By John Quinn
Thursday was St. Patrick's Day. The taps of Ferndale flowed with green beer and the gutters flowed with more repulsive effluvia – if that's possible. Couple the holiday with the first warm day of the year, and the time was ripe to kick off the silly season. But few hijinks could be sillier than "The Play of Lost Things," which opened at Go Comedy! on Nine Mile.
In celebration of National Reading Month, the improv theater is mounting the production in cooperation with the Ferndale Public Library. It's based loosely (VERY loosely) on Irish novelist John Connolly's "The Book of Lost Things." Pretty much the only point of comparison is the common theme of "The Quest." The structure is an exercise in back-to-the-basics improvisational theater. A volunteer is requested from the audience. He or she answers some not-too-personal biographical questions. Our fearless narrator Pete Jacokes fields suggestions from the audience at large. Favorite films, TV shows and the like are all mashed together to form the direction of the plot. Jacokes spins the yarn, his cohorts act it out. That stalwart crew would be Steve Forbes, Jen Hansen, Chris Petersen, Michelle Giorlando and Travis Pelto.
Here's the bottom line on improv: Like the little girl with the curl, when it's good it's very, very good and when it's bad it's horrid. Director Chris DiAngelo has his ensemble on their toes exploring the comic possibilities of material when they have only seconds to respond. So if giant talking spiders are hard to distinguish from talking dinosaurs, then we can't grouse too much – especially since, if you go, you'll encounter an entirely new group of baddies. That's the other bottom line: The show is never the same twice. There's excitement in sheer spontaneity. And is it good? It's wickedly silly and that's good enough!
It is however, designed to run in a one-hour time slot, so it cannot be considered a night at the theater. It makes a suitable light appetizer for a night on the town or it can be taken in with one or two of the other shows on the Thursday bill of fare. Those tasty nuggets are "Menllenium," also reviewed here, and the comedy troupe Flight 1977. Bon appetite!
REVIEW:
'The Play of Lost Things'
Go Comedy! Improv Theater, 261 E. Nine Mile Rd., Ferndale. 8 p.m. Thursdays through March 31. $5. 248-327-0575. http://www.gocomedy.net
