Fringe Day 8, Part 5 - August 13, 2004, 7:00pm

Punk Rock Awesome
Ferrari McSpeedy
Brave New Workshop

In the middle of the aerial battle portion of their program, Mike McSpeedy spotted me in the audience and later told me, "I wanted to stop and say something to you, but I was afraid the enormous flying guitar might fall off of my head."

I was actually a little afraid as he rounded the corner he might poke me with that thing. But it's all in a day's work for Ferrari McSpeedy as they wrap up their Punk Rock thrillogy with the final installment - Punk Rock Awesome.

Even their tiny program is funnier before they take the stage than most other comedy shows after they're done with their performance. The fake European poster for this "action movie on stage," which said program unfolds to reveal, is just an added goofy bonus.

There are lots of added goofy bonuses here.

There's the third performer on stage - who you're not supposed to acknowledge - who is there as a one-man, CGI stand-in - providing action sequences like the Extreme Bike Chase of Death or the final showdown with evil Don Henley in the Hotel California with hilarious low-grade special effects action ("Thanks, Millenium Falcon!")

There's the fact that these guys are a pop-cultural dumping ground. They have references to so many things - both high brow and low - that it's sort of like having all the DVD extras crammed into the movie itself as the plot goes speeding along.

And of course there's the fact that these two guys work so well together, and have such fun doing it. The seemingly endless rogues gallery of characters they take on is dizzying, yet always crystal clear - even when one actor is playing his own love interest in a death scene and carrying on a conversation with himself, while the other is filling in the five or six supporting roles around the edges at the same time.

It's pretty amazing. And some of the funniest stuff I've seen - and at the Fringe, where funny is all around - that's saying something.

Good news is that Punk Rock Awesome and Jaws: The Musical! will be remounting their shows as a double bill at the Brave New Workshop in the coming weeks. So, more funny to be had - if you missed it the first time, here's your chance; if you didn't miss it, but feel like you might have missed some of the laughs whizzing by your head at lightning speed, here's your chance to enjoy it all over again.

For more information on what they're up to next, check out their website at www.ferrarimcspeedy.com or at the Improv A Go-Go website - www.improvagogo.com

(For more of my writing - plays, past blog entries and more - visit www.matthewaeverett.com)