“Before I Forget”: King of ‘Shroom Cure’ Conjures AI Hilarity—at The Marsh
Adam Strauss Conquers OCD, Love, Self-Doubt Brilliantly
by Barry David Horwitz
Let’s face it—Adam Strauss is an art form of his own. No one else has been brave enough to face his obsessive-compulsive disorder on stage and tell us about his many hilarious struggles over the years.
Now, in a brilliant set, he takes us to his latest cures, his ongoing love connections, and a new, high-tech solution that blows our minds. A few years back, I watched in wonder—more than once—his famed “The Mushroom Cure,” where he recounts his hilarious experiments with shrooms, attempting to cure his lifelong OCD. That show bravely exposed his insecurity, self-doubt, and crashing love affairs with idealized women. A great success, the show ran for years, establishing Adam as a comedic force.
And he even joined Michael Pollen in research on micro-dosing of mushrooms to find new ways to cure OCD, a debilitating condition.
Now, he takes us on a New York journey, into clubs and parties, and a girlfriend he follows all the way to Greece. He takes the divine Anna’s warning seriously when she says, “Do you want to die alone, like a horse?” The San Francisco audience roars at this quintessential message. Somehow, “the horse” embodies Adam’s fears and insights.
Anna’s brilliance matches Adam’s wit and arms him against self-destructive urges. They are on a beautiful Greek island, and her father is carving tombstones in the garden. And the woman of his dreams opens his eyes to himself—a burning comic moment!
Adam’s one-man show is packed with self-revelation and intriguing characters. The stage is full of wonderful people, funny, smart people, wrapped up in one talented talker.
Even the Greek God competitor for Anna’s love appears as Adam takes us from Greece, back to New York, and to California, trying to solve the riddle of Anna and Adam. We feel like traveling with him, waiting for the next rush of enlightenment.
I am always on the edge of my seat at an Adam Strauss monologue. He puts us on the cusp of experience with him. His flashes of insight become our own. Adam can, by proxy, see and solve our neuroses, too.
Adam is the most reassuring guide—he challenges us, and then he takes us on a ride calculated to cure all ills, not just his own.
He makes us think so much that it takes a week just to write a review—it’s true. A humbling trip that surely is akin to a mushroom cure without the fungus.
Adam is the victim of his own success—he always comes up with ideas and stories that are unique to him, and that take thought and pondering to absorb. Adam takes us into interior and exterior worlds where few of us could penetrate without his solid companionship.
And I haven’t even mentioned the huge and room-rocking ending that uses a live AI therapist, which carries on a profound conversation with our hero. The therapeutic miracle is unique, guaranteed to surpass even “The Mushroom Cure.”
There’s no point in waiting—if you have not seen “Before I Forget” at The Marsh in San Francisco, do it NOW. Get there this weekend, and Adam will save us all from “dying like a horse”!
“Before I Forget” –written & performed by Adam Strauss, directed & developed by Jonathan Libman, produced by Carl Ford, at The Marsh, San Francisco.
Info: themarsh.org - to December 6, 2025.
Cast: Adam Strauss (in many roles)