New York Story
Manhattan Comedy Collective finds a conducive
venue by moving uptown
The
Manhattan Comedy Collective’s debut in its new space, Sage Theater, just
off Times Square, finds the group in a home more suited to its style.
The latest edition of its showcase “The Big Bang,” presents comedy
closer in tone to what a Broadway audience would enjoy and ought to
attract audiences that overflow from the Broadway shows. In fact, the
house was already full on the group’s first Friday night in the new
space.
The show itself was still a bit uneven, but definitely had its
highlights. Duo Laura Dillman and Dave Koenig started the show as Liza
Minelli and Dean, a comic foil for her, who squabble more than they
stick to their songs. Liza and Dean returned between the other two
groups for more. Koenig hits a comic note with noticeably sub-par
singing compared to “Liza,” and Dillman completely inhabits the Liza
persona.
Also on the bill were BookClub, an improvisational group that draws on
books for its performances -- on this evening it was “Charlotte’s Web.”
Lastly, duo Andrew Cartozian and Josh Wallach, “Lunch,” mix up some
voice dialogue comedy delivered from backstage with sketches before the
audience.
BookClub was a little too reliant on directly lifting plot points from
“Charlotte’s Web,” but did hit on some original notes in their
performance. Group members Alan Harris and Walter Murphy made the
strongest impression, with versatility conjuring characters including a
parent sending 11- and 9-year-old children off to boarding school,
because “we’re done,” as well as God himself calling one of the girls a
slut for making out with a boy and making a boy fail in school simply
because “God hates him.”
Lunch’s choicest morsels were its opening scene, an “exercise,” where
Cartozian and Wallach play each other in what turns out to be an
extended session of insults, along with a sketch where Wallach plays a
substitute preacher to Cartozian’s congregant. Wallach’s preacher
punctuates every word with “-eth” and “-ither,” along with other
nonsense like “doth Vader” and “five-saken.”
Some of the audio bits also score, such as one in which a demanding Wall
Streeter orders a solid gold Ferrari or at least a diamond crusted one;
another in which John McCain mocks Rudolph Guiliani’s more liberal
social positions by telling him to “fly away you gay bird,” and Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama dance around as to whether one will run for
President or the other, depending on who chooses to do what and when.
Lunch’s failings came in other sketches that went on a little too long
on flimsy premises, like inept comic duo “1-800-SHTICK,” who play the
Southern Westchester circuit, if there is such a thing, and Cartozian’s
father who describes his brood of weird children.
It could be said that MCC’s move to its new space (from previous stints
at Juvie Hall and Jimmy’s Number 43 downtown), is like living in New
York itself -- it has its ups and downs but within that has unique
offerings that can’t be found anywhere else.
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