The Week of Reviewing Dangerously: Killing My Lobster

 

*Thanks Notthat.

It's the Week of Reviewing Dangerously. The Great Plotnik has five shows to cover in eight days, and his only complaint is there are no shows on Monday or Tuesday.

Last night he and Duck saw Killing My Lobster Faces the Music, a sketch comedy/musical which had a full house of 30-and-unders hooting and howling. Sitting in the Bob Uecker*Best Seats at ODC Theater, Plotnik was able to count all the bald spots in the audience (one), gray heads (1, maybe 2) and all others over the age of 40 (2, maybe 4). The other 170 or so all seemed to know each other and sounded like they'd seen the show lots of times before: they laughed repeatedly at lines Plot and Duck couldn't even hear.

It wasn't age that mitigated against comprehension: it was the ol' $5 Sound System which tried in vain to integrate cordless, headset mikes with speakers they must have bought used from the DMV. What a shame -- the lines that were audible were really funny and well written. MORAL: Get there early and sit in the front.

The First Act plodded along until: THE BURRITO SONG. The actor's name is Danny Krueger and, standing in front of a gospel trio and a beggar on a rolling flatboard (don't ask), he proceeds to list every taqueria and burrito joint in the Bay Area. No...not list -- preach! Lawdamercy! "Cancun Taqueria 27th and Mission!" he cries and "Yes! Yes!" screams the audience, feeling the divine Hand of God on its shoulder (with a side of guacamole). Act One closes and everyone flies from their seats to seek chips and salsa. The Burrito Song is not a great song but it's a GREAT SONG.

Act Two is wonderful from start to finish, including a use of bagpipes you probably hadn't thought about before. Tickets are inexpensive and, since we're talking about live, sketch comedy, the sketches probably change every night. The ensemble is having a great time, so the audience does too.

OK, somebody ought to tell the drummer/bandleader he is not conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. Small niggle.

The Great Plotnik Theater Awards Division awards Killing My Lobster Faces the Music Two Stars for the Burrito Song all by itself, and another Star and a half for Act Two, minus a quarter star for that sound system and another quarter because they HAD A SOUND MAN FAWGODSAKE, who must have been sucking on the Purple Sticky. Three and a Quarter Stars and remember it's Wintertime and the Parking is Easy.