The Documentary
Read Fabulous review in the Hollywood Times:
Read RabbleRouser: Les Nickelettes Doc “Anarchy in High Heels” at LA Femme.
Read CineSource: “New Doc about San Francisco Comediennes Nickelettes.”
https://cinesourcemagazine.com/index.php?/site/comments/new_doc_about_sf_comediennes_nickelettes
Read the San Francisco Examiner: “New doc recounts the ‘anarchy’ of SF’s iconic feminist theater group.”
Watch Q. & A. with DocFest’s Lucy Hanna:
DocFest’s Lucy Hanna’s comments:
They sang, they mocked, they disruptedāand they did it in heels. Emerging from the late-night underground of 1970s San Francisco, The Les Nickelettes carved out a space that was entirely their own, where performance became protest and humor carried a sharp, liberating edge.Anarchy in High Heels revisits this fearless collective through a vivid tapestry of archival performance and lived memory, capturing the rhythm, color, and irreverence of a moment when women refused to be sidelinedāon stage or off.
Before the language of empowerment became familiar, these women were already shaping it in real timeāthrough satire, music, and unapologetic presence. Their work wasnāt just entertainment; it was collaboration, resistance, and invention, unfolding in a cultural landscape that rarely made room for voices like theirs. The film traces this lineage of creative defiance with warmth and admiration, allowing the echoes of their performances to resonate across generations.
What emerges is both a tribute and a rediscoveryāa portrait of artists who transformed the stage into a space of possibility, where laughter and rebellion could coexist. In revisiting their story, Anarchy in High Heels invites us to reconsider the role of humor in movements for change, and to witness a chapter of feminist history that remains as bold, playful, and vital as ever. – Lucy Hanna, SF DocFest
The Book
āAn intriguing, humorous, poignant dive into the origins of modern female comedy and friendship. For a funny ride worthy of multiple reads, classroom study, or book club feature, Anarchy in High Heels: A Memoir by Denise Larson should be at the top of your list.ā Click here to read the full review
āReaderās Favorite 5-STAR Review
āWe bought old thrift store sweaters and sewed on big block letters āNā, āIā, and āCā, teased our hair into puffy dos, and wore miniskirts. We pranced out singing a cappella, āMusic! Music! Music!ā, camping it up with choreographed 1920-style dance. We turned around, flipped up our skirts, mooned the audience with our underwear, and scampered offstage,ā Larson said, āThe crowd awarded us with boisterous applause.ā āSan Francisco Senior Beat
āPluck and gumption animate Larson’s telling. If you, too, fantasize about an art project that seems far away or impossible, just somehow throwing your zany ideas out there and making them happen, you’ll likely find a primer and an inspiration in Anarchy in High Heels.ā āSan Francisco Chronicle – Click here to read the full review
āAnd even more brazenly, we conjured up bawdy comedy from our shared female experiences and added a salacious feminist kick to it. Even the second-wave feminists didnāt know what to make of us. Les Nickelettes also rejected the accepted model of the time that womenās groups, by nature, were competitive and combative. We supported, promoted, and advocated for one another. We were collaborators. No cat-fights, no trying to steal boyfriends, no backstabbing.ā āWomen Writers Women’s Books – Click here to read the full interview
“I was inspired to write the memoir because I didnāt want the story of Les Nickelettes to be swept into the dustbin of history. The group did things no one else was doing; we were ahead of our time. My story is a snapshot of a culturally historical time in ā70s San Francisco that reveals an unprecedented liberation of womenās humor. My female perspective of that era needed to be told and preserved.” āBook Club Babble – Click here to read the full interview
āDenise Larson proves a wise and witty guide to the taboo-busting, iconoclastic underground scene of ’70s San Francisco, charting the development of her own artistic growth and confidence through spearheading the subversive, ground-breaking ensemble Les Nickelettes, who served notice that women could be outspoken, raunchy, and above all funny.ā
āEllin Stein, author of That’s Not Funny, That’s Sick: The National Lampoon and the Comedy Insurgents Who Captured the Mainstream
āThis is a delightfully nostalgic peek into the Baby Boomer-era of funny, feminist Americana.ā
āAnna Fields, author of The Girl in the Show – Three Generations of Comedy, Culture, and Feminism
āThe best thing about the Nickelettes was the way they resisted compromising to fit into acceptable norms for women at the time. Using humor and theatre, the affinity of this zany girl family sustained them as they embraced an aesthetic of anti-seriousness through play and laughter. And in the process, they learned to value themselves and each other.ā
āIlene English, author of Hippie Chick: Coming of Age in the ā60s
āThe engrossing book addresses the importance of empowering marginalized individuals, who have so much to say … A meaningful, feminist joyride that travels back in time.ā
āKirkus Reviews. See complete review below.
Kirkus Review:
ANARCHY IN HIGH HEELS
BY DENISE LARSON ā§ RELEASE DATE: JULY 27, 2021
A debut memoir focuses on a young woman performing, making lifelong friendships, and finding herself during the 1970s.
Larsonās book is a feminist coming-of-age story about breaking free from the conservative ethos of the ā50s. The author, who grew up in a Los Angeles suburb, believed she would end up as a housewife, secretary, nurse, or teacher. But she had a taste of show business as a child, when she appeared on a daytime variety show, and it left a mark. While studying drama as an undergraduate in San Francisco, Larson began working as a cashier at a āporno theater.ā (āPorn is no big deal anymore,ā a friend assured her.) The author began performing in an after-hours event at the theater and formed a feminist comedy troupe called Les Nickelettes. Larson wrote the satirical plays as well as directed and produced the shows, which were popular among critics and audiences. Les Nickelettes had a stint in New York City, but their reception was lukewarm, and they returned to California in debt and overwhelmed. Still, their bonds remained strong, and the author returned to New York to continue performing with her friends years later. Larsonās memoir deftly captures the countercultural energy of the ā70s. The bawdy performances included skits of the women āas cowgirls riding stick ponies and singing āDeep in My Solar Plexus.ā ā But the story is also a stark reminder of the sexism that women experienced in that era. āUntil Les Nickelettes asked for my opinions, I didnāt think my thoughts mattered,ā explained one of the performers. Similarly, while auditioning in New York, Judy, a biracial Nickelette, experienced startling racism: āTheyād say: āAre you a little Asian?ā āYouāre not Spanish looking enough.ā āCan you be Black?ā ā Larson recounts key events without glamorizing or dramatizing the highs and lows of this time in American history. Instead, she celebrates the power of friendship and the critical role of art to push boundaries: āHereās the premise: Would religion and culture change if God were perceived as female instead of male?ā In addition, the engrossing book addresses the importance of empowering marginalized individuals, who have so much to say.A meaningful, feminist joyride that travels back in time.
