[title of show] Review

Alright, guys, speaking normally, this show was amazing. It was so good. Now, here's me speaking review (a.k.a. expanding on my thoughts - analyzing - the whole SHA-BAM, like on my Batman t-shirt):

Review of ATC’s Production of “[title of show]”

by Marc Hansen

By far the best show of the season so far, ATC’s production of “[title of show]” is a wickedly ingenious musical comedy about the evolution of writers and artists; what it’s like to be them and how a piece progresses from the mind to stage to Broadway. Written by Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen, “[title of show]” is about Hunter and Jeff, two gay playwrights living in New York and trying to write a musical about trying to write a musical about trying to write a musical.... It’s got everything a person could ever ask for and should rank up there with the best of theatre’s comedy classics.

I cannot say enough good things about this production. The writing is not only amazingly clever, but laugh-out-loud hilarious (and deliciously crude). The jokes are at their best when they’re breaking the fourth wall or talking about how they’re actually performing the play on stage (“What if this play won a Tony?”). However, if the play had been all self-referential jokes it would’ve quickly gotten old, which is why it’s the other jokes and the hilarious way these quirky characters interact with each other that makes “[title of show]” work. The brilliant cast also plays these characters, with perfect comedic timing. Kelly McCormick and Lauren Lebowitz, as the actresses who agree to star in the show, play particularly well off each other (the song “Secondary Characters,” for example), but credit also has to be given to the guys: Stanley Bahorek, as Hunter, delivers some of the best lines perfectly and Sal Sabella, as Jeff, has a hilarious bit on grammar.

There are a lot of references to other musicals, so if you’re a musical theatre junkie it’s a lot of fun to catch them, and as a writer, the show’s easy to relate to. It’s like having your thoughts played out on stage, especially the hilarious song “An Original Musical” where a blank piece of paper starts talking to Jeff. Speaking of songs, they’re all incredibly catchy and witty (“Nine People’s Favorite Thing”).

Though the gags (such as the Dream Sequence) are indeed likely to make you fall out of your chair laughing, “[title of show]” does end up getting at something deeper - the struggle that artists, in general, go through trying to stay true to themselves and get their work out there. By the end of the show, you see that “[title of show]” is not just about the writing process, but how Hunter and Jeff’s musical progresses and changes, and the compromises they may not be willing to take. Not only is “[title of show]” the best show of the season, but all in all, a nearly perfect one.

Grade: A+

Alright, followers, I'm out. Adios. Hasta Luega. Hasta la vista, baby. Chao. Au revoir. Just, see ya.