Let Them Eat Chaos
Posted: November 5, 2013 Filed under: Comedy | Tags: chicago, improv, letthemeatchaos, review, secondcity, sketchcomedy 3 Comments
Just a quick note.
If you find yourself in Chicago in the coming months, be sure to see Let Them Eat Chaos at Second City. No, I’m serious. You’re going.
This was my first time seeing a mainstage production at Second City. When I went the first time in 2007 while on tour, I think I saw a random improv class and I can’t say I enjoyed myself. This visit was a little better planned, and I went with a couple friends while in town a few weeks ago. And my lord, I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard, so consistently.
The show is a mix of sketch comedy and improvisation, seamlessly intertwined and acted by six fantastic performers. It’s topical, political, and stupidly funny. Every sketch is more delightful than the last.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get nervous watching improv. I get very uncomfortable if a scene or performer is bombing. But during this performance, I was never once worried for the actors. They knew what they were doing at all times. Even if a moment wasn’t funny, it would work its way around to paying off. Everything eventually landed. And I was able to just sit back and let the professionals do their thing.
Long story long, my face hurt from laughing for over two and a half hours. And I could have stayed for another two.
Let Them Eat Chaos
Written by Edgar Blackmon, Ross Bryant, Holly Laurent, Tawny Newsome, Katie Rich, and Steve
Waltien, Directed by Matt Hovde
The Second City
Photo Credit: Clayton Hauck
Pictured: Steve Waltien, Holly Laurent, Edgar Blackmon, Ross Bryant, Tawny Newsome, Katie Rich
The Vaudevillians, starring Jinkx Monsoon
Posted: October 1, 2013 Filed under: Comedy, Musical | Tags: dragrace, jinkx, jinkxmonsoon, lauriebeechman, majorscales, review, rupaul, vaudevillians Leave a comment
Thanks to my fellow show guru, I was told to run, not walk, to see The Vaudevillians at the Laurie Beechman. What started as a one-night show has since been extended through November. Jinkx Monsoon, of recent RuPaul’s Drag Race fame, stars in the production. I should note right now: I have never watched Drag Race, I had no idea Jinkx was on it (much less the Season 5 winner), but whether you’re a fan or not, her show is definitely worth checking out if you can.
Now this isn’t a drag show, but the star is in drag and she is hi-lar-ious. Jinkx Monsoon plays Ms. Kitty Witless alongside her husband and collaborator, Mr. Dan Von Dandy (played by Major Scales). You ready for the premise? I don’t think you’re ready. Together Kitty and Dan used to have a popular vaudeville show in the 1920s, but during a tour through Antarctica (!), they were caught in an avalanche and frozen alive. Decades later, thanks to global warming, they have thawed out and made it to NYC to continue singing some of their most popular hits. The problem is, their songs were never copyrighted so it turns out their best numbers have been stolen by popular artists of today. This brilliantly simple idea allows these two to sing pretty much whatever they want with a new twist. You’ll hear the original vaudevillian versions of hits like “Toxic,” “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” and “I Will Survive” – the 11 o’clock number from A Doll’s House 2: Electric Boogaloo (haven’t you heard of the sequel to Ibsen’s classic?). That song alone is worth the price of admission.
There are some dips in momentum, most noticeably when Kitty is off taking a break leaving Dandy to take the stage by his lonesome. But it’s quickly forgiven anytime Kitty comes out into the audience to chat with the boys or has yet another fight with her hubby (frozen in ice for that many years didn’t do too much for their marriage).
Bottom line is, if you like fun, over-the-top cabarets, chock-full of mugging, then The Vaudevillians is for you. Get your tickets here.
The Vaudevillians, starring Jinkx Monsoon
The Laurie Beechman Theatre through November 19th
Photo Credit: Wilson Models
Pictured: Richard Andriessen and Jerick Hoffer
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Posted: August 17, 2013 Filed under: Comedy, Musical, Off-Broadway, Shakespeare | Tags: bloodybloodyandrewjackson, delacorte, josswhedon, loveslabourslost, review, shakespeare, shakespeareinthepark Leave a comment
It’s an odd thing. Sometimes it looks like everything’s been done just right: a talented cast, creative director, nice set, beautiful park, some laughs. And yet I walked away from Love’s Labour‘s Lost feeling unaffected. I sat there wishing I was laughing as hard as the people around me, but instead I felt like a bystander, observing from the outside of the Delacorte.
The very simple plot (I’m serious, there’s nothing to it) follows three men and their king who all take an oath to give up life’s pleasures and withdraw from society for three years in order to dedicate their time to their studies. In this contemporary adaptation, these men make this promise at their five-year college reunion, and in addition to rejecting women, they give up beer, bongs, porn, the list goes on. Of course, then four women from their pasts arrive, and we know this oath isn’t going to last too long, thereby making us doubt the weight of their oaths made later to love and stay committed to these women.
That’s it. That’s the plot. The women disappear for like, half of the show. There are random other characters who pop up for a few minutes here and there purely for comic relief.
So what left me feeling so untouched you ask? I’m honestly still in the process of figuring out a concrete answer. This is the second of two Shakespeare in the Park productions this summer, and it is very much a modern adaptation. It’s been turned into a musical, with a new score and adapted book by Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers. Purists, be warned: the original Shakespeare text has been left in the dust. When it does crop up (rarely), it is brief before the songs take over again or more contemporary exchanges take its place.
I don’t mind modern versions of Shakespeare plays; in fact, I encourage them and love to see new approaches. But I did have a hard time with how little original text was used. I kept wondering why they even bothered to keep it. As a result, the jokes felt thin to me. They were easy laughs because it’s funny to juxtapose Shakespeare against a profanity or colloquial phrase. He said the f-word! Such a novelty! But why not only have a couple moments like that and then work to find what’s funny in the original material? Why are extravagant, flamboyant costumes necessary to get laughs? Shakespeare gives us all that we need. I don’t know, maybe I am a purist, but I think if you’re going to change the play to that degree then leave it behind entirely, instead of just referencing it when it’s convenient.
Some will argue that this production makes Shakespeare relatable for a modern audience, but I don’t think all of the hoopla is necessary. People continue to attend Shakespeare in the Park, not only because it’s free, but because Shakespeare remains relatable and entertaining even today. As I exited the park, I found myself thinking about Joss Whedon’s recent film, Much Ado About Nothing. This was a fully contemporary approach to Shakespeare, but the text remains, the comedy reads, and an audience packed with Avengers, Buffy, and Firefly fans connected to it and found themselves enjoying (and understanding) a Shakespeare play thanks to this medium.
This production left me thinking: are any of these choices justified? Most of the “bits” felt random because they knew they would get laughs. The songs make up the majority of the play, but they felt put on and not fully earned by these characters. I like this composer; I’m a big fan of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (the same creative team). But except for “Love’s a Gun” (sung by the always-amazing Rebecca Naomi Jones) and a couple of other fun numbers, the music didn’t add to my experience.
Please don’t get me wrong; this is a wonderfully talented cast including Daniel Breaker, Colin Donnell, Jeff Hiller, and Rachel Dratch, not to mention director Alex Timbers whom we all know I love (see my Here Lies Love review). But this comedy felt mapped out. There are some genuinely funny and surprising moments. I just wish the rest of it had been as genuine.
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Written by William Shakespeare, Song by Michael Friedman, Book Adapted and Directed by Alex Timbers
Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare in the Park 2013
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
Pictured: Bryce Pinkham, Colin Donnell, and Lucas Near-Verbrugghe
Nobody Loves You
Posted: August 8, 2013 Filed under: Comedy, Musical, Off-Broadway | Tags: elizabethmitchell, mormon, nobodylovesyou, realitytv, review, secondstage Leave a comment
Hey readers. Long time no see. The summer season is so painfully quiet in the theatre world! But I have returned to the blogosphere to review Second Stage Theatre’s production of Nobody Loves You.
If you had asked me how I felt about this show during the first scene or two, man oh man, was I ready to walk out. I sat there thinking, “Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?” Luckily, the show began to redeem itself with its clever one-liners and quirky self-awareness. I gotta say, that’s hard to do – reversing a first impression and bringing me back from the brink is impressive.
Here’s the basic premise: Jeff, a philosophy graduate student, auditions for a reality show dating competition called “Nobody Loves You” to try to get his ex-girlfriend back. Don’t worry, his reasoning makes sense: it’s a musical! He is also ready to prove to his ex (who’s a big fan of the show) and the world how reality TV is manufactured and fake, and no one makes any real connections. You can probably guess how things pan out, but it’s definitely entertaining along the way. If you’re looking for bubblegum fun, this is the place to be.
The tight-knit ensemble cast stays super busy for 90 minutes singing pop tunes and jumping around playing multiple roles. My personal favorite is Heath Calvert as Byron, the charming-as-he-is-dumb host of the competition. Stand-outs also include Leslie Kritzer as Nina, the hilarious, ball-busting Executive Producer, and Rory O’Malley (The Book of Mormon’s Turn It Off star) as super fan Evan, who provides an excellent way to watch the show within a show from the outside in.
Another nice surprise was Aleque Reid as Jenny, the equally-annoyed-as-Jeff backstage assistant to the show. Amidst all of the heightened “reality,” Jenny’s character keeps things grounded. Not to mention she reminded me so much of Elizabeth Mitchell that I went home and fell into a YouTube wormhole watching LOST Juliet clips (spoiler alert in that link, if you still want to watch the series one day).
I did think, however, that the main character was problematic. Jeff just wasn’t likable in my book. I’m stumped as to whether this was due to the actor, the writing, the directing, or a combination. Granted it’s a tough sell to get you on his side; he has to be a Negative Nancy for most of the show, and it opens with him being kind of a jackass. But he could be a lovable jackass, right? Nonetheless, I didn’t care about him, which leads me to my main issue with the show.
Since these characters are all archetypes and spoofs of themselves, not to mention that the show is one major mockery of reality television, it’s hard to care for them on a deeper level. The show is definitely fun and the campiness hilarious, but when it tries to get “real,” the script falters. I don’t watch reality TV; I dislike it almost as much as Jeff does. I prefer the spoofs like Burning Love or Baby Bachelor. In that vein, Nobody Loves You is actually quite a smart commentary on reality shows, and musicalizing it works. But in the end, it is about reality television, so it never really gets beneath the surface. Leaving me to ask: is that the underlying flaw of the show or the point?
Nobody Loves You
Written by Itamar Moses and Gaby Alter, Directed by Michelle Tattenbaum
Second Stage Theatre
Photo Credit: Joan Marcus
Pictured: Heath Calvert (right) and the cast of Nobody Loves You
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Posted: June 25, 2013 Filed under: Broadway, Comedy, Play | Tags: durang, hilarious, masha, review, sigourney, snowwhite, sonia, spike, vanya 3 Comments
Okay, before I start this review, a bit of a disclaimer. As some of you may have noticed, my posts have been trending toward the positive. Do not fret! I do in fact dislike some shows – quite a few actually. I’ve been on this incredible winning streak of seeing some really great work. But you can still take me seriously, I promise; I’m very, very critical.
That being said: oh my god, this show is so good.
It’s funny; I had completely ignored this play’s existence when it was up at Lincoln Center. I feel like most of New York was ignoring it or rather, no one in my circles was talking about it. Then it hit Broadway and started being showered with awards. I knew I wanted to check it out before the Tony Awards so I did the youth rush a couple weeks back.
Set in Bucks County, the story focuses on half-siblings Vanya (David Hyde Pierce) and Sonia (Kristine Nielson), named by their parents after Chekhov characters. These two pretty much never leave the house. They stay put day in and day out, lonely and in a permanent state of tedium it seems, only slightly thrown off-kilter by their prophetic, outspoken maid, Cassandra (Shalita Grant). But everything is upended when their movie star sister, Masha (Sigourney Weaver), drops in for an unexpected visit with her new boytoy, Spike (Billy Magnussen). Hilarity ensues from the first moments, ranging from physical comedy and sight gags to endless amounts of witty dialogue: “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekhov would have had nothing to write about.”
The small cast of six (four of whom were Tony nominees) are all stand-outs. Every character gets the opportunity to shine. If you want to catch Sigourney Weaver before she leaves the show, her last performance is July 28th and then Julie White (one of my favorite actresses) will take over through the August 25th closing.
Surprisingly, this was Christopher Durang’s first Tony win for his work (the production won for Best Play this season). Known for his absurd comedy, there’s no letting us down here. Durang creates a world that is not quite reality but at the same time is all too real and relatable. Yes, there are Chekhov references. No, you do not need to know his plays to enjoy the show, although it is fun to get the inside jokes. I went with a friend who is not a “theatre-person,” and she loved it just as much as I did. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much. One second I was smiling à la Old Hats and the next moment I was crying. Kristine Nielson is just glorious.
Okay, that’s all I’m going to say. I honestly don’t want to mention anything else that happens. Again, although many of my reviews have been positive, there have only been a few that said Don’t-Miss-It. This is one of them.
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Written by Christopher Durang, Directed by Nicholas Martin
John Golden Theatre
Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg
Pictured: David Hyde Pierce and Sigourney Weaver
Becca on Broadway 