Comedic Timings of Ogrot Presents
Rating: 4
Ogrot Presents: Take My Breath Away
KC Fringe Festival
I've never quite seen a show, of any kind, start in the manner of Ogrot Present's "Take My Breath Away". The show opened with a fat man in a pizza suit and the words, "Hi. We're Ogrot Presents." The awkward silence that followed was quickly blown away by a series of amusing and culturally shocking sketches put on by the six Ogrot performers.
Memorable moments in the first half include a sketch about a pharmaceutical drug with the world's worst collection of side effects, a sketch about the way the world would appreciate commercials to be done, a riotously funny sketch about Bush's Baked Beans and the commercial dog after the secret recipe, and a quasi-vulgar, you-might-get-wet sketch about an inappropriate replacement to Prozac (a sketch that I'm still not sure if it was mocking people that need Prozac or simply used it as an excuse to perform a visually horrifying sight-gag.) Wrapping up the first half was a sketch that brought to life the Internet's Pandora Radio and all of the things we hate about it.
Following the Monty Python-esque intermission were sketches about what not to do in Vegas, James Earl Jones' worst day in voice acting, what happens when you listen to lame music, culturally offensive social networking, and a closer that illustrates the trying life of a comedian.
Starring in the show are;
Brad Bricktower: I think I've seen Brad (under a different name) in a number of plays and musicals around the Kansas City Area. Each time he appears on stage his ability to correctly interpret comedic timing and the quality of his vocal impersonations improve exponentially. In this show he wailed like a three-year-old who just watched her kitten be strangled by Santa Claus, beautifully portrayed a culturally insensitive stoner, and affected multiple different accents and personas flawlessly. He can be quite a bit too loud and sometimes it is obvious he's over-reaching at times but if you watch a show that has him in it and don't laugh at least once you might need to check and make sure you still have a pulse. Brad seems to be one of the ringleaders of this rag-tag group of comedians.
Allen Chaney: Allen's girth only seems to be matched by his sense of humor. I've met beautiful people that wouldn't have the courage to walk around in a pizza suit let alone try and make a living out of poking fun at every race, ethnicity, religion and creed. This is the first time I've seen Allen in any form of a performance. As far as I know this could even be his debut in the Kansas City Stage. He's rough around the edges and has a great distance yet to go, but he's funny and that isn't something that can't be picked up. Allen appears to be the other ringleader of this comedy troupe.
Ken Koval: Why does this mediocrity continue to show up in KC theatre. Ken Koval, is as always, indomitably Ken Koval. He seems to have no comedic timing. During the course of the show he seemed to drop lines and provided a stale, anemic performance that made my inner-comedian weep. There's a saying that says, "Those who can't teach" but I wouldn't let this poor man's comedian within twenty yards of a public school's improv class. In this instance I think we should be telling Ken to move to Branson. With all his faults in this show, I can say I appreciated how he could command the audience with his physicality and goofy facial expressions. Most of the writing seemed to stand on its own without resorting to slapstick, but Ken was one of the only ones up there that fully physically adopted his characters. Personally, though, I find his performances hard to watch, sometimes.
De'Markcus Howell: De'Markcus has a booming voice and a stature that makes David's goliath look like an anorexic midget. He provides a passing imitation of James Earl Jones (which is a lot harder than it sounds) and a great imitation of Bill Cosby (which is exactly as easy as it sounds). De'Markcus didn't get a lot of the show-stopping lines but the few he did he delivered competently and with great gusto. De'Markcus carries himself with a larger-than-life attitude that bleeds into his performance making him entertaining and believable. In this show that pokes fun at the topics that the politically correct comedians avoid, De'Markcus is far more than the token black guy.
Sean Yeung: He's the token Jackie Chan. Take that as you will. Beyond that, Sean seems to be the metronome for the show's tempo. He seems to be the most normal guy on the troupe.
Kate Pereverezva: Definitely the prettiest thing in Ogrot Presents. She provided an amusing if quiet performance and Ken's lines should have been given to her, De'Markcus, or Sean. She was only in three sketches but two of them made the second half of the show, proving that she is intended to be more than just eye-candy for the audience.
You can definitely tell that this is one of Ogrot's early performances. There is plenty for them to work on if they want to be a successful comedy troupe. But the show is filled with absurdist humor reminiscent of Monty Python or Gilbert and Sullivan. And they way they will address any topic in the most offensive manner reminds me a bit of George Carlin. This comedy team may have just clawed out of the comedy womb, but, much like Ridley Scott, they have a great deal of potential, and I, for one, intend to follow the natural extension of their career with interest. The missed lines and dropped jokes are endemic of the first tentative performances of any group and Ogrot is no exception but bear in mind that they are starting at a Fringe Festival not opening at the Apollo. Some of the greatest comedians, authors, and actors have come from humble beginnings and I give Ogrot a pretty good chance of making it.
read the review at KC Stage
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