Review: (Still A)Live From Shapiro Hall Tricks and Treats Its Way Into Hearts

There is a fable that tells of a pumpkin that rises from a pumpkin patch on Halloween, then flies through the air, delivering gifts to people to celebrate the holiday. Well, it's Halloween and if it's gifts you want, then you might as well call me The Great Pumpkin because have I got treats for you. Since May, Janice Hall and Adam B. Shapiro have been creating online variety specials to entertain their friends, family, and fans during quarantine. While the city of New York did reopen, each day is a new litany of hotspots, rising numbers, closing businesses, and the possibility of returning to lockdown mode, so many are still sheltering in place, and certainly the number of entertainers working in restricted live performance venues is a small one. So the two roommates continue to produce half-hour specials to lighten moods, provide distraction, and send messages of hope, all from a little home-made production studio called SHAPIRO HALL.

(Still A)Live From Shapiro Hall is a series of three shows based on the variety specials that Hall and Shapiro grew up with in the '60s and '70s. Adam and Janice have modeled their programming after The Carol Burnett Show, The Sonny and Cher Show, and others that viewers will an eye toward nostalgia will recognize, stylistically, and though their programs are informed by those TV shows, there is no mistaking the writing is rooted in the here and now. Unlike many of the videos made by artists in isolation, the (Still A)Live shows are abundant with production values designed to impress. If there are times when the viewer actually sees what Shapiro Hall looks like in real life, it can't really be clocked. It would appear that each scene in all three episodes has been shot before a green screen with Mr. Shapiro's considerable talents as a tech wizard providing locations, scenery, and guest stars by remote. In May when Part One: STUCK WITH EACH OTHER debuted, online entertainment was new and people were working the learning curve, so the community was abuzz with wonder over the professional look of the show. It was awe-inspiring then and remains so today, two days after the release of Part Three: THIS IS HALLOWEEN. Clearly, Janice and Adam spend a great deal of time and effort on the creation of these installments, otherwise, they would be dropping them every other week, rather than spacing them out by two or three months. It is much better this way because, even though it would be nice to have Adam and Janice release episodes with more frequency, taking the time to ensure the quality of the show is of greater importance.

And the quality is visible in every single frame.

With comedy numbers, spoofs, parodies, costuming, wigs, and props, the (Still A)Live shows are a pleasurable indulgence from start to finish. Each episode, though, also includes sharp commentary on the day's political and health crises, as well as touching moments of vulnerability that will allow you to see beyond the humor screen of these comedians and into the hearts of the humans making you laugh. The true friendship shared by Hall and Shapiro, the respect between the artists that they are, and the concern these New Yorkers have for their community are tangible, palpable, visible, making you love them all the more. The most emotional of their episodes is Part Two: WE'RE STILL HERE!, while Part One provides intellect with Hall's multi-lingual musical commentary on smoking and the duo's hilarious take on Fairy Tales in Quarantine. The most recent episode of Halloween is silly, natch, with costumes galore, whimsy out the wazoo, and a touching nod to their annual Halloween installment of the long-running open mic night SALON, and all their friends there. Both Adam and Janice have serious singing skills that they showcase with style and acute acting abilities that are achieved with aplomb, to say nothing of their array of talented friends who participate in the sketches, this writer's favorite being a look at the Greek Gods, in their second episode. The entire series is proof positive that a pandemic and a quarantine aren't enough to addle the minds of the truly creative, adventurous, and generous of spirit; Shapiro and Hall didn't have to do this, but they did, and those wise enough to take my advice and watch the ninety minutes of their artistry and comedy currently available online will be grateful that they did.

It looks like the world owes Linus Van Pelt an apology because this Halloween day the (Still A)Live episodes are the tricks and treats everyone has been waiting for. And they come with no stomach ache or cavities!

Happy Halloween, kiddie winkies.

The (Still A)Live series can be seen on the Adam B. Shapiro YouTube Channel HERE

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