What do giving birth and saying goodbye have in common? If you answered something to the affect that one marks a beginning and the other an ending, you are on the right track. Now add the Bit Players into the mix and the answer gets a little squirrely.
This past weekend at the Firehouse Theater the audience got their fill of both as The Bit Players bid a fond farewell to two of their own: Matt Lindman, who is heading back to school in New York, and Anna Smith who is headed back to her sojourn in France. But fear not fans, they will be returning as time permits during holidays and back again next summer. So it is not a forever farewell, just a brief “So long” (and thanks for all the fish)…
On Friday, try as they might to NOT go there, The Bit Players kept coming back to scenes about birthing and pregnancy which became a common theme throughout the night.
 |
| The Bit Players in "Story Styles" |
To start off Friday’s show, the bit “Story Styles”, a game where each player takes on a unique style in which they tell a collective story, was hosted by (Vlad Tenenbaum). Frank Fusaro was given “Dear Abby”. Dylan Eberle had to tell the tale in “Comic Book” fashion. Brittany Hunt took on “Honey Boo-Boo”. Stephanie Conrad spun her yarn in the style of Disney’s “Aladdin”. John Mulligan went with the author R L Stein, and Matt Lindman accepted the style of the musical, “Grease” in this story all about “Neal and his Calendar in Brooklyn”.
 |
| Matt, John and Dylan in "Shakspeare Alphabet" |
In “Shakespeare Alphabet” the rules in this Shakespearean scene are that the actors (Matt and John) must speak their dialog beginning with consecutive letters f the alpha bet. With the theme of gambling and set in a contemporary “Cumberland Farms”, we watch as the story evolves into bizarre transactions with Dylan joining the duo as the store clerk.
 |
| Dylan and Matt in "Stunt Doubles" |
“Irish Drinking Song” was up next with Dylan, Brittany, Frank and Matt performing an improvised song all about Abraham the midwife. “Stunt Doubles” followed, and saw more birthing references as the actors Dylan and Matt call for their stunt double replacements, John and Vlad. The first call for the stunt doubles had Vlad and John pinching off an aorta. The next call found the two making (spiked) coffee. Then, a little delusional, Dylan wants to eat Matt’s head, which from Dylan’s perspective resembles a salad head. The stunt doubles are again called to perform this action. The scene ends with Dylan being “birthed” from Matt.
 |
| John with Dylan and Stephanie in "Bartender" |
 |
| Matt with Dylan and Stephanie in "Bartender" |
 |
| Frank with Dylan and Stephanie in "Bartender" |
Finishing up the 1st set was The Bit Player’s signature bit Bartender. In this bit Stephanie and Dylan were behind the bar listening to their patrons sing them their problems. Being compassionate bartenders, Dylan and Stephanie offered advice in the form of song back to their quandary-laden patrons. John was given debt as his problem, followed by Matt, with his teen pregnancy. Rounding out the trio was Frank as a Wal-Mart Greeter and his advice from Dylan on how to keep people out of Wal-Mart. With all that said and done, there are two questions that remain, however; Will Matt retain his impressive set of breasts? …And… Was Stephanie really copping a feel?)
 |
| Frank and Dylan with Matt and Vlad in "Sportscasters" |
In the second set, Dylan and Frank hosted “Sportscasters” and the Laundry Bowl 2012. In this bit, Matt (aka Sylvester Tony- shortened to JUST Tony after Frank glared at Dylan who disregarded Frank’s lisp) and Vlad (aka Derrick) competed in this Olympic-style event. As the competitors entered the ring, Tony was seen to be sniffing his Gain detergent. Derrick on the other hand was getting completely naked which prompted some commentary from our sportscasters on how biblical was Derrick’s appearance, having Jesus’ washboard abs. as the games proceeded although sidetracked by having his nipples ripped off by Toney, it was Derrick who was the victor!
 |
| The Bit Players perform "Mini-Musical" |
“Mini- Musical had the crowds cheering as fellow college roommates, Dylan, John, and Matt looked for an answer to their predicament to their waterbed dilemma. Over at the Sorority house, Stephanie and Brittany had their answer to their waterbed dreams, but not without some costly consequences. Our young collegian, Matt must put a “ring on it” before he could land in fair, Brittany’s bed.
On Saturday, and a full house at the Firehouse Theater, the Bit Players had lots to live up to. Having said goodbye to Matt the night before, and the girls taking a breather, Frank, Vlad, and Dylan were joined by Jim Foley, Clayon McFarlane, and Tim Bric.
 |
| Tim with Frank and Dylan in "Good Cop / Bad Cop" |
Tim cut his teeth quickly in the night’s lineup by taking on the perpetrator in “Good Cop / Bad Cop” with Frank and Dylan as the cops. Our cops armed with the audience suggestions, coaxed Tim into confessing to the crime of killing Elmo, with a mirror (our apologies to the girl with the accent who provided the mirror suggestion) at Wrigley Field.
 |
| The Bit Players perform "Doo Wop" |
The musical game, “Doo Wop” amused the audience as the entire cast sing about the suggested topic, which, on this night, was a “retainer”. Each player, in turn, confesses their affection for this object, until the tables are turned and the object is destroyed. Dylan brought the song to its inevitable conclusion, replacing the retainer with “The British Healthcare System”.
In “Jeopardy” the entire cast act as contestants akin to the hit TV Game show, answering in the form of a question, with the audience acting as the “board”. Hosted by Frank, the game was clearly won by upstart Jim with his answer to Matrix: “What is a Cereal made for kids, but NOT for the rabbit!”
 |
| The Bit Players "Serenade" Bachelorette, Jackie |
Jackie, a Bachelorette celebrating with her girls who took a bit of ribbing from Frank and the audience for being late to the show, was called up to the stage to be “Serenaded” by the Bit Players. A good sport, Jackie, we learned is a waitress, marrying her beau, Ari, the restaurant owner. The couple hails from Thompson, CT where they will be married on October 27th.
 |
| "The Dating Game" performed by Frank, Dylan, and Jim with Clayon and hosted by Tim |
Appropriately, “The Dating Game” was up next hosted by Tim, with Clayon as the dater. In this bit the eligible bachelors, played by Jim, Dylan, and Frank are given unique idiosyncrasies which are revealed by answering the questions posed by our dater. In this game Jim thought he was Liam Neeson, Dylan was reliving the crucifixion of Jesus, and Frank was stuck in the movie “Home Alone”. In the end Clayon chose his soul mate Liam Neeson. (Can you blame him? Yummm!)
 |
| The Bit Players perform "Hoe Down" |
The Bit Players finished Saturday night’s performance with a “Hoe Down” about works of art.
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment