I recently walked into a Super Target for the first time, and exclaimed, “Holy crap! If there were a world cataclysm, you could wall yourself in this place and never have to leave!” (much like in the movie, “Dawn of the Dead” (the original, not the crappy remake) but without the Zombies). And for those “improv aficionados” in the audience this weekend, they may have also felt that all of their improv needs were met and they would never need to leave. But unfortunately, the milk that paired with your endless amounts of cereal at Super Target, would get chunky and eventually inedible. And your beer and champagne would run out at the Firehouse Theater, and you would unhappily be forced to leave their borders. But don’t fret… You can always return to the comforting confines of Super Target, (open 7 days a week). And within these hallowed pages, you can relive your experience with the Bit Players, over and over again, (not to mention come back to the Firehouse next weekend… Just sayin’)
On Friday night, The Bit Players were ready and eager to fulfill all of your needs. Hosted by Frank Fusaro and joined by fellow Bits, Vlad Tenenbaum, Clayon McFarlane, Anna Smith, Tim Bric, and Dylan Eberle, the seats in the house were full, and the show was jam-packed with quality Bits.
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| Frankk and Dylan remaining in "Story, Story, Die!" |
“Story, Story Die” was the opener. In this bit, hosted by Vlad, the players must continuously tell the same story adding on their own unique twists, when the host points in their direction. If the host feels the player faltered in any way, the host may “kill off” the player. The remaining players then continue the tale until only one player survives to end the story. Vlad was merciless with his trigger finger in the narrative entitled “The Adventures of Sasha, and How She Got To School.” Sasha’s trained bob-sled dog, Akita (trained by British Special Ops) helped to navigate the icy slopes, until Akita encountered a Polar Bear. Akita fought bravely, but was overcome by the bear. Sasha was left to fight her own battle and stabbed the bear. With the weight of the bear now atop Sasha, causing the ice below her to crack, and faced with plunging into the icy depths below, Sasha used Akita’s body as a floatation device and survived to live another day…
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| Vlad performs "Good Morning!" |
The incomparable Vlad (trained by none other than Marcel Marceau) delighted the audience with his mime piece, “Good Morning”. In the piece, Vlad not only mimed the actions of the audience suggested morning routines, he also gave life to the objects he encountered.
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| The Bit Players in "Jeopardy" |
Vlad also was the crowd favorite in “Jeopardy”. Hosted by Frank, all of the players participate as on the hit game show. In this Bit Player’s version of Jeopardy, the audience is the board and provides the topics. The players must buzz in and provide the (appropriate??) question. Vlad’s responses to “Toronto” / (Torah on Toe) – A Jewish book on Toes, and “Ebola” / (E-Bowl-a) – An online website for bowling, had the audience laughing and applauding, resulting in Vlad’s victory as Jeopardy Champion.
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| Emo songstress, Anna in "Telethon" |
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| R&B stylists, Clayon in "Telethon" |
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| Death Metal head, Dylan in "Telethon" |
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| Rapper, Tim in "Telethon" |
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| Rapper, Frank in Telethon |
The first set of Friday night could not have ended on a higher note than with the Bit Player’s newest bit, “Telethon”. In this Telethon with Santa as the worthy “cause”, entertainers perform to help raise money and awareness on the topic. Anna, our “Emo Songtress” started off the parade of stars with her emotional song of being alone at Christmas. R&B Artist, Clayon, had the ladies swooning over his sexy Christmas song and hypnotic body gyrations. Dylan’s deep growling vocals in his “Death Metal” song about Santa’s reindeer and presents (I think?), had the crowd playing air guitars and their heads bobbing. Finally ending the set were Rappers, Frank and Tim who made a strong appeal for Santa’s cause with their urban take on Santa's plight. Accompanied by Chase Ceglie and Devon Mello who provided the characteristic funk drum beat for this Rap Song and all of the background music for all of the entertainer’s songs. THIS IS A MUST SEE VIDEO!!! - > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk_jeXrBf-Q&feature=plcp
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| Bachelorette, Bethany is "Serenaded" by Anna |
The second set was equally amazing. The Bit Players surprised a bachelorette in the audience, Bethany, with a “Serenade” all about her and her fiancée, Nicolas’, not so successful first Mini-Golf date. Bethany told the story of her online meeting with Nicolas and their subsequent flubbed first date which became fodder and inspiration for The Bit Player’s song about them.
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| Vlad, Frank and Dylan in "Epic Poem" |
Sandra, a massage therapist, who dreamed of one day being a flight attendant was given a taste of her dream in an “Epic Poem” performed by Vlad, Frank and Dylan, entitled “The Day Sandra Flew”
Friday night ended in epic proportions in “Blues Song” all about space. The entire cast added their vocals and bluesey stylings as they crooned… “I’ve got the low-down, dirty, outer space blues !”
And then… On came Saturday! Just like having the entire Super Target at your disposal and overdosing on Lays Potato Chips in the snack isle, so too is having back to back nights of Bit Players (you can’t eat just one…)!!
Saturday’s host, Vlad joined again by Anna and Clayon, had some new faces with which to play, with Jim Foley and Brittany Hunt added to the mix.
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| Brittany remains in "Story, Story, Die!" |
“Story, Story Die!” was brought back again in the first set. In “The Adventures of Megan and her Magic Balls” we followed Megan on her quest to become a professional bowler in Boston. With her skills, Megan is crowned Queen of the bowling alleys. The people of Boston love Megan so much they make her a Pop-Star, and Megan changes her name to Katie Perry… The rest is history.
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| Anna, Brittany, and Clayon in "Ding" |
Anna and Brittany (joined by Clayon – aka Marie) entertain us in “Ding” hosted by Vlad. In this bit, the actors must succumb to the fickle host’s will. If Vlad doesn’t like something that an actor says he may ding them, in so doing, the actors must then come up with some other dialog or action, and that becomes the new reality within the scene. In this story about sorority sisters, we see Anna commanding pledged member, Brittany to perform a hazing ritual and skin Marie, a fellow sister. Brittany at first objects to performing this heinous act, but Anna reminds her of the disgusting acts that Marie has been doing, such as wiping her hands on the curtains after eating bags of Cheetos. Brittany then agrees to Anna’s request to skin Marie like a peach.
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| Jim concludes the "Serenade" for Bachelorette, Megan (#1) |
Jennifer, celebrating her birthday with the Bits was honored in a “Doo Run Song”. Wanting to be a soccer champion, the Bits gave Jennifer her wish in a song all about her becoming a gold-medal winning soccer Olympian.
The first of the Megan Bachelorettes was called to the stage for a “Serenade”. Megan (#1) due to wed college friend, Stephen on September 15th was the topic of a song all about their love of each other. Everyone let out a collective “Awwwww!” as Jim culminated the song, epitomizing their love for always….as Stephen ….”Counted the ways…”
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| Jim and Anna perform "Shakespeare Alphabet" |
“Shakespeare Alphabet” performed by Jim and Anna had the crowd (especially the party in the back of the theater) in stitches. This Old World story about “Love and Sword Fights” set in contemporary *FU-bleep-ing* Dorchester, had best friends turned enemies about to come to blows. Jim, defending his love's honor that was in dispute by Anna’s critique of her, is finally resolved as Jim sees that his love has been tainted, and agrees with Anna’s viewpoint to “end” the relationship. (Check out the video here-> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zt9Eh1fgAw&feature=plcp )
Brought back a second night was “Telethon” and fittingly enough about Zombies. (Remember my Dawn of the Dead reference? See what I did there?)
In this Zombie laden Telethon Anna sang “Country”. Brittany took on “Metal” (who knew? …Dylan, watch your back) Jim (as-white-as-they-come) performed a Gansta Rap… (Oh yeah, he DID!), and Clayon went Reggae. The audience was equally impressed, as the bit ended Saturday’s first set.
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| Vlad interviews bachelorette, Megan (#2) for "Sounds Like a Song" |
The Bit Players were flying through the second set in rapid succession. To honor our second bachelorette, Megan (#2) the Bit’s performed an old piece in a new way. In “Sounds Like a Song” Megan #2 was brought up onto the stage and interviewed by Vlad. Sr Analyst, Megan set to marry Bass Player, Mark on October 20th,met while on a photo shoot of Mark’s band. The love that Megan and Mark had for each other and also their love of tattoos was all fodder for a story of improvised songs about their life.
Juliene (a sexy bee-otch as described by her friends) celebrating her 35th Birthday at the Firehouse Theater was singled out for an “Epic Poem” performed by Anna Brittany, and Jim was entitled “The Day Juliene Sold”.
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| Brittany, Jim and Anna perform "Moondoggie" with Vlad |
Because the show was proceeding at such a fast pace, the bit “Moondoggie” was added to the set list. This signature bit had Vlad interviewing an expert (performed by Anna, Brittany, and Jim) on a topic. In this case, our expert not only knew the topic, but also WAS the topic; a dragon. Our dragon, named Seraline, was found in a basket (on Tuesday) by a nice family who adopted him. The family told him that he was a Magic Dragon who could breathe fire. The audience had some questions for the dragon. When asked what the dragon ate, he replied matter-of-factly; Ham! We also learned that the dragon worked for the Rhode Island Office of Magic where he helped with the “cat problem".
As always, The Bit Players perform improv comedy every Friday and Saturday night at 8:00pm at the Firehouse Theatre, 4 Equality Park Place (off Broadway), Newport, RI 02840. Please call the box office for reservations and information about all of the shows 401-849-FIRE (3473) And it is always BYOB!
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