Arts Runoff: IT’S… THE ARTS

Unless I’m forgetting something (and please forgive me for missing you, Riddim), this will be my LAST “ARTS RUNOFF” POST EVER. I’ve had a really fun time doing these reviews, and I like to think they’ve served the purposes I hoped they would. I’ll do another post about it later to wrap up–maybe a review of my reviews! Meta!–but for now, check out this cool play in the Zoo this weekend:

Summary: A bundle of surreal(ist), hilarious(tastic) short skits culled from the classic Monty Python TV series, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” A totally extracurricular project dashed together over the last few weeks.

Good: You can’t find a funnier pool of scripts to draw from. // Of course, I’ve also seen a lot of godawful performances of those scripts, and they have such a weight of respect behind them that it can be very hard to pull them off. So kudos to the  actors and director. // Loved the basic set. // Dave Malinsky ’11 is a killer voice actor. All the accents, for that matter, were sparkly and nice. // Feet!

Bad: To my immense surprise, one or two parts of the show dragged or didn’t quite hit the tone they aimed for. It wasn’t that full a house tonight, so I will cut a lot of slack. // The compiler(s) tended to choose the more intellectual pieces from the Pythons’ repertoire… maybe a little too self-glorifyingly nerdy? // Although I loved the set, it felt a bit like a remix of Carnal Embrace.

Broad: Although this is not the first time I have pre-gamed a play, it is my first time reviewing a play I saw tipsy. I felt like that was OK; the rollicking craziness of Monty Python is not inimical to being in a slightly altered state (vocabulary!). Besides, they scheduled all the showings for 11:00; what kind of signal does that send?

Contextual rating: If you have something important to do this weekend,
-…do it, and see this show if you can.
-…put it off and see It’s… the Arts.
-…skip it. SEE It’s… the Arts! It’s only like an hour long, and you will laugh a lot. Plus, the more people in the theater, the funnier it is, so I encourage everyone to go to improve everyone else’s experience.

It’s…The Arts in the Hepburn Zoo. 11:00 Saturday. Tickets at the door. It might be crowded, but they cram people in anyway.