HOME PAGE SEARCH CurtainUp REVIEWS FEATURES NEWS Etcetera and Short Term Listings LISTINGS Broadway Off-Broadway BOOKS and CDs OTHER PLACES Berkshires London LA/San Diego DC Philadelphia Elsewhere QUOTES On TKTS LETTERS TO EDITOR FILM LINKS MISCELANEOUS Free Updates Masthead Writing for CurtainUp NYC Weather |
A CurtainUp Review
Suspicious Package By Jenny Sandman
In The Dinner Guest, a quiet, reflective, aristocratic older man relates the tale of a dinner party at which he was seated next to a wolverine. Surprising and multi-layered, this reflects a deep familiarity with British humor. The Cocktail Party involves two catty, gossipy women. The chatter about fashion and B-list celebrities, but as the cocktail party progresses, we slowly realize that their husbands are Third Reich higher-ups and everyone at the party is a Nazi official. Skill Set is perhaps the most closely akin to a Python sketch. It's just another day at the scalping firm where the salesmen count up their scalps and attach them to expense-account forms. It's a brilliant exercise in sarcasm and office wit ("How's the coffee?". . . "Burned. Tastes like an inner-city house fire that killed three.") and funny in much the same way that BBC's The Office is funny. The last two pieces, while well-written, spin a little out of control. In Pieta, Mary is pissed off at Jesus because he's taking his sweet time resurrecting and she wants some kind of reward for all she's had to put up with through the years. "I encouraged this God thing way too much," she gripes. But Jesus is tired of his mother being on his case all the time. They argue and bicker, and while the commonality of their argument is the whole point of the sketch, it's more situational comedy than the carefully observed satire of the previous pieceses. The same is true of "On the Nature and Religion of the Hibernian Peoples, or, Marty McDonagh Goes to the Bank" whichtakes place in an Irish bar. A loose-lipped priest, two drunken parishioners and the local whore unearth the recent killing of a leprechaun. The humor lies mainly in the broad, overly exaggerated Irish accents. Despite the lesser playlets, this funny evening should adorn Parks' career. The cast members are all excellent. h David Calvitto and Jody Lambert stand out with their precise comic timing and an inherent sense of the absurd. Director Paul Urcioli keeps the pacing razor-sharp. All told, this is theater that's droll, topical, and smart. And at $15 a ticket. . .affordable.
|
Easy-on-the budget super gift for yourself and your musical loving friends. Tons of gorgeous pictures. Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co. Click image to buy. Our Review At This Theater Leonard Maltin's 2005 Movie Guide Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam 6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor. Click image to buy. Go here for details and larger image. |