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A Good Swift Kick

Sometimes you just want a good laugh. There's nothing wrong with that. But with so much of the humor in our society running toward the scatological these days, it is refreshing to find a show which makes you laugh and also makes you think.

A Good Swift Kick is a hilarious musical review for our time. If we could place it in a time capsule, 100 years from now people could see it and know what issues were on our minds in 1999. John Forster pokes fun at politics, romance, parenting. He is politically incorrect without being nasty. His lyrics cut right through to the humor in the truth of a situation. In one of my favorite songs, "Fusion," Forster lampoons music which fuses together the styles of different cultures. He takes particular delight with Paul Simon, including clever melodic jokes. I happen to love Paul Simon and Graceland is one of my favorite albums, but this song killed me.

The five member cast is terrific. They move from role to role with apparent enjoyment, now sexy, now goofy. The audience entered the theatre buzzing with anticipation and left saying how great the show was. Some songs are certainly funnier than others, but it's like eating a Godiva truffle and then a Hershey bar; the Hershey bar is still pretty darn good.

A Good Swift Kick, Words and music by John Forster. Directed by Paul Kreppel. Choreography by Murphy Cross. Musical Direction by John DiPinto. Set Design by Kenneth Foy. Costume Design by Mariah Hale. Lighting Design by Jason Kantrowitz. Sound Design by Peter Fitzgerald. Featuring D'Monroe,Wanda Houston, David Naughton, Jim Newman, Elisa Surmont.

Theatre: Variety Arts Theatre, 110 3rd Avenue between East 13th and 14th Streets.

Schedule: Tuesday - Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 7pm & 10pm, Sunday at 3pm & 7pm.

Tickets: $50 for all shows.

To order tickets, call Telecharge at (212) 239-6200


-- Wendy Guida


Also see Wendy's recent reviews of Summer '69 and After the Fair




Talkin'Broadway

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