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THE THEATRE

Despite having to wade through ankle deep drifts of snow, ice and slush, I managed to just make the 8:00 pm show at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre that I had been planning on seeing Friday night. As you may recall, I reserved a ticket, but it didn’t seem to make a difference, as I wouldn’t have been able to make it up to the ticket counter in time to claim it anyway. Fortunately, for the 8:00 pm show, there wasn’t much of a crowd and I was able to wait inside, which was pretty crucial considering the weather.

Inside, the theatre was comfortably appointed with plush theatre seats set around three sides of the floor-level stage. A blackout curtain surrounded the theatre area, and beverages were being served out of what looked like an impromptu bar by the entrance. Throw in an effects booth in the far left corner and a small film crew taping all the action, and you’ve got the UCB Theatre.

THE IMPROV

The show I’d come to see was broken into two different acts: Pain Cake by Alana Harrison and The Al Pacino School of Acting by Cesar Gracia. We kicked off the evening with Pain Cake, an interesting mix of improv and video commentary with the goal of illuminating the meaning of life through a comedic study of pain. Alana Harrison approached the audience in the guise of a scientist from Science Mountain, sciencing her way to greater understanding by observing people’s reactions to pain. The improv that ensued included a study of a frat guy at funeral, Bjork assisting the bomb squad and George Bush being scolded by his wife for sulking under the bed. As with most improv shows, there were a lot of funny moments, but also a few jokes that didn’t quite hit the mark. Still, it was an entertaining diversion after a particularly long day at work.

The second act however was an unqualified success! Cesar Gracia didn’t seem like the perfect match for an Al Pacino impersonator at first, but as the act picked up momentum and he started pulling people out of the audience to perform with him, the portrayal of Al Pacino’s special brand of showmanship became altogether believable and hillarious.

The first and most important lesson that Al Pacino had to teach us was the proper use of that most delightful of all curses, the word “F*ck.” Apparently f*ck is the fulcrum upon which all true dramatic talent rests, and so we excercised its use frequently and with great gusto while reenacting scenes alternately from fairy tales and old Al Pacino movies. One pair of audience members was brought down to the stage to play Romeo and Juliet, as portrayed by Al Pacino and… well, Al Pacino! Another group did scenes from The Devil’s Advocate and Humpty Dumpty. I was called down to play one of the three little pigs, as Al Pacino tried to blow our house down. Needless to say, we told him to f*ck off. By the time the show was over, the stage was littered with the bodies of audience members, replica automatic weapons, and one very exultantly dead Al Pacino. I laughed my f*cking ass off!

THE BOTTOM LINE

The show cost me $8 for about an hour and a half of entertainment, minus about fifteen minutes worth of setup. The line for the 8:00 pm show wasn’t bad at all, but when I was leaving the theatre, the line for the 9:30 show stretched down the block and around the corner despite the nasty mix of snow, slush and hail steadily pummeling the patient theatregoers. I’d recommend going to an earlier show, or at least getting there early if you’re going to see one of the later shows, as the theatre isn’t that big, and would surely fill up under more favorable conditions.

The improv shows obviously can be hit or miss, such is the nature of improv, but the overall experience was a lot of fun, and well worth the time and money. Because of the long line and bad weather, I opted not to try for the second show even though i had planned to see it, but don’t let that discourage you: it was a great night!

This entry was posted on Monday, March 19th, 2007 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Live Performance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.