Review: AMPED UP POETRY IN MOTION - FREESTYLE LOVE REIGNS SUPREME at Pasadena Playhouse

It takes some serious skills to be able to spin an impromptu hip-hop tale around the comforts of Trader Joe's, hatred of the state of Ohio (what?!) or the reasons why one should not upchuck on a cop. Whatever the subject, no matter how profound or mundane, Kaiser Rözé, Jelly Donut, Young Nees and the gang from FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME know how to tell it and make it sizzle. Given the ease at which they ply their skill, one almost wonders whether the artists of FLS have their go-to favorite subjects which they can finagle into any creation. Does every thought, every rap really springs from the suggestions of that day's audience? Is the claim that no two FLS shows ever are the same more than just marketing hype?

To truly answer that, you'd have to become an FLS frequent flyer, and I'm sure they're out there. The enticement of a drop-in from a guest freestyler like co-creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (we should be so lucky) or Alaska 5000 would be an enticement to return multiple times. And in a way, it doesn't matter. The company of the touring FSL directed by Thomas Kail from an idea by Anthony Veneziale) at The Pasadena Playhouse have everything under control...or out of control as the case may be.

To recap, in every performance, we the audience are asked to toss out words or some topics: things we love, things we detest, painful memories, something that happened earlier in the day. Using a combination of spoken word, music, song and beatbox rhythms, the cast members feed it back to us. They build around one particular idea, but also sprinkle in bits of also-rans as well. The work is smart, kinetic, occasionally a bit raunchy and a blast. Basically, this is part of the evolution of improvised comedy, only with better music. The Groundlings should be so cool.

The mic is passed from freestyler to freestyler, with many of the performers getting opportunities to show off. At the performance I attended, Kaila Mullady (AKA Kaiser Rözé) was our snark-embracing but quite congenial MC, getting plenty of help from the musically gifted Morgan Reilly (Hummingbird) Aneesa Folds (Young Nees) and Chris Sullivan (Shockwave), the latter a beat-boxing rock star who probably didn't utter a single actual word the entire performance.

Bottom line: go, bring the kids and don't be shy about raising your hand. The FLS players might turn your pet peeve into poetry.

FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME plays through Aug. 7 at The Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molina Ave., Pasadena.

Photo of (L-R) Kaila Mullady, Jay C. Ellis, Andrew Bancroft and Morgan Reilly by Joan Marcus

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