Regardless of your religious affiliation, Thanksgiving is one of those uniquely American holidays where families are united (whether they want to be or not). Combine that with the capitalistic retail and grocery sales markets and you have one volatile powder keg waiting for just one little old lady, grabbing that last can of cranberry sauce at the market , to explode. Offering relief from those unwanted freeloading guests, and the tumultuousness of a Black Friday shopping expedition, The Bit Players provided the steam release valve with laughter at their comedy exploits for this pressure-cooker weekend.
Friday night’s cast of characters included Clayon McFarlane, Jessica Bradley, Matt Lindman, Stephanie Conrad, Lobo Linhares, hosted by Frank Fusaro, with musical accompaniment by Devon Mello.
The holiday’s overindulgences now over, the show began with “One Word Story”. In this bit the players must tell a story one word at a time. In Friday night’s story-telling we hear about Michel Obama’s candy obsession. However Michel being the nurturing woman that she is turned to the more healthful alternative of corn nuts. Michel was approached by Barrack who admonished Michel for giving the children this substitute for candy. Michel was not swayed by Barrack, telling him that the children need protein.
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| Clayon McFarlane, Lobo Linhares, and Frank Fusaro in "Good Cop / Bad Cop" |
In “Good Cop / Bad Cop” Lobo took on the perpetrator role and the cops were played by Frank and Clayon. In this bit, the cops provide the necessary clues for Lobo to figure out his crime to which he must confess. The audience provided the suggestions for the crime of killing Walt Disney with an Etch-A-Sketch in the Fortress of Solitude. The audience reveled in the tortuous interrogation by Clayon and Frank, and laughed uproariously as Frank even entertained a little police brutality, shaking Lobo as he would an Etch-A-Sketch.
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| Lobo Linhares, Stephanie Conrad, Frank Fusaro, and Matt Lindman in "Irish Drinking Song" |
“Irish Drinking Song” is a musical bit where the audience provides a name and an occupation. Frank, Matt, Stephanie and Lobo then had the task of composing an improvised song in limerick fashion about Johnny the Pilot. Unfortunately, Johnny was not the best of aviators and crashed his plane.
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| The Bit Players perform "Love Song" |
Bringing a little love to the theater, the Bit Players performed another musical bit “Love Song” in which they profess their love of a famous person. The audience suggestion of Jimmy Fallon was challenging for some of the players who, like the baby in the Capital One commercial, found it difficult to give Jimmy a little love.
“Bartender” rounded out the first set with Frank and Jessica behind the bar providing musical advice to their patrons. The patrons came to their bar seeking their advice for their quirky problems provided to them by the audience. An inebriated Stephanie forgot her underwear, Lobo had stuffing in his locker. Clayon suffered from memory loss and Matt dealt with tardiness.
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| Jessica Bradley and Frank Fusaro as "Bartenders" and Lobo Linhares, Matt Lindman, and Clayon McFarlane as patrons |
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| Clayon McFarlane and Matt Lindman in "That Sounds Like A Song" |
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| The Drakes are "Serenaded" by The Bit Players |
Eddie and Sarah Drake celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary were surprised as they were called to the stage to be “Serenaded”. Eddie the younger of the couple met Sarah at Mansfield High School. The two went to separate colleges, Eddie to Babson to get his business degree , now working in marketing and Sarah to UNH for her degree in teaching. Sarah is a stay-at-home mom (The hardest of all jobs) raising their two girls, Kaylen and Juilianne . The couple’s hobby is drinking wine and what better place to do that and celebrate than at the Firehouse Theater? All of the information gleaned in interview by Frank was fodder for an improvised song sung by the entire cast in honor of the Drake’s special occasion.
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| The Bit Players perform "Party Quirks" |
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| Pat Dugan with Vlad Tenenbaum and Frank Fusaro in "Bartender" |
“Bartender” was up fourth in the lineup for Saturday night. Frank and Vlad manned the bar and Clayon and Pat were the patrons. Watch the video to see what problems with which our patrons come to the bar seeking advice, and hear the advice of the bartenders sung in response. (Click here to watch this amazing video - > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqi9ihO05xs&list=UUCKEgOdfeBioc_vDbVYZv_A&index=1&feature=plcp )
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| Clayon McFarlane with Vlad Tenenbaum and Frank Fusaro in "Bartender" |
Up next, Frank and Tim were “Sportcasters” for Dishbowl 2012, an Olympic event which found our athletes, Vlad (aka Priscilla Epcot) and Clayon (aka Ronnie Smith) competing for the championship in this mimed piece of dishwashing zaniness.
The first set concluded with a “Telethon” about Ex-Boy/Girl friends. Hosted by Vlad, the players form the entertainment for this fictitious telethon, to entice the viewers to call in to donate for the cause. Neal and Pat were first up, and formed a “Grunge Duet” called The Bitch-Club . Clayon boogied out with Disco, and Frank and Tim (aka Shugah & Spice) jammed out to Hip Hop stylings.
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| Pat Dugan and Neal Leaheey perform in "Telethon" |
After warming up with an “Improv Line” in the second set, the Bits performed “Stunt Doubles”. In this bit Frank and Pat, the pretentious actors that they are, call for their stunt doubles (Vlad and Neal) to act out their most menial movements. In this scene, Frank and Pat are detectives who call for their doubles to roll over the dead woman, remove the knife, and roll her up in a shower curtain. The audience couldn’t stop laughing at the antics of Neal and Vlad who “expanded” on the action with a few wacky twists.
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| Clayon McFarlane and Vlad Tenenbaum in "Sportscasters" |
In the audience and celebrating his 30th Birthday was Jeff who was brought up to be “Serenaded”. Like Clayon, in Friday night’s “Dating Game” our birthday boy Jeff, could also be considered “The Most Interesting Guy in the world” with his varied interests. Not only is Jeff a Project Manager he also arranges yoga retreats for people, sending them to places like Thailand and Peru. Additionally, Jeff runs a composting operation for a local farm community. Our “green” guest, Jeff fittingly was accompanied by his nutritionist partner, Jill. As usual the Bit Players composed an improvised song in his honor.
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| Jeff is "Serenaded" by Frank Fusaro and The Bit Players |
Mime extraordinaire, Vlad took the stage next in a mime piece called “Good Morning”. In this bit Vlad took suggestions from the audience on items they might encounter during their morning routines. Vlad then not only mimed using the items, he also brought the items themselves to life to the amazement and pleasure of the crowd.
The love kept flowing as the next bit in the set was “The Dating Game” hosted by Pat. In this bit our bachelorette seeking love (Neal) was sent out of the room, as our eligible bachelors Frank, Clayon, and Tim received their unique traits from the audience. Tim was obsessed with Ke$ha, Clayon had animal terrets, and Frank stuck in a Full House episode. When Neal returned to the room, he deduced the identities of his potential dates through their answers to his questions. Neal eventually selected Frank and his love of Danny Tanner as his love interest.
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| The Bit Players perform "The Dating Game" |
The Bit Players ended Saturday night’s show with a “Blues Song” from the topical audience suggestion of Black Friday… The energetic show ended with the audience singing along and clapping to this closing song’s chorus of “we’ve got the low-down dirty Black Friday Blues”…
From Birthdays, Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties, Anniversaries and even marriage proposals, want to arrange a unique event for someone special? Why not show your love or appreciation for that certain someone, LIVE onstage! Bring your friend or loved one to the Bit Players show, and celebrate in a one-of-a-kind way. Contact the theater for information on how we can help you plan and make your event special!
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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