Fringe Festival "Brawny Britches" review by ChaimEliyahu

Funny Boys

Rating: 5

Brawny Britches

KC Fringe Festival

Men are so funny!  Well, not usually, but those in "Brawny Britches" (though never for long) certainly are.

And please make no mistake about the genre we're discussing here: comedy.  Ribald (and sometimes balding) comedy, in boxers, briefs, thongs, jocks (I think: couldn't see behind...). But more often than not — and usually to great comic effect — also shoes and socks, or something else that brings out the fun of seeing surgeons, businessmen, construction workers, take it almost-all off.  (If you read "guaranteed nudity" in the teaser — or did I imagine that? — you'll be disappointed. Why be petty, though? It's probably a metaphor, but it's certainly comedy!

None of it very long or deep, though, if you'll pardon the expression. These sketches are fired right off (sometimes like mustard, and you'll see what I mean), and we're on to the next. Sort of like those jokes about male sex, though that chestnut was actually not carted out, with so much else to display. How disappointed these men would have been if long and deep had been what they were aiming for — for the audience's unconstrained hooting and hollering, their urgent demand to see the next piece of male-enhancing underwear, would have drowned out any subtler intention. This was an evening-ender of riotous fun, with drinks allowed in the theater and a bar just outside the door.

Some equally strong comedy came from people who were not men: our emcee, notably, who's insinuating, dry wit, along with her willingness to don a Boy Scout uniform and a pair of clingy or glittery cocktail dresses occupied us for the brief times before the next debriefing. And our janitress — men are so messy! — wound up delivering the most classic burlesque element in our Boylesque evening, along with some number of cozy wink and knowing glances to her favorite audience members, and one case of licking.

I was mainly impressed at the cast's strengths at physical comedy. In physical comedy, it's not necessarily what you show, but how you carry it, and whether you can carry it off. These guys are hilarious. So be like a real man, and come early — or you may not get a seat at all: just two more chances, at 11:30 Friday and Saturday nights.

read the review at KC Stage