Friday, July 25, 2014

Funniest Fringe Preview - Night 2

“Damn you!  This gift was meant for joy!”

Our American Assassin; or You Can’t Handle The Booth! - This apparently is the untold story of the  real tragedy behind the assassination of President Lincoln - how it affected the actors who were performing on stage at the time the president was killed.  And yes, that’s ridiculous.  That’s why it’s a comedy.  That’s why it’s a meta piece of theater I don’t mind watching.  That’s why it’s a play about artists that won’t make my teeth hurt.  Josh Carson, Andy Kraft, Shanan Custer and company are seldom funnier than when they’re ruthlessly making fun of themselves, and their art, and artists, and theater, and the Fringe.  They’re normally firing their rapid fire machine gun of jokes in all directions at once.  And the uncanny thing is that they hit their target every time.  I’m expecting this to be no different.  You almost don’t want to laugh too loud or long for fear you’ll miss the next five jokes that are coming right behind the one that just landed, but you can’t help yourself.  And that’s what repeated viewings are for.  Mom enjoys Mainly Me Productions’ shows because they’re stuffed with so much comedy, you can’t catch it all the first time.  That’s a perfect problem to have with a Fringe show.  So naturally, she demands it be on the schedule as early as possible.

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