Review: NEW YORK FASHION GROUNDLINGS - High-Styling Fête of Laughs & Guffaws
By: Gil Kaan May. 04, 2019
NEW YORK FASHION GROUNDLINGS/written by The Groundlings/directed by Kevin Kirkpatrick/Groundlings Theatre/thru June 29, 2019
The Groundlings have topped themselves Ahhh-gain with their latest Friday and Saturday night show NEW YORK FASHION GROUNDLINGS. The collective comic genius of this cast of seven zip through a program of fourteen hilariously entertaining skits, sharply directed by Kevin Kirkpatrick at a brisk, breakneck pace with almost insufficient time to finish laughing before another hysterical bit immediately follows.
As any Groundlings aficionados know, show titles mostly have little, if anything, to do with the themes of the included skits. NEW YORK FASHION GROUNDLINGS does have one title-relevant sketch, the opener "Fashion Police." Smartly written by Michael Churven and Allison Dunbar, the entire cast struts and poses in their fashionable Salvation Army uniforms.
The Groundlings alternate in writing their own skits (with themselves shiningly featured), and then providing sturdy support for skits written by their fellow cast members; from a one-or-two-liner (Laird Macintosh in "Alphabets"), to someone who mostly stand silent while the leads rail on them (Chris Eckert in "Dry").
"Tasting" written by Macintosh and Eckert, has Churven as a bartender providing tasting shots of scotch to taster Josh Duveneck. After Churven describes to Duveneck each sampling (all ending with "a sweet gesture"), Macintosh and Eckert show off their physical clowning mastery in very adult variations of "sweet gestures." The Groundlings audience could not stop howling!!!
Andrew Leeds nails his sketch "Alphabets." Leeds embodies a college drop-out who devises a sure-fire method to learn the alphabet. What seems so random and nonsensical actually possesses a very intricate and clever logic to it.
Duveneck knocks his skit "Little League" out of the park, as an assistant coach teaching unorthodox techniques to his pre-teen baseballers. Duveneck, a physical comedy pro, effortlessly demonstrates his various contorting positions of his "proper" batting stances.
Aside from their individual side-splitting skits ("Anger Management" for Dunbar and "Layover" for Julian Gant; Dunbar and Gant team up in a sizzling, HOT dance of seduction in "Teacher's Lounge."
The finale "Attorneys At Law" has co-writers Churven and Leeds, with Eckert, Gant, Dunbar and Macintosh all singing, and breaking each other up in a court case, very adult with much conflicts-of-interested parties. A simply GREATTT way to end this show!
Shout-outs to the always dependable, smok-ing Groundlings Band (Greg Kanaga on drums, Larry Treadwell on guitar, and musical director Matthew Loren Cohen on keyboards) who provide foot-stomping musical interludes for the very efficient set changes smoothly handled by stage managers Paul Chirico and Roman Arnaize. This masterful trio performs rock-ing versions of Beyonce's "Crazy in Love," Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy (For My Shirt)," Bowie's "Fashion," RuPaul's "Supermodel (You Better Work)," Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want" amongst others. Kudos to lighting designer Dylan Carlson and sound designer Edwin Peraza for keeping the Groundlings well-lit and comprehensibly mic-ed. Wish there was a credit listed for the outrageous, most complementary, laugh-inducing wigs each Groundling wears to accentuate their individual characters.
NEW YORK FASHION GROUNDLINGS's one of the most consistently laugh-out-loud Groundlings shows I've attended. And I've experienced quite a few over the years! Go see for yourself!
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