Did you know that anyone can become an American Darling, just like comedian Cat Lim? All you need to do is be kind, generous and authentic (assuming your personality is universally appealing) … but it also doesn’t hurt to have a sunflower costume and an anodyne theme song.
After some preshow photographic advice from Lim’s yenta agent and a prerecorded parody of Nicole Kidman’s cringey AMC advertisement, Cat commands the stage with an hourlong stand-up set about her life as an irrepressible extrovert.
She needs a side therapist to talk about her main therapist with, and she’s susceptible to getting stuck in conversation with strange strangers. Whether you share her irrational fear of cannibalism or also find yourself being people-pleasing toward slow-moving racists, Lim’s comedic confessions cover topics almost anyone can identify with, even if it’s only our ubiquitous American apathy. Her material touches gently on gender and culture clashes as a Filipino woman in an interracial marriage, but also addresses her beef with girlbosses, as well as her pitch for slumber parties on red-eye flights.
Lim’s peppy pacing falters slightly during the home stretch, and her climactic sing-along cover of a crude rap song isn’t as carefully constructed as her jokes. But despite dishing out some dirty words, Cat remains a darling of the Orlando Fringe in my book.
Cat Lim: An American Darling
Scarlet Venue, Orlando Family Stage
60 minutes; 18 & up
$10
Get tickets
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This article appears in May 14-20, 2025.