Tampa Fringe 2025
My Life As An “Inspirational Porn” Star
Gabrielle Leonore
Genre: Comedic, Dark Comedy, Feminist Theatre, LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse, Solo Performance
Venue: The Lighthouse
Festival: Tampa Fringe
Low Down
A one-woman show boldly exploring the fetishization and love of “feel-good” stories of overcoming autism (and how those perceptions only further hurt the neurodivergent community). Sexy, witty, and unique, Gabrielle Leonore gives a hilarious and bold performance.
Review
Just to make something clear at the start – no – Gabrielle Leonore is not a porn star. At least, not in the traditional sense. “Inspirational porn” refers to the feel-good stories of well-meaning individuals who help the autistic overcome their mental difficulties. Think “mom attends university class every day with autistic son.” Leonore is one such star, or maybe rather victim, of this slyly evil clickbait mentality. My Life as an “Inspirational Porn” Star is Leonore’s reflections on growing up with autism and her struggles with the people in her life for people to treat her as an equal. Dressed in lingerie and leaning into the glamorous Gypsy Rose Lee aesthetic and humor, Leonore commands the stage.
What is so impressive by Leonore’s performance and writing is its wit, heart, and comedic timing. I saw the world premiere of the show. Yet, Leonore’s performance was polished. She did not miss a beat and naturally quipped and played along with her active and engaged audience. Her stories are humorous, if sometimes sad. Leonore tears apart the teachers, friends, exes, and family who made her autism so difficult to grow up with. One particularly impactful story comes when Leonore explains why winning a school award left her in tears, and the school apologized for giving her the award. Leonore understands how to get an audience on her side. All she needs to do is showcase the text from an ex asking for a refund for their date to make us understand her points. Leonore is a smooth dominatrix who whips and quips the audience into understanding how their perceptions of autism hurt the neurodivergent community.
Leonore’s performance is yet to perfectly nail the punch. Some of the “chapters” go on for too long or feel unnecessary. The ending, in particular, felt out of place. It felt rather hopeless and melodramatic, something which Leonore so boldly overcomes and avoids throughout most of the show through her humor and heart. Despite her frustrations and sadness, Leonore is fearless and strong. The ending should reflect this. Perhaps not “inspire” us, but glimpse at hope.
That said, Leonore is in the midst of rewrites after this world premiere. Like any show in this early a stage, I am certain the work will only refine now that it has performed in front of its first live audience. Any criticism is one of fine-tuning, not one of structural error. My Life as an “Inspirational” Porn Star is a stunning one-woman show from an up-and-coming artist that stands boldly amongst more established works. It has profound things to say about the intersections of femininity and autism while simultaneously being able to be tongue-in-cheek and sexy. Leonore balances humor, sex, and heart.
