Newsical: All the News That's Fit to Laugh At

The satire that doesn't close on Saturday night, to paraphrase George S. Kaufman, runs the risk of getting old rather quickly. Which is probably why the topical revue, once so popular in theatres, supper clubs and cabarets, is rarely produced nowadays. Listen to the Off-Broadway cast album of Jerry Herman's Parade or the studio album of Harold Rome's Pins and Needles and although there's still plenty to laugh at, you'll probably need to Google a bit to get all the references.

Thankfully, we do on occasion hear from talents like Rick Crom, whose songs and sketches for Newsical often provide the kind of spirited, cocktail irreverence that reminds you of a time when comedy was written for grown-ups.

To be fair, if you've been enjoying Crom's past revues, such as the recent What in the World (which was subtitled The Newsical Revue), you'll hear a lot of familiar material in Newsical. But hey, you can't blame the guy for wanting to include some tried and true favorites that aren't exactly overly exposed to juice up a high profile gig. Although Crom promises to update the show regularly, it's impractical not to write routines with a little staying power. So if bits about a violent Liza Minnelli or the Homeland Security Color Code aren't exactly ripped from today's headlines, funny is the determining factor. And Newsical is pretty damn funny.

Little old ladies sing of their joy over tighter airport security because it provides the most intimacy they've had in decades. The Kennedys in Heaven look down in baffled amusement over Arnold Schwarzenegger ("He sounds like Teddy after 8 or 9 drinks.") Nervous male passengers now have a reason to enjoy turbulence when they fly Hooters Airline. Sometimes silly, sometimes smart, Crom delivers the kind of non-partisan humor you can just kick back and have fun with.

Especially with a cast that is winning in every respect and a director (Donna Drake) who keeps it all moving swift and sharp. Kim Cea, a tart-tongued model of classic New York sophistication, was born to do this kind of show. Her willowy long arms flapped hilariously as a Barbra Streisand who'd rather discuss her political views than sing, much to the consternation of her chorus boys ("There's nothing as pushy as a Jew in menopause."). But her expertise in delivering a comedy song truly shines when it's just her and the audience and wild Crom number like "Too Much Botox" (sung painfully deadpan -- in a good way) or "My Husband Got Made Over by the Queer Eye Guys (and Now He's a Pain in the Ass)."

Stephanie Kurtzuba is an adorable bundle of frenetic clowning. She plays verbal ping-pong with herself as a hyper Liza Minnelli recalling her Studio 54 days, drips venom in the title role of "The Martha Stewart Musical" and is absurdly sweet seeking romance on line.

Jeff Skowron is a blast flashing his boyish good looks as Bill Clinton and has a rousingly funny song and dance routine as a Broadway style Governor James McGreevey. But his high point comes as an erudite personification of the tiger who mauled Siegfried's Roy, feeling he must put into simple language the reason he attacked. The punch line is repeated many times in this song and Skowron is a riot at every repetition.

Todd Alan Johnson was out at the performance I attended, and although he's not listed as the regular male swing, Rick Crom himself filled in. The versatile Crom is equally deft at playing comic bombast (i.e. as Rush Limbaugh singing a 1950's number about how all his liberal-bashing was the result of drug use) or a befuddled everyman. A monologue as a straight man supporting gay marriage is classic in both writing and delivery.

Whenever something newsworthy happens now I'll probably find myself thinking "What would Rick Crom do with this story?" Hopefully we'll have many years of answers to that question because, just like Forbidden Broadway, I see multiple visits to Newsical in my future.

Photo: (top to bottom) Todd Alan Johnson, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jeff Skowron, and Kim Cea

For more information visit newsicalthemusical.com

 

For Michael Dale's "mad adventures of a straight boy living in a gay world" visit dry2olives.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.