Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Boston


Regional Reviews by Sarah Chantal Parro

Main Stage Show
Improv Asylum

Also see Nancy's review of The Color Purple

Do you enjoy shows like "Saturday Night Live" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Do you like to laugh, even if it's at your own expense? Then you'll enjoy the Main Stage Show presented by Improv Asylum, a thriving comedy theatre group housed in the historic "basement of CVS" in Boston's North End.

A fairly seamless blend of sketch comedy (like "SNL") and improvised scenes (à la "Whose Line"), the Main Stage Show is my first experience at Improv Asylum, and I'd wager it's a good starting point for anyone interested in seeing what the theatre has to offer and injecting some laughter into their life. (As their website warns, however, the show is not recommended for audience members under the age of seventeen.) Themes of the show range from the comically bizarre (male performers sing about their desire to physically bear children) to political commentary (a satire of a Fox News show) to explorations of subjects relevant to the Millennial generation, and appropriate given the youthfulness of the cast (more than one sketch features adult children living at home with their parents).

Now, there are types of theatrical performances that ask the audience to silently observe from beyond the fourth wall. This is not one of those. The Main Stage Show depends on energetic, verbal audience participation; cast members ask questions like, "What was your first job (besides McDonald's)?" and "What's something that's in the news right now?" Answers are used as fodder for the improvised scenes, some of which get a little more personal: one of my favorite bits of the night was when an actor called onstage a husband and wife who were celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary. After asking a few questions, the cast performed their comedic interpretation of the couple's relationship. Of course, when you go, the performance will be different, because the nature of improv is that it's never the same material twice. (Plus, the pre-rehearsed sketches won't be finalized until next week, either, so even the written material may change slightly.)

But that's the beauty of improv, too: because so much of what the Main Stage cast performs is based on information gleaned from the audience, the entire show has an air of "You had to be there" about it. After a while, it starts to feel like telling inside jokes among friends. As an audience member, you're not just an observer. You're a cohort in comedy.

Improv's enemy is awkward silence, and while there were a few at the performance I saw, the cast seems adept at recovery and keeping the momentum going. Vicki Hanes strikes me as a newer performer and seems to stumble more than the others, although never irreparably so. I hesitate to nit-pick this performance, because good comedy acting (especially good improv comedy acting) is like good writing: when done well, it delights and engages its audience with seemingly effortless ability. But, oh, it is so hard to do well. Overall, the Main Stage cast is strong.

Standout performers include Trevor Livingston, a large man with an even larger stage presence and unbridled energy, and Kelly Dooley, whose use of accent, facial expression, and gesture serve her well as she creates characters. Lighting and music effects elevate the show by adding structure, energy and mood (and extra "punch" to the punch lines).

Improv Asylum's Main Stage Show, directed by Jeremy Brothers, runs every week at their North End venue, 216 Hanover Street, 02113. Performances are every Thursday at 8:00pm and every Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and 10:00pm. Tickets are $20 for Thursday performances and $25 for Friday and Saturday. For tickets and more information, call the box office at 617-263-NUTS (6887) or visit improvasylum.com.

- Sarah Chantal Parro