-birth existence, appearing as an angel in the heavens, and explains that she is about to get her new life assignment. Though she’s been unlucky before—in her past lives, she was Anne Boylen and Hitler’s mom—she’s certain she’s going to get a great life this time. But no, her new life is going to be … complicated. At 4 years old, Dylan tells her mother that she is a girl in a boy’s body. In response, a doctor gives her a “medication” to make her a pixyish gay man (read: twink). But as Dylan comes of age, she realizes that her identity is different, and more complex, than that.

The child-through-teens section of the show is pure camp, and utterly delightful. Zingers zip by and physical gags abound, all with solid direction by Tim Jackson. Absurd moments (like Dylan being “born” by swan-diving across a table in Tom Rogers set) show off her big comedic chops.

Mulvaney’s appeal isn’t just her humor. Milling about with the crowd pre-curtain while wearing those angel wings (costumes by Enver Chakartash) and taking selfies with fans, she’s gregarious and down to earth. Sharp humor is blended with empathy as we see Mulvaney watching Desperate Housewives with her mom and crushing on the cast of Glee, tapping that millennial-cusp nostalgia button. Songs by Abgail Barlow, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Ingrid Michaelson, and Mark Sonnenblick are hilarious and catchy (Justin Stasiw’s overwhelming sound design, however, occasionally drowned out Mulvaney’s lovely voice).

The middle of the show covers more ground, but with less clarity. It dives into Dylan’s transition, her rise as a TikTok influencer, and subsequent controversy and cancellation, without providing the details that made the first half so fun. Mulvaney’s Broadway career is hardly mentioned (she was in The Book of Mormon), and it’s not specifically explained how or why she started posting her transition journey on social media. Suddenly, Mulvaney’s getting brand deals, and later direct messages from haters and fans, delivered as letters by an opossum mail carrier, which is too nonsensical to get laughs. A section that represents Mulvaney having a mental-health breakdown is a bit muddled as well.

Still, her story of facing unbridled hatred and vitriol, being called a child predator, and receiving death threats, simply for doing a brand deal for a beer company, is harrowing. The idea of Mulvaney having to sell “palatability” and never defend herself against haters, lest she be called “problematic,” gets to the dark heart of both being trans and being a social-media celebrity in the same way the “twink medication” embodied the harm that trans people face when they are forced to mask who they are.

It’s a perfect metaphor for the less funny second half of the show, but Mulvaney navigates the changes in tone effortlessly and sincerely. She easily wins the affection of the audience, but as she points out, it’s not the people in the room she’s worried about, it’s the people out in the world actively trying to harm her and other trans people. Mulvaney, however, crafts a narrative with a satisfying, positive, and triumphant ending. Her realization is typical of a coming-of-age tale, but in her telling it feels fresh.

Rogers’s set, illuminated by Cha See’s festive lighting, is a fun explosion of pink, with a closet full of costumes, dolls, and more symbols of girlhood. Video design by Caite Hevner adds to the humor. The video cues were impeccably timed until a small snafu occurred at the end of the show, but it didn’t dampen the overall effect.

Despite some flaws, Mulvaney shines as genuine, talented, and lovable. The Least Problematic Woman in the World is a campy, frothy good time with real heart.