Review: CHAR-BOOOOOO-TERIE at The Public Theater

I love the different varieties of entertainment Little Rock offers, and my now new favorite troupe to see are the super funny people that make up Red Octopus Theater. I’ve been wanting to see one of their shows for a long time, and I’m so happy I made it to CHAR-BOOOOOO-TERIE at The Public Theater Thursday, Oct. 17, which was a Halloween sketch comedy that had us dying with laughter.  If you missed your opportunity to catch this show, you will have another chance in December for their popular Pagans on Bobsleds.    

If you are unfamiliar with this troupe, a Red Octopus show is centered around different comedic scenes that are somewhat inappropriate for children, which makes it that much better. For this show, their Halloween sketch comedy blended classic spooks and spoofs, turning scares into satire and horrors into humor. The sketches were centered around monsters, vampires, and ghosts shedding their scare tactics in favor of punchlines and parodies. The comedians were killing it by experimenting with spooky themes, creating a festive blend of fright and funny that had us all in the scary holiday mood. 

Cast members Courtney Beard, Max Churchwell, Jeremiah James Herman, Alli Clark Howland, Holly Scott and Jason Willey worked together for two acts to bring us original comedy with original music, which was created by Kevin Macleod (imcompetech.com) and Sam Clark. Skit by skit proved they were comfortable with the material and each other. After their Cold Open and Cast List, they launched into Candy Cocks which basically speaks for itself. They covered Trashy Voters, had a quick scene of Too Many Witches and then a cute scene of Funkenstein. Bit by bit had different characters, different themes, but all equally funny scenes. One of my favorite sketches was Jason’s Old Lady, where he/she was writing in his/her diary. I also enjoyed the Sideline Interview and Postgame Interview where the vampire was discussing the strategy of a particularly tough victim. The Fruit Bats were funny being caddy about the vampire bats, and Pam Tammy & Terry were reminiscent of the women on Saturday Night Live. It was all so funny!  

This brand of comedy brought out people that don’t normally go to theatrical shows. “I love coming to Red Octopus shows. I’m not really a fan of musicals, but this stuff is a blast. I wish there were more shows like this,” Little Rock native Scott Moore said.  

Diana from Little Rock echoed Moore’s sentiments. “My boyfriend and I came here for date night. I like not having to deal with kids for a moment and just have this time to be adults.” 

Red Octopus definitely contributes to the vibrant, creative community atmosphere that Central Arkansas has to offer. They not only entertain, but they help strengthen the community bond and introduces a form of entertainment that brings in new theatregoers.   

Up next for Red Octopus is Pagans and Bobsled December 12-14 and 20-21. Follow their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/redoctopustheater for more information.