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In 2014 Hold On To Your Butts (Recent Cutbacks’ parody of Jurrasic Park) left me so impressed that I actually advised “If you’ve never seen Jurassic Park (anyone?) then let this be your introduction to the work. Trust me, see this first and you’ll never see the movie the same way again.”

I loved how they took a CGI heavy movie and did a shot-for-shot parody in a small theatre with nothing but creative props and a crap ton of innovation. When I saw the show it had a limited engagement, but went on to have a (much deserved) year-long sold out run.

This amazing team is back again taking on Lord of The Rings with Fly, You Fools!   The show starts next month, but I couldn’t wait to chat with Recent Cutbacks to find out what they’ll have in store for their audiences.  Read on to find out how the team settled on what to keep and what to toss, how they came up with the fantastic title, and what they think Peter Jackson would appreciate about Fly, You Fools!

Here we go!

How did a year of Hold On To Your Butts bring you to the notion that you could tackle another CGI heavy movie like Lord of the Rings?

KYLE SCHAEFER

Kyle Schaefer (Writer/Performer): Nick really led the charge on LOTR. We haven’t talked that much about the CGI, actually. It’s a fantasy and it’s EPIC. I feel like that’s what we were drawn to. It feels even bigger than HOTYB, and that’s exciting. We added a player, but the show almost feels more sparse than HOTYB. It’s just such a big story and a big world. Mythic. And we like the challenge of attempting to create what seems impossible.

Nick Abeel (Writer/Performer): You can pretty much do anything with CGI in movies anymore. And with that, I think there’s something lost – we’re desensitized to it – it doesn’t ask as much of our imagination. So I think what we realized with HOTYB is that there’s great joy in simplicity. We’re never going to recreate the movie exactly. That’s impossible. And it allowed us to focus more on how the movie makes you feel. If you capture that, the simple but potent execution reminds people of how much they remember from the movie. They have the experience of watching us but also watching the movie in their own minds. Sounds cheesy, but CGI ain’t got nothin’ on good ol’ imagination.

Kristin McCarthy Parker (Director): We’ve been wanting to do another project for a very long time. This movie was always on the back burner, but life, work, and other commitments prevented us from diving in sooner. HOTYB was so fast and sudden, we made a lot of decisions in the room that felt right at the time, but we also didn’t have any sense of how the show would be received while we were creating it. We literally only anticipated a single performance, so certain elements of the show were created without a mind towards longevity or resources. We’re approaching FYF with a slightly different sensibility … We have a more solid sense of what works and what doesn’t, we know what we’re interested in exploring this time, and we’re aiming for something that not only builds upon but diverges from HOTYB. It’s really exciting!

Matt Zambrano (Writer/Performer): Well, I actually wasn’t apart of HOTYB, but I did see it three times! One of the things that made it such a special show was that element of creative interpretation: How do you take an epic movie and put it on a stage with just three performers? With a ton of energy, enthusiasm and innovation. I think with FYF, we’re really relying on the imagination of audience to fill in the pieces we could never create on stage…which, I believe, is true for most good pieces of art; it is always more engaging when not all the dots are connected, and not all the answers are in plain sight.

Allyson Morgan (Producer): We knew that our follow up piece from HOTYB had to keep the company and the work moving forward – LOTR seemed like both a hard and exciting challenge! Also, HOTYB taught us a lot about what was able to be accomplished with creativity and imagination, which meant that nothing was really off-limits in terms of what we could parody.

Blair Busbee (Sound/Foley): I wasn’t a part of the original creators for HOTYB. I remember seeing the show in its early days and loved it! So I came back. And then I brought my mother who cackled loudly the whole way through. And then I devilishly plotted to take over Kelsey’s foley role, and somehow that magically happened. As far as tackling CGI movies. I actually kind of find it overwhelming–but that’s when you take a step back and breathe and figure out how to simply tell a story and just try things. It’s just serious play… Dame Judi Dench says it best,”I think the trick is to take your work seriously, but not yourself seriously at all.”

One thing that was really evident was how much you all really needed to trust each other during Hold On To Your Butts. There were so many things that relied on exact timing, teamwork, and precision. Talk to me about how that makes these shows work.

Kyle: Neither show is anything if not a team effort. Everyone puts ideas into the room, everyone builds on them, and everyone chooses what to take and leave. It’s a constant process of throwing stuff out and editing, and very quickly into the process it’s hard to claim ownership of any given piece. It feels entirely created by the group mind. The trust is inherent because everyone in the group is incredibly talented and good at what they do. Everyone really cares about the process and each other. We all show up to play and takes risks equally. There’s no room for ego, and we’re all exploring together…like a Fellowship, but guided by silliness!

NICK ABEEL

Nick: Working in this collaborative way is liberating if you have the right team. It allows you to put an idea out there and let the idea sink or swim, without attaching personal stake to it. In that way, it compels us to be egoless artists, listening to each other and deciding as a group what is best for the show, rather than just what is a good idea or who had it. I have no idea who came up with what in HOTYB because we made it as a group. The writing credit is all of us, including Kristin as director. That type of room starts with trust. So in assembling the team for FYF, we chose folks that we knew could work in this way and most importantly, just have fun and play.

Kristin: Trust is huge. On a fundamental level, we trust each other as artists, which means that we value everyone’s voice and contributions in the rehearsal room. We’ve chosen each other because of our unique talents and sensibilities, so we entrust each other with our ideas and criticisms. It’s essential to this sort of ensemble show. Moreover, once the show has a chance to exist onstage, that trust allows the show to continue growing, since each actor trusts that he/she can experiment with new ideas and everyone will be there to catch them. It allows the show to be both consistent and dynamic, which matters when you’re performing it for as long as we ran HOTYB.

Matt: Working with talented people who share a common goal and vision is essential to the success of any creative venture, however I think what’s more important to us as a group is maintaining a sense of play. We as adults don’t always allow ourselves the time or space to get silly, which is unfortunate because that sense of play is vital to theater, especially comedies.

Allyson: Recent Cutbacks is truly a group effort – everyone pitches in on everything from creative decisions in the rehearsal room to how we want our marketing and branding to work. I personally have been a part of a few different theatre companies, and the success of a company always comes back to respecting one another’s opinions and intuition, and being able to listen to everyone’s point of view. We’re very lucky that in this group we communicate well with one another.

When you say “shot for shot parody” – yet the production comes in at around 1 hour, it’s clear you’re not doing EVERY shot. If you’ve removed/condensed anything how did you make that choice? Was it based on things too technically difficult to recreate, or things that just simply weren’t fun?

Kyle: We actually play a drinking game that decides what stays in. That’s what we mean by shot-for-shot. :) I think we’re more concerned with essence. What needs to stay in to tell the story, particularly the story that you remember from the film. We’re trying to put up a live version of someone’s recollection of the film. Part of that is very visual, so there is more of a focus on how to recreate certain film shots in a live format. Theater is obviously a very different way of directing attention and telling story than film. Going iconic moment to iconic moment is the fun of these little ditties.

Nick: “Shot for shot” helps people understand what we’re doing. In the room, we worked to boil down each scene down to its most essential parts and leave the rest. We wanted the show to move at a very fast pace and just under an hour felt right. We wanted to get in and get out without overstaying our welcome.

KRISTIN MCCARTHY PARKER

Kristin: Mostly we cut based on what’s not fun. We actually welcome those challenging sequences, since they’re usually what the audience wants to see us tackle. (My personal fave was the helicopter shot from HOTYB). But, yes, we’ve consciously eliminated the redundant, inactive, and non-iconic parts of the movies to hit the highlights, and trust that the audience’s internal sense of the film will carry them through the rest.

Matt: It really just sort of comes down to the essential story you’re trying to tell. I’m a huge fan of the trilogy, and I remember in one of the bonus discs Peter Jackson was discussing why they didn’t include The Scouring of the Shire in ROTK (Sorry, going to geek out for a second), or Tom Bombadil in the first film. His reasoning, which I agree with, is that ultimately this is a story about the finding and eventual destruction of the ring. It’s the same with our show; there is so much great material, but ultimately you’ve got to whittle it down to it’s most important scenes. In the slam poetry world we call it “Killing Puppies” : meaning when you write a 3:00 minute poem with someone, you’re inevitably going to have to cut some lines. And they’re probably great lines that you love, but you’ve got to come in under time. No one wants to kill puppies…

Allyson: I’ll defer to Nick, Kyle, and Kristin on most of those decisions, but ultimately it’s a combination of what do we think we can effectively communicate and what do we think the audience will get a kick out off.

Talk a little about what each one of you does, and some challenges of this production that you’re really proud of.  

Kyle: It’s still very early on and we’re figuring a lot out. We all do everything. Much more in this show than the last. I can tend to be Professor Serious Poopy Pants with the “but what is the HEART of this moment” type pretentious comments at times. But otherwise it’s pretty much all hands on deck. Something people probably aren’t going to see (because we took it out of the trailer) that I really enjoyed was the forced perspective shot at the beginning where Frodo is riding in the cart with Gandalf who’s so much bigger than him. I did some nice “horse work”. My Acting MFA class and teachers would have been so proud.

Nick: I tend to be the guy who comes in every day with 20 new ideas. Kristin and I have worked together for a long long time and she is very good at sifting out the great ideas from the rest. I’m also in a Mime theater company. Mime? Yes mime. Broken Box Mime Theater. Check us out. We’re bringin’ it back. Anyways, I bring a background in physical theater that obviously shaped the way we executed HOTYB and will execute FYF.

Especially in the early part of the process, I try to push us to explore the extreme limits of what the show could be. We considered doing HOTYB entirely with puppets at one point. We’ve already scrapped some grand ideas I had for FYF involving projections, as it didn’t feel right for this show. But I think it’s important to go explore those grand visions, because often those ideas come back around. We have an extensive “maybe file” to rifle through. It looks like we’re really interested in FYF in exploring foley and music in a more full way and going even simpler with the visuals. But we’ll see! Who knows where it will go.

I think the challenging thing this time is the amount of characters that are in this story. It’s probably triple the amount from HOTYB. And the scope. The story in HOTYB exists entirely on one island. For FYF, we’ll have to create an entire world.

Kristin: As the director I keep an eye on tone, pacing, shape, and how a brilliant seed of an idea translates into something that reads clearly for the audience. We’re still building the show, so there isn’t too much to give away just yet, but I think we’ve made some interesting choices already in terms of how we’re going to further explore our lo-fi, ridiculous, and inventive aesthetic. We’ve always wanted to go full-bore with foley, even more so than we did on HOTYB, so that is something I’m excited to be exploring this time around.

MATT ZAMBRANO

Matt: I was tasked with making a sort of living draft of the script, and after we watched the film for inspiration, I went away and wrote what I thought would be a concise, comedic re-telling. I was worried that it was too long (get ready to kill those puppies), but wanted to keep everything in as it all seemed necessary. I was overjoyed when we did a read through and found not only was it not too long, it needed some scenes added!

Allyson: As the producer, I’m generally in charge of overseeing the administrative and organizational details – everything from helping to keep the budget streamlined, to running the comp list, to designing the program, to sending the press release, etc. Also, I give creative input towards the end of the process as an outside pair of eyes.

Blair: I’m tasked with mustering my best Cate Blanchett voice.

How did you settle on LOTR? Did you throw around other ideas?  And in a perfect world could we expect to see those shows brought to life too?

Kyle: We have several things in our minds. This one was the most ready to go. It also feels like a good follow-up to HOTYB. Building on what we learned last time, but it’s a totally different jam. Very different movie. Much more music and epic looks. HOTYB was like, “we’re some characters…OH NO, RUN FROM THE DINOSAURS!!”

Nick: I’ve seen these movies like a million times so it helps to have a “shot for shot” memory of it in my head! That does a lot of the work of knowing what the most necessary and ‘iconic’ parts are, the things the audience will go “ah man I can’t wait to see how they do this or that sequence”. Kristin and I devised a live trailer for Game of Thrones a few years ago for a monthly 5-minute play festival called Shotz! We really loved the style we came up with for that piece and thought it could really work well for this fantasy trilogy. So it’s been at the top of my list for a while, as it is the movie I could see the clearest how we’d execute it.

Other movies: The Matrix looms pretty large for me, as I love the physical challenges it poses. I’m also really really interested to devise more trailers. We loved that even-shorter format.

Kristin: It’s been towards the top of our list for a year now, but we’ve heavily considered other iconic movies… Independence Day, Home Alone, and The Matrix, to name a few. I can’t tell you how many conversations with friends after a show have devolved into “which movie should Recent Cutbacks take on next?” We try to choose material that is fun, challenging, and that we have some sort of connection to or nostalgia for. It wouldn’t really work, I don’t think, to take on a movie that we weren’t at least a little obsessed with (or wished we had been in). I’m super-excited for FYF because the movie literally changed my life when I first saw it in theaters. My friends and I all assigned ourselves different characters in the movie and used those names as nicknames for years… We still do!

ALLYSON MORGAN

Matt: Before the gang approached me about FYF I suggested they should do Forrest Gump. Don’t know if that will every happen….

Allyson: I know other members of our team have shared additional titles we considered, that will hopefully be a part of our future canon! Kristin and Nick seemed particularly excited about this concept, so we moved forward with it.

Blair: I think it’s mostly Nick’s fault.

If Peter Jackson came to see this – what part of your show do you think he’d get the biggest kick out of?

Kyle: Single. Tear.

Nick: I think he would appreciate the reverence for for the source material with which we created the show. Like HOTYB, FYF will be part-parody, part-love letter to this wonderful movie that had such an impact on our visual and imaginative development.

Kristin: He’d probably get a kick out of watching a group of adults pay tribute to his film by running around onstage doing impressions with a bunch of household items. I think he’s got more than a bit of nerd in him, and taking on a project like this feels like the ultimate fantasy nerd endeavor.

Matt: I think he would love what we’re doing with the prologue!

Allyson: I think just the fact that we’re attempting to do something in this way should be exciting to any director/creator who values innovation!

Blair: I think he would be the most tickled in the first few moments of the show! The opening sequence is lovely.

Finally – Fly, You Fools! Great line from the movie. And a much debated issue among fans of the book and the movie (“Why didn’t Frodo just fly to Mount Doom???”) So it’s a great title for the show. What’s the story behind how you came to settle on it?

BLAIR BUSBEE

Kyle: When Nick came to my Twenty-Elevensies Birthday party he found a ring I had dropped right by the pizza oven behind the PIT bar, and though it should have burnt him it was cool to the touch. As Kristin stroked her beard nearby, he noticed the inscription that appeared only to him and it read: “Fly, You Fools!“ (Nick picked it) :p

Nick: I pushed hard for this title. First of all, we loved having the word “fools” in the title, similarly to having the word “butts” in our first title. It lets you know what kind of show to expect. Secondly, Hold On To Your Butts sounded like a tongue in cheek way to say “get ready for this silly ride”. “Fly, You Fools!” sounds like a command to do the impossible, which is in a lot of ways what we are attempting – to take (metaphorical) flight with nothing but a few props, foley, and a lot of earnest, foolish, physical play.

Kristin: The “why didn’t they take the eagles” debate is not forgotten in our show ;) We felt like the line captured the goofy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants energy of our productions. It also is iconic enough to let people know exactly what we’re doing.

Matt: Don’t get me started on the conspiracy theories. I think it works great as a title, because it’s instantly recognizable to anyone who is familiar with the story, and it’s short and sweet. It’s also a command of action, much like “Hold On To Your Butts”, so it sounds exciting. “They Have a Cave Troll” was my 2nd favorite title choice …

~~~
Okay, so without even seeing this show I can pretty much guarantee that this will be an amazing ride … and any fan of the original LOTR will definitely want to go see this.  So, what are you waiting for?  Scroll down!  Get your tickets! 

~~~

FLY, YOU FOOLS

THE PEOPLES IMPROV THEATER
123 E 24TH ST
NEW YORK, NY 10010

Tickets: $20

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  

Recent Cutbacks is a theatrical playground co-founded by Nick Abeel. Kelsey Didion, Kristin McCarthy Parker, Allyson Morgan, and Kyle Schaefer inspired by irreverence, pop culture, and high theatricality. For more information check out www.recentcutbacks.com

Related Posts:

• Hold On To Your Butts …
• What The F* Is Going On? F*It Club’s Spring Fling!
• CSI: Mayberry – An Unauthorized Parody: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Gleeam (Fringe Festival 2011)
• The Momentum – Riding The Shimmering Dolphin Through The Gaping Hole To Your Perfect Destiny

Ten Questions. Ten Answers. And one Big Surprise in the audience …

CSI: Mayberry – An Unauthorized Parody
produced by Sour Grapes Productions

A grisly string of murders has come to the town of Mayberry, and it’s up to Andy and Barney to figure out who’s to blame from a list of familiar faces.

Show  Info:

• Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:30PM
• Sat Feb 20, 2016 3:20PM
• Tue Feb 23, 2016 10:30PM
• Sun Feb 28, 2016 5:10PM
• Thu Mar 03, 2016 7:10PM

Kraine Theater New York, NY $18

Answers by Genny Yosco
(playwright, director, co-producer, actor)

1. Forget the PR version. When you’re talking to your friends, how do you explain this show to them?
GENNY: “Hey, remember that weird thing that my mom and I came up with after putting together a children’s show in a week last August? The thing where EVERYONE DIES in The Andy Griffith Show? Well, that’s happening for real now, it got into a festival.”

2. Here’s a scenario: After the show some audience members go have a drink.  What’s the part of the show you hope they’re discussing?
GENNY: I hope that the fans of The Andy Griffith Show are discussing some of the in-jokes from the TV show (Floyd the Gay Deceiver! Ellie Walker’s mysterious disappearance! The Fun Girls!), and that those who aren’t particularly familiar with the original TV show are discussing some of the weird things I threw in (Barney went full bad-cop on that guy! What lunatic wrote this??)

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?
GENNY: Is “my desperate need for attention” an acceptable answer? Haha, but really, I’d say the decision to throw these characters – who aren’t exactly known for their prowess in law enforcement – into a real, dangerous, grisly situation is what drives most of the plot.

4. In rehearsals, read-thrus, or prior incarnations, what’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you (or the team) the most proud?
GENNY: One thing I’d like to say first and foremost is that I’m a bit of a masochist when it comes to my work: we haven’t done this show before (first performance is at a festival – pressure!!), and we’ll only be doing one week of rehearsals (MORE PRESSURE), but I’m more than confident that my cast can pull it off. But to actually answer your question, one thing that made me proud so far was the cast’s reactions to the script. After tossing and turning with it so much, the script I sent out to them was actually written in two days, and they all seem to think that it’s pretty good, so we’ll see if audiences agree!

5. If money and resources (and even reality) were no object what is the most lavish, luxurious, pointless prop, costume, effect – anything – that you would spend money on for this show?
GENNY: Blood. SO much blood. Stage blood, though, not like real blood, I’m not THAT creepy. But yeah, I’d pretty much have everyone coated head-to-toe in blood when they die. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but can you think of the dry-cleaning expenses?? And a few of my actors play more than one character, so the cleanup process would involve a more than a few people hired backstage to help out with that.

6. What’s the one thing you’re looking forward to regarding the FRIGID Festival itself?
GENNY: Okay, so there’s this one other show at the festival that I’ve been freaking out over – Li’l Women, A Rap Musical. It seems like something I’d do, haha! I really want to see all of the other shows!! I’m also excited for the theater that they put us in – it’s the biggest theater we’ve ever worked in! Plus getting into a festival is SUCH a cool thing, I still really can’t believe it. I know you asked for one thing, and that’s two, sorry. I ramble.

7. Is there a scene, a moment, a gesture … anything at all in the show that you anticipate may get a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?
GENNY: There are two moments in this show that could either go REALLY well, or tank miserably depending on the audience! I don’t want to give too much away, but I feel like some people could either really appreciate what I’ve done, or get horribly offended.

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?
GENNY: “And her owning some kind of…or food-based whore house? Andy, whoever thought up a story like that would CLEARLY be out of their mind.”

9. What’s the last thing you usually do before the beginning of a show?
GENNY: Panic over the audience. During our Halloween show, I was panicking over how the audience was only half filled, and during our New Year’s Eve show, I was panicking over the fact that so many people bought tickets that we had to add seats to the audience to accommodate them all. It’s always something, haha.

10. You scan the audience and you see a face that stops you dead in your tracks – who is it? And why are you shocked?
GENNY: Andy Griffith. Why is he here? Who invited him? Is he going to try to sue us??

Well, I’ve got great news for you, Genny – he’s not going to sue you because he died in 2012.  No wonder you’re so shocked to see him! But if you DID see him out there I’d say it’s because he thought, after reading this 1o Things To Know feature, that it sounded like a terrific show that he just couldn’t miss! Thanks so much for answering our questions, Genny!

The rest of you – don’t forget to check out CSI: Mayberry – An Unauthorized Parody

 -*-*-

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 10th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 16-March 6. All shows run 60 minutes, or less. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at http://www.horsetrade.info/  

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• The Murder At Ginger Creek: An Interactive Mystery: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Dandy Darkly’s Trigger Happy!: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
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There was so much to be excited about before heading into Gleeam – the Glee / Scream Mash-up Musical written by Andrew Lloyd Baughman with lyrics by Phil Close and directed by Emily Jablonski.  First of all, the advanced artwork was fun and clever.  The iconic loser “L” now holds a menacing knife!  How cunning!  Secondly, the idea was how-can-you-miss?-perfect: two well-recognized, well-received  high school memes thrown together to create one  fantastic pot of crazy zaniness.  Hilarious!  Thirdly, the venue (Le Poisson Rouge) is sexy and spooky all at the same time, glowing red against oceans of black.  “This is gonna be good,” I thought to myself as I took my seat and waited – I’ll say it – gleefully … while taking in the gorgeous backdrop done by talented artist Jared Davis.

It didn’t take long, however, to realize that Gleeam was actually not going to live up to its advanced hype.

Backdrop by Jared Davis

The story is thin, but that’s not really the worst part.  Basically we find the Glee kids (their names removed, their stereotypes inserted, so we’re left with characters called “Slutty Slut”, “Wheelchair Kid”, “Gay Kid” etc.) going about their business in the Scream world, where one by one they start getting picked off in gruesome and bloody ways. It’s predictable.  Okay … I’ve seen flimsier plots.

There were some technical difficulties and some characters had to deal with terrible static coming through their head mics, but the actors gamely navigated around those issues – at least during the performance I attended.  So that wasn’t really the worst thing either.

A number of jokes either fell flat or were so steeped in fan-lore that it required too much dot-connecting, leaving the audience feeling left out.  How do I know?  Because the venue is cabaret-style seating and it was easy enough to read the faces of fellow audience members.  Throughout the short show I saw many people who looked confused, or far too happy (by contrast) to see the waitress arrive with their soup.  Food should not be the highlight of your theatre experience.

Gleeam didn’t actually make much use of the synergy you’d expect would be at its disposal by combining two hugely popular franchises, which is a shame.  There was so much potential here and much of what could have been brilliant parody was left to flounder in the shallow end of  head-scratching mockery.

But here’s my real problem with Gleeam.  There were two particularly polished moments in the show that elevated the entire production to a level which it just couldn’t maintain – one, the duet “Gay Enough For Love” between Sensitive Jock (Harv Lester) and Gay Kid (Jase Parker) and the show-stopping “Black Don’t Crack” sung by Black Girl (Justine Hall backed up by Phillip McLeod, Patrick Prebula and Brad Rakushin) which brought down the house.  Moments like this made it clear that the team behind Gleeam had the goods to deliver … so why did the rest of the show look like it was trying to catch up to those two breakout moments?

It’s unnerving to know that a show could be better than what it is.  It’s disappointing to watch a cast of extremely talented people working with material that’s not giving them enough to shine.  It’s frustrating to know that a theatre company which already brought one mash-up to the 2010 Capital Fringe (Carrie Potter at the New Moon Prom) wouldn’t have arrived on the NYC Fringe scene this year with a tightly produced show worthy of its namesakes.

Personally I’d love to see this show go through a few more tweaks – there’s way too much potential in the material for it to not rise to the height it deserves.  That the cast is talented is undeniable, and the songs by Phil Close were clever, funny and thoroughly enjoyable. Plus, all the begging-to-be-mocked plot lines are there.  In the end, however, rather than pop and sizzle the whole thing ran sadly and slowly down the wall like a carelessly tossed Slushie. To quote Gleeam itself:  “Sometimes a mash-up combines two great tastes into something downright awful … and everyone hates it.”

~~~

Gleeam
The Landless Theatre Company
Writer: Andrew Lloyd Baughman, with Lyrics by Phil Close
Director: Emily Jablonski

1h 15m
VENUE #15: Le Poisson Rouge
Fri 26 @ 3:45

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There’s hardly a person out there who hasn’t been touched by a self-actualization movement of one type or another – be it a seminar, a book, a class or a friend whose life has changed and wants to share the experience (or worse yet, has a quota to fill). We’ve all seen it from The Forum to The Secret to est and everything in between.    Of course, the thing that makes it so seductive to millions of people is that there’s a glimmer of Truth to it all, shaken (not stirred) with a full jigger of Hope.

Which is why, if you wandered into The 
Laurie 
Beechman 
Theater not knowing what to expect you might assume you’ve stepped into any one of the hundreds of motivational seminars going on around the city – so earnestly is Geoffrey Decas touting the benefits of following the path of The Momentum.  So convincing is he, in fact, that through your laughter you’ll have moments of “hey, that’s actually true” and “well, he’s got a point there” and “wow, I’ve felt that way”.  Thing is, we’ve all felt isolated, lonely, depressed, no good, shoved aside, glossed over, ruled out, unnecessary, worthless, voiceless (um, stop me at any time here).  And we’re all searching for that one thing that will give us purpose, put a spring in our step, a gleam in our eye, light the way, seal the breach, patch the hull, start the motor, pay for the check, and tuck us into bed.  So, if something – anything – makes that promise  . . . what harm can it do to give it a whirl?  So it’s four easy payments of more than we can afford . . . so what?  If it works, the benefits are priceless.

Decas, Seavey and Killebrew ride The Momentum (photo by Max Ruby)

The three guides who lead us through The Momentum are also the brilliant writers behind it.  Geoffrey Decas, Boo Killebrew and Jordan Seavey have fine tuned the business of self-help into an art; they’ve observed this industry and tossed it back in a way that captures it perfectly yet still winds up being hilarious.

Under Lee Sunday Evans’ direction Decas, Killebrew and Seavey each bring a crazed edge to their performance that hovers right behind them – never overshadowing their presentation or their actions yet never wandering far from their wild-eyed stares either.  They’ve mastered the art of blurring the line between homage and parody so skillfully that simply by “getting it” the audience is made to feel smarter after the show; no small feat in an arena these days when so much comedy depends on dumbing things down for cheap and dirty laughs.

Which brings me to my second point.  While the first half of the performance is filled with good -sized laughs, the second half is a revelation.  I’ve been to plenty of shows that have made me laugh, and a few that have brought me to tears, but can not remember the last time I did both -genuinely- at the same time.  Yet, by the last scenes of The Momentum (a pitch perfect send up of the moment which occurs during every self help seminar when it’s time for individuals to “share” – and they do so with such startling honesty that they stun the room into a perplexed silence) I found myself holding back tears yet still laughing heartily.  Boo Killebrew’s monologue resonated particularly strongly with me, but all three were heartfelt and powerful so I think it just depends on your own experiences.  This show may be going for laughs, but by the end it reaches for so much more  . . . and it delivers.

So skip the self-help section and head straight for the Laurie Beecham Theater where the spinning hole of  The Momentum is ready to pat you on the head and kiss you good night.

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