Last season we began asking our audiences to give us their unabashed reviews of our shows. Although we didn't specifically ask our audience this season, I found an unsolicited review on Goldstar. Here is the review, with kind permission. My guest blogger Gregory Alonzo.
Kinosian and Blair have publicly professed their allegiance to the conventions of the venerable musicals of a bygone era. The truth is, however, that they’ve composed a minor classic all their own that is as much subversive as it is respectful to the genre. That is no mean feat! The nonstop humor is played with both broad and subtle strokes, and a perpetual droll wink, by a talented cast of two. To his credit, Adam Overett plays the straight man with enough comic alacrity and musical finesse to weather the force of nature that is Joe Kinosian. It's a daunting task, to say the least, and he succeeds admirably.
Kinosian, co-creator of the piece, adroitly performs ten discrete characters with a near boundless élan. The sheer physical and mental dexterity needed to convincingly portray several personalities while maintaining an insouciant charm is a genuine tour de force. The man is truly possessed with a prodigious, albeit demonic, talent!
Inasmuch as this comedy is also a musical, one is obliged to mention that the catchy melodies don’t wield quite the same impact as the masterfully honed wit of the lyrics. And Kinosian’s singing voice, while more than adequate, doesn’t live up to his acting prowess.
If one were to make a suggestion, despite its relative brevity, the show would benefit from an intermission. It can actually be exhausting just watching Kinosian, and one does detect a slight waning of both endurance and comic-timing during the latter half.
Be that as it may, this successful exercise in manic hilarity is as fun as it gets in live theatre. And it’s hard to imagine a better venue for this scale of production than the cozy ambiance of the Eureka Theatre. Go see it-now!
A native San Franciscan, Greg is an inveterate theatergoer. His day job is as an attorney with a solo practice in San Jose.
Need more reviews?
Here they are, and no spoilers... but they are raves!
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