Piccolo Fringe Finale at Theatre 99
Another delightful back-to-back comedy feast at Theatre 99. It was the last one for THIS 17-day arts festival,2009.
The good news: Charleston improv comedy continues all year long.
Greg Tavares welcomed the sold out crowd Saturday night and proudly proclaimed his group
The Have Nots has been active now for 14 years and the insanity will continue. Hooray!
The first 90-minute show was
Upright Citizens Brigade. They announced they were the touring company of USB as opposed to the real people I guess you would see if you caught the show up in Boston.
A sweet volunteer came onstage and they rifled her purse, wallet, her several id badges as well as her Weight Watchers diary to gather fodder for the first half of their show. They ran with it and a great exaggerated image emerged.
Shouted actions and places came from the audience for the comedy flashpoints the rest of the evening.
The next show - the finale - was almost three hours of hilarity. Many of the performers from the last two weeks came back for the reprise and all the stops were pulled out. Rude words were heard. Lewd actions were pantomimed. In short, a good time was had by all and only one couple seemed to have disappeared.
The troupe
Cupid Has A Heart On offered a final salute to the applauding audience.
My stint as an ersatz Spoleto reporter has ended for another year. I hope I'm invited to play again next year.
Labels: Boston, Cupid Has A Heart On, improv, The Have Nots, UCB, United Citizen Brigade
November Notables .....
There were many dire predictions about crowds and long delays at the polls on
Election Day.
The big surprise?
In Hanahan, there were only two of us in line who brought chairs.
I finished a novel during my 2-hour voting experience.
Mark your calendars NOW for the
Alterman Studios' free monthly (2nd Monday) guest photography lecture series.
There was a great behind-the-scenes presentation Nov 10 by USAF decorated combat veteran Master Sgt Andy Dunaway, narrated by his wife, also a decorated veteran.
They both are elite Combat Photographers in the Air Force and showed an airborne view of activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Instead of Marines and Army soldiers kicking in doors in operations on the ground, they offered air-to-air and air-to-ground perspectives.
During a Q&A afterward, MSgt Dunaway said he didn't use a tripod.
"If I'm not going to carry a rifle into combat, why would I lug around a tripod?"Mid-month, it was "Graduation Night" at
Theatre 99 and a hiliarious "long form" recital by the large, VERY large, 4th level class of new Improv performers.
The original Have Nots trio of Greg, Timmy and Brandy have given much back to the community by offering an opportunity for talented people to hone their skills to amaze and amuse audiences.
Eleanor Hollings, (L) and Kirk Lindgrin, (R) help Geoff Marshall take a giant leap for comedy during the recital onstage antics.
Labels: Afghanistan, Alterman Studios, Combat Photographers, Geoff Marshall, Hanahan, improv, Iraq, polls, recital, Second Monday Presentations, Theatre 99, USAF, voting waits
No, this is NOT a story about a restaurant diner who pulled a gun and refused to pay for his meal. It is the headline I saw several years ago over a story about the eating habits of pandas.
I was reminded by a terrific Piccolo Spoleto Fringe show I enjoyed last night at Theatre 99, called
“I Eat Pandas” featuring two VERY imaginative - and energetic - young ladies and their off-stage piano player.
In my role as a SpoJo (Citizen Journalist) I enjoyed the hour improv presentation which started with a whacky 30-minute skit inspired by the audience suggestion of “laundry.” A large clock on the stage allowed the audience to do a “count down.”
Glennis McMurray (L) (blonde) and Eliza Skinner then did an hiliarious 15-minute reprise of the main characters and, finally, a 5-minute wrap-up of what had become a musical. No, really. Both ladies sang well and the piano/harmonica accompaniment was excellent.
On the keyboard was Jonathan Wagner, a last-minute fill in, and - he said - a member of Second City.
They announced they were doing two more shows at the Meeting Street venue so go check them out. It’s a nice “Fringe” benefit.
(Check all the Festival coverage at
www.spoletotoday.com.)
Labels: fringe benefit, improv, Pandas, Second City, Theatre 99
The troupe Cupid Has A Heart On offered a final salute to the applauding audience.
