If you had been on the fence about going to see this show, I hope that you allowed me to nudge you off of it and you made the decision to go. I hope you went. There are no more chances this time. There were a total of 6 glorious performances.
What show?
"The New Variety Radio Show" by R. O'Donnell,
Angela Conzone Dwyer & Chris Dwyer,
and the rest of the staff and acting talent at St. John's Conservatory Theater.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is in your own backyard! (Ok, technically it's at OFA auditorium, but .... close enough). It is hard to fathom that so much talent is right here under our noses, but it is. The auditorium and theatre are state-of-the-art digital! Each of the performers has his or her own wireless microphone and when their pitch perfect voices fall into harmony with each other, you will be spellbound.
The pieces they sing are timeless and can be very much enjoyed by the people who can actually recall congregating around the radio the way we all sit around a TV now; but are sung with such a joie de vivre that younger generations will find themselves entranced as well. The glory, oh the glory, of those decades gone by are belted back into the present. You will leave this show feeling happy and contented; like ... what ...just...happened? I had more energy leaving than I did coming in.
And this is a comedy! There is humor. Some of it silly and you know it's going to be silly and you laugh anyway because of how simply funny it is and the charisma of the joke tellers. Some of it is just downright clever hilarious stuff. For example, Uma Guard (Irma Guard?) and Helen Wheels are the two nuns names. I mean ...right?? And the other little subtleties that if you're not paying attention, you will miss! Like, it really works well because they're spoken with an Irish accent!
Does this need an explanation? You can tell bad things are going down here.
Helen Wheels points a ruler at an unruly soul. Father and Irma Guard cast judgement.
No more Crispy Crunchies! Such an addiction!
It's somebody's birthday!!!
Or is it!?
These folks are presenters. They interact with the audience and forge a connection. You're there. You're in it. And then it becomes so much more than what you thought it would be, because you see this thing open up before your eyes and become this amazing thing....and you're delighted.
SIX white horses...... That's what she'll be drivin'
You listen to the voices of the angels.
You watch their faces as they sing.
They are confident. They have such strong voice control and poised with elegance. They are beautiful. They are talented. They are local!
They are confident. They have such strong voice control and poised with elegance. They are beautiful. They are talented. They are local!
Let us not forget the dueling saxophones. So. Much. Brass...... So good!
6 brass each?
From start
to finish. This was the show to see.
I went with a friend of mine and our own little darlings and she laughed and laughed .... and laughed! I could hear little comments coming out of her mouth like, "that's so great!" and "awesome!" and "I love this!" and "yeah!!!!"
There was clapping-along; there was finger snapping, heck, there was even foot tapping (and I'm not even talking about the performers, though they were doing it too). There was a perfect amount of audience participation and in multiple forms. This show definitely tickles the giggle spots.
And ya gotta do what you gotta do to get them to loosen up.