Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories
Jester correspondent Bethany Trottier has reviewed Faye Lane's "Beauty Shop Stories" which continues its run at the Soho Playhouse in New York today and next Sunday, May 29. Because I am out of town and unable to access the site's mechanics, the review didn't make it to the main site in advance of today's performance. Here it is, and it will appear on the main site this week.
Go and see this show all you jaded souls! That’s it, that’s my review. Ok, let me add to this. If I ever wanted someone to write and sing the story of my life, Faye Lane would be that person. She conveys her story in a way that is both genuine and amusing. Even though this show is super-polished, it is still very spontaneous and alive. This woman could write lyrics about anything, and it would be funny and clever.
Lane sings and chats her way from her childhood years through her early 20s as she grows up in her mama’s beauty shop in Texas. Throughout the journey, she recalls the personalities and anecdotes of her mother’s clientele, all lined up under the dryers, her first (albeit captive) audience and her dreams of being a star.
The moment she hit the stage, Faye was off and running and the audience was right there with her. We got to hear about her first starring role in “Peter Rabbit,” the musical. She had the part of a green bean in the garden, which she made all her own by going nuts with a bedazzler on her costume and declaring herself the “Green Bean Queen!” (This girl really likes sparkles, come to find out. I believe it’s a Texas thing.)
She is relentlessly teased for being fat, all the kids joining in singing “fatty fatty two by four, can’t fit through the bathroom door!” Lane does the voice of one of her mama’s customers saying “honey, you ain’t fat you are vo-LUMPT-uous, like me.” Another lady keeps moonpies in the bottom of her purse especially for Fay. Right next to her gun. Which may or may not have the safety on.
Apparently, each and every one of those ladies was a would-be beauty queen. Lane presents great songs about the various crazy ways they got robbed of their crowns. Somehow this leads to one of the funniest bits of the show, a Civil War reenactment story told with sock puppets – both with googly eyes, and one with a quite a jaunty mustache.
Lane’s voice is great both for singing and story telling – and she convincingly channels the personalities in the show. She can see the charm in everything -- a rare talent. The whole show is so well-crafted. It’s obvious that Lane’s piano accompanist has worked with her for some time, making the music seamless, but still leaving room to be spontaneous and improvise within their script, since they are on the same wavelength. Her producer and lighting manager – one person handling both roles -- also adds to the polished quality of the show. Now off you go!
Lane sings and chats her way from her childhood years through her early 20s as she grows up in her mama’s beauty shop in Texas. Throughout the journey, she recalls the personalities and anecdotes of her mother’s clientele, all lined up under the dryers, her first (albeit captive) audience and her dreams of being a star.
The moment she hit the stage, Faye was off and running and the audience was right there with her. We got to hear about her first starring role in “Peter Rabbit,” the musical. She had the part of a green bean in the garden, which she made all her own by going nuts with a bedazzler on her costume and declaring herself the “Green Bean Queen!” (This girl really likes sparkles, come to find out. I believe it’s a Texas thing.)
She is relentlessly teased for being fat, all the kids joining in singing “fatty fatty two by four, can’t fit through the bathroom door!” Lane does the voice of one of her mama’s customers saying “honey, you ain’t fat you are vo-LUMPT-uous, like me.” Another lady keeps moonpies in the bottom of her purse especially for Fay. Right next to her gun. Which may or may not have the safety on.
Apparently, each and every one of those ladies was a would-be beauty queen. Lane presents great songs about the various crazy ways they got robbed of their crowns. Somehow this leads to one of the funniest bits of the show, a Civil War reenactment story told with sock puppets – both with googly eyes, and one with a quite a jaunty mustache.
Lane’s voice is great both for singing and story telling – and she convincingly channels the personalities in the show. She can see the charm in everything -- a rare talent. The whole show is so well-crafted. It’s obvious that Lane’s piano accompanist has worked with her for some time, making the music seamless, but still leaving room to be spontaneous and improvise within their script, since they are on the same wavelength. Her producer and lighting manager – one person handling both roles -- also adds to the polished quality of the show. Now off you go!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Pandora Adds Comedy
As reported in today's New York Times, the Pandora web radio service announced that it will add a comedy station. If you don't know, Pandora allows users to make customized music stations, starting by filling out lists of their favorite artists, or importing those lists already made on Facebook profiles, and then further customizing the stations as the listener gives thumbs up or thumbs down to tracks that come up.
From the initial data, and the continually added data about a listener's likes and dislikes, Pandora determines and adds in other music the user/listener might like. With the new service, Pandora intends to do the same with comedy. According to the Times story, Pandora picked 100 traits common to jokes to make a "genomic composite" to generate suggestions just as with music. However, I think it's questionable whether artifical intelligence like this can really understand comedy, because what people find funny is often such a matter of taste. Are Chris Rock and Bill Hicks really exactly the same comedically, as Pandora might say?
Other questions also arise with this development. Will it be a boon to the comedy business or not? The Times piece says that the most successful comedy album right now is Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me (reviewed here), with just 3,400 in sales. That figure isn't that far off the amount of paid attendees for live shows by Demetri Martin, a comedian at a similar level of success -- Martin told Adam Carolla on a recent podcast that he gets between 800 to 1,200 audience members per show, which at a ticket price no doubt higher than an album, is probably a comparable income, if not better than what Birbiglia may see from such a successful album. Martin also is getting this for every show he does, while the album is a single product.
The point of all this comparison is that if Pandora's new service ends up boosting comedians' album sales, it could indeed bring huge benefits to comedy performers. Someone like Demetri Martin might end up attracting even more fans to those lucrative live shows, when promoted by Pandora's online airplay.
From the initial data, and the continually added data about a listener's likes and dislikes, Pandora determines and adds in other music the user/listener might like. With the new service, Pandora intends to do the same with comedy. According to the Times story, Pandora picked 100 traits common to jokes to make a "genomic composite" to generate suggestions just as with music. However, I think it's questionable whether artifical intelligence like this can really understand comedy, because what people find funny is often such a matter of taste. Are Chris Rock and Bill Hicks really exactly the same comedically, as Pandora might say?
Other questions also arise with this development. Will it be a boon to the comedy business or not? The Times piece says that the most successful comedy album right now is Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me (reviewed here), with just 3,400 in sales. That figure isn't that far off the amount of paid attendees for live shows by Demetri Martin, a comedian at a similar level of success -- Martin told Adam Carolla on a recent podcast that he gets between 800 to 1,200 audience members per show, which at a ticket price no doubt higher than an album, is probably a comparable income, if not better than what Birbiglia may see from such a successful album. Martin also is getting this for every show he does, while the album is a single product.
The point of all this comparison is that if Pandora's new service ends up boosting comedians' album sales, it could indeed bring huge benefits to comedy performers. Someone like Demetri Martin might end up attracting even more fans to those lucrative live shows, when promoted by Pandora's online airplay.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Landlord Eviction [week 8]
This video is really funny -- the company, Orabrush, talked about their marketing on a panel at SES NY last week, and I found this very entertaining:
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Sheen's Magical Mystery Tour
Just in the back of my mind, with the seeming success of Charlie Sheen's plans to tour with an as-yet-undefined show, taking a page right out Conan O'Brien's playbook after NBC dumped him, will this tour prove to be a genius move or will we see that the warlock has no clothes?
If the whispers are true, that CBS is considering rehiring Sheen after seeing how much interest and advance ticket sales he's getting for his tour, it could end up that Sheen will be seen as crazy like a fox, especially if he actually commands a still higher salary to return to "Two & A Half Men."
But I can't help but suspect that with no real idea what Sheen may be doing in the performances, it could blow up in his face. A 90-minute or more live show of incoherent ramblings and no real plan for entertaining an audience would be a far cry from Conan O'Brien's tour that had a clear set list of songs, video clips, skits and other written pieces. One or two train wreck shows on the first couple stops of the tour could scuttle the rest of the tour, especially if dissatisfied audiences start demanding refunds.
Which way do you think the tour will end up? I'd be curious to hear. Let's see who's right.
If the whispers are true, that CBS is considering rehiring Sheen after seeing how much interest and advance ticket sales he's getting for his tour, it could end up that Sheen will be seen as crazy like a fox, especially if he actually commands a still higher salary to return to "Two & A Half Men."
But I can't help but suspect that with no real idea what Sheen may be doing in the performances, it could blow up in his face. A 90-minute or more live show of incoherent ramblings and no real plan for entertaining an audience would be a far cry from Conan O'Brien's tour that had a clear set list of songs, video clips, skits and other written pieces. One or two train wreck shows on the first couple stops of the tour could scuttle the rest of the tour, especially if dissatisfied audiences start demanding refunds.
Which way do you think the tour will end up? I'd be curious to hear. Let's see who's right.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
ECNY awards
Enjoyed attending the ECNY Awards show last night, although by the end it was a bit of an endurance test (show ran almost 3 hours?) To me the highlights were the videos made by comedy collective "The Moon" to introduce nominees in each category. These were quite creative. For instance, for best website, two members of the group played a boss and employee, with the employee covering up his computer screen every time the boss looked in on him -- each time with a nominee's name on the screen.
And, as I tweeted during the show last night, among the performance highlights during the show (which featured performances of 4 of the 5 nominated musical comedy acts), was Adira Amram's showstopping rendition of her comedic song "Tiny Vagina," in which she sang the title over and over again, with more and more emphasis, in front of a colorful riot of two aerobics-gear-clad dancers and several black-colored bodysuit-clad chorus members and dancers -- one of whom did somersaults mid-crescendo.
Also, in a lower key, nominee Ben Lerman performed his comedic number, "Multiple Orgasm Pam," a more folkie-styled piece, that also charmed, in a completely different way.
In some ways, another star of the night was Kurt Braunohler, who reaped the most ECNY awards, and also scrambled up once or twice to accept on behalf of winners who weren't present. Braunohler got more casual with each acceptance, on one just noting, "hey I have a tiny glass of beer too," holding up a sampler from the venue's bar (the 92Y Tribeca).
Later this week, Jester will compile reviews of nominees and winners for your reference.
And, as I tweeted during the show last night, among the performance highlights during the show (which featured performances of 4 of the 5 nominated musical comedy acts), was Adira Amram's showstopping rendition of her comedic song "Tiny Vagina," in which she sang the title over and over again, with more and more emphasis, in front of a colorful riot of two aerobics-gear-clad dancers and several black-colored bodysuit-clad chorus members and dancers -- one of whom did somersaults mid-crescendo.
Also, in a lower key, nominee Ben Lerman performed his comedic number, "Multiple Orgasm Pam," a more folkie-styled piece, that also charmed, in a completely different way.
In some ways, another star of the night was Kurt Braunohler, who reaped the most ECNY awards, and also scrambled up once or twice to accept on behalf of winners who weren't present. Braunohler got more casual with each acceptance, on one just noting, "hey I have a tiny glass of beer too," holding up a sampler from the venue's bar (the 92Y Tribeca).
Later this week, Jester will compile reviews of nominees and winners for your reference.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Mistakes Were Made
I wish I had written this entry early in this show's run, instead of at the end of it, as I am now. In "Mistakes Were Made," playing through Sunday, Feb. 27 at the Barrow Street Theatre, Michael Shannon rips into the character of a beleaguered theater producer with gusto -- channeling Lewis Black and Archie Bunker with a just a hint of Woody Allen in the wordiness of his rants.
But to all of this, Shannon adds muscular comedy at times, which makes the play worth mentioning on a comedy website. In what is essentially a one-man show, Shannon heaves his whole bulk around the stage, throwing his whole weight into his voice as he yells at people on the phone.
And it's moments such as when he compares a recalcitrant playwright's agent to a "retarded farmgirl" right before you know he will blow another gasket, that have the audience ready to roar in laughter, as I was.
But to all of this, Shannon adds muscular comedy at times, which makes the play worth mentioning on a comedy website. In what is essentially a one-man show, Shannon heaves his whole bulk around the stage, throwing his whole weight into his voice as he yells at people on the phone.
And it's moments such as when he compares a recalcitrant playwright's agent to a "retarded farmgirl" right before you know he will blow another gasket, that have the audience ready to roar in laughter, as I was.
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