Friday, July 29

August Buzz Reviews

It's that time of year, when The Buzz's August supplemental "Caught In The Act" to be perused, line by line by those summer performers on PEI who have a vested interest in the reviews of summer theatrical productions.
First off, I want to say thanks to Joseph Sherman for writing an accurate review of Canada Rocks.  I think he's spot on with his criticisms and it's good to see them in print.  Especially on the opposite side of the page to the full page Confed Centre AoGG ad.
I'd also like to thank Norah Pendergast for her, well, positive review of Sketch 22.  While I find it hard to believe statements like "the show is as memorable and hilarious as any show, any time, anywhere", I do appreciate the enthusiasm.
I'm glad that Norah "got" the show (and I don't mean that to sound condescending as if our show is not one that is easily 'gotten'.).  Our fear with this year's show (not just for reviewers, but for all who see it) is that they'd see the explicit trees only and miss the forest; that the vulgarities and obscenities would overshadow the comedy that we present.
We are glad that this is not the case.  Most everyone who sees the show is embracing the raunchiness, and that makes me glad.
Back to the review.  My criticism of it (and of others, particularly the 4 Skits Sake 'review') is that it reads more like a press release than a review.  But that is too much nitpicking on my part.
Thanks very much, Norah, for appreciating the show with such kind words.  I particularly liked: "Sketch 22 succeeds in leaping beyond the boundaries of social acceptability while maintaining moral integrity, therein lies its true brilliance."
Flattering.



5 comments:

Nils said...

I just liked the naked parts. The rest was shit.
(I'm kidding, of course, and Rob knows that.)
What I love (and envy) seeing, with each new year, is the development of the cast members as performers. In particular (and I know he'll have something smart-ass to say to this) Graham Putnam is really coming into his own as a performer of nuanced, character-driven comedy.
He's believeable as a hoser, but (as Olivier said) that's not "acting", that's "behaving". What pleased me no end was to see him slide seamlessly into character as an uptight businessman. I'd have not taken a bet he could carry that off as well as he did.
It's a rock solid cast, up and down the line. I won't pretend to have found every moment of the show equally appealing, but I'm not exactly the target demographic. I was willing to admit to myself that some of the humour wasn't aimed my way, and appreciate the fact that it was crafted well enough to hit home with its natural, intended audience.
I saw the show on Friday night, and was amused to be there when someone couldn't embrace the offensiveness of the show and stomped out with a huge door slam. I'm sure whoever it was would bend anybody's ear for hours about how "they didn't need to ..." blah blah blah, and truth be told, I wouldn't put up an argument. It's NOT a show for everyone, and doesn't pretend to be.
Highlights for me were (as always) any time Rob stepped on the stage; Josh Weale as a charming, humble, and engaging Jesus (complete with a very nicely done improv'd Q and A with the audience); Dennis Trainor as a homely Island mother of a child from away; Andrew Sprague as a Tignish lothario; and Graham Putnam's versatility throughout.
There were lots of laugh-out-loud moments (as opposed to LOL moments) and lots of places with a "Holy shit" factor (as in "Holy shit, did he really say/do that?").
I'm with you in saying that the Buzz review felt a little too sycophantic to be taken seriously as a review, although I'd glad she enjoyed the show. For myself, I'd say that it's not a show for the faint of heart or faint of humour, but as the beer commercial says, "Those who like it, like it a LOT."
PS: Oh, and Ed Rashed, naked? NEVER not funny.

Rob said...

Thanks, Nils.

Mia said...

But what do you do when you get a bad review?

graham said...

I'm surprised that you were surprised by my versitility. Have you not seen all my productions. I'm a natural talent who can flip to any style/persona at the drop of a hat. It comes with being insane. I also drink more grape juice then anyone. Grape juice is the best juice.
I love firecrackers.

tool lover said...

I can't believe that the review didn't mention that in the naked sketch graham shows off his large tool.