By Ashley Choi
Stony Brook University

Sep 18, 2026

Whoopi Goldberg and Pavar Snipe on opening night of The Whoopi Monologues. Photo courtesy: Pavar Snipe.

Emmy-nominated producer, comedian and advocate Pavar Snipe has finished her Off-Broadway run in her revolutionary debut in The Whoopi Monologues. Her Off-Broadway debut took place at the Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.

Revived and re-envisioned by Kerry Washington, the theatrical spectacle aims at showcasing a five-person ensemble rather than its previous solo-ensemble nature.

She made a mark in history by playing a lead role that was originally written as a non-disabled role.

As the run of The Whoopi Monologues wrapped up on Aug. 30, Snipe reflected on her time when she was first cast onto the show.

“When I went in for my audition, I initially kept thinking, ‘You know what? Don’t even be nervous,’” Snipe said. “This is what you do. You love to be on stage. You love to take on different personalities and bring that personality to life in front of an audience. And so having that opportunity given to me by the director and by the casting people at Lincoln Center, was a dream come true.”

Snipe played the role of Lurleen and filled in for Kecia Lewis as an understudy.

“I have found that when I started talking about my disability on stage, it was not only entertaining, but it was also cathartic for me to really think about how my disability impacts my life,” Snipe said. “It allowed people in the audience to see what things are for me as a disabled woman and it allows people to think differently about how they treat disabled people. You can fight in so many ways. You don’t have to necessarily fight physically. You don’t necessarily have to go out there and march, but you can get up there on stage and change people’s minds with your words and your actions and your authentic emotions.”

Snipe is able to intertwine both her role as an entertainer and advocate seamlessly throughout the trajectory of her career. For her, the power of laughter and comedy has a strong influence.

“Your comedy is your activism,” Snipe said. “It is your voice, and you would be surprised to know how much throughout history comedy has helped to shape our thinking as a society. It’s helped flip the script on how often we think about one thing, and we can turn around and think about it differently after we see it through a comedic lens.”

Snipe said one of the absolute highlights of her time on The Whoopi Monologues was the colleagues and peers that she had around her. She said she was grateful to be surrounded by people who she not only admired, but that were immensely talented, authentic and supportive.

“I only had the opportunity to go up once, but just to see my entire cast be able to shine like they did was a beautiful thing,” Snipe said.

Snipe revealed that she had actually taken a fall during a weekend of rehearsal at Lincoln Center resulting in her admittance to the hospital for over a week. She explained that one of the most challenging parts of her time on The Whoopi Monologues was getting back into the rhythm of things after her recovery.

“Fortunately, I was able to come out of it and still get on stage to do my thing and enjoy myself. I put on a performance that hopefully the audience was able to relate to and love,” Snipe said.

She started out her career with a radio background, and then transitioned into her career as a TV news producer. Afterwards, she set her sights on TV writing and stand-up comedy. She now hosts the podcast, It’s Not Even Like That, and serves as a professor, teaching The Art of Comedy at The New School. With many more talents under her belt, Snipe can now add an off-Broadway actress to the list.

Looking back, Snipe hopes that her debut and performance leave a lasting effect on both her audience, but also in the future of theatre.

“As a disabled black woman over 50, having the opportunity to represent my community with The Whoopi Monologues was a dream coming true,” Snipe said. “I hope that people were able to get something beautiful out of the show and understand how Whoopi’s words have transcended and why her words have transcended from 1984 until today. And I hope that, you know, if we go to Broadway, that there’d be even more representation and, you know, I hope that many other actresses have the opportunity to step into Whoopi’s shoes.”

Ashley Choi is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.