KC Fringe "How the West Was Warped" review by WatchNSee

Warping the West

Rating: 2

How the West Was Warped

KC Fringe Festival

The Seamier Sid Players and Cross Currents crew brought their presentation of "How the West was Warped" to the folks at the Off-Center Theatre with the flair of an old time church talent show and the humor of those other folks that skipped church talent shows and slept in on Sunday mornings. This rowdy group of performers brought that Midwest humor out and showed it to the crowds with mixed reviews.

At times the troop seemed right on the game, delivering one liners and shtick comedy that kept the audience laughing, but then there were other times where the pauses and stops killed the flow and lost any momentum the show was riding on. I expected some historic humor and goofiness but some of the pieces to me felt out of place. Some of the scenes didn't fit the overall Western feel. What do two sweet old ladies selling dope at Woodstock have to do with the West? What does a pee test or Gay Noir have to do with anything? While some of these bits were funny to me felt like they hurt the flow of story, it did give as much as the title suggested.

This show was nice to sit in and see, but felt like it needed more work to be Fringe ready, although I do give high marks to the band who kept the show rolling over the many rough spots. Also the performers seemed to be having a good time, which counts for something. Performance times and dates can be found at Off-Center Theatre at Crown Center times can be found at www.kcfringe.org or at Fringe Central.