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How do you roast a target like Obama?
"This Is the Week That Is' by 1812 Productions (2nd review)
Steve Cohen
What I like best about the latest edition of This Is the Week That Is are the serious numbers. These sketches do contain laughs, but the observations go deeper than usual. The bite surpasses past editions of this revue, and also what I remember from That Was the Week That Was, the 1960s TV series on which the 1812 reviews are based. This show also hits harder than Newsical, the pleasant revue now playing Off-Broadway.
A parody of A Christmas Carol shows President Obama confronted by the ghosts of presidencies past, most notably Jimmy Carter, who tells Obama to learn from the Georgian's mistakes: "Everyone says I was a nice guy and I wanted bi-partisan cooperation, but my presidency was a failure." When he wakes from his nightmare, a transformed Obama quickly closes Guantanamo, eliminates "Don't ask, don't tell," and pushes changes that he has promised but hasn't yet fulfilled.
Jennifer Childs as an insular South Philadelphian supplied rambling conversation that turned out to contain some trenchant comments about Obama.
Best of all, Brian Anthony Wilson offered his explanation for anti-Obama prejudice. Wilson, who happens to be black, is convinced it's because Obama is left-handed. "Some people say, sure his Dad was left-handed but his Mom was right-handed," Wilson explains, "so technically he's ambidextrous. But you know in this country if one of your parents is left-handed, you are left-handed."
Wilson is tired of "blatant left-ism in this country, of eating leftovers, of people who can't dance saying they have two left feet. Or if somebody has a crazy idea, they say it's coming out of left field. They're always talking about how in America you have to protect your rights. Nobody's talking about protecting the lefts. We have the Bill of Rights. Women are always looking for Mr. Right. And when you're driving, you can always make a right on red, but very rarely can you make a left on red. Step right up? Why not step left up?"
This is sharp material.
Otherwise, This Is the Week That Is contains effective parodies of Joe Biden, Bill Cosby, Al Franken and other public figures, as well as a send-up of formulaic local TV news anchors and interviewers. Its weakest moments are a series of pre-recorded faux interviews with people who represent the Republican party of the future. This is flat ridicule of too-easy targets.
This production is better than in previous years because it does more than attack the unpopular Bush Administration. The writers clearly have conflicted views about Obama's behavior, and their uncertainty leads to a more nuanced show than in the past.
The performances by Jen Childs, Tony Braithwaite, Dave Jadico, Don Montrey, Steven Wright, Alex Bechtel, Brian Anthony Wilson and Thomas E. Shotkin are all excellent.♦
To read another review by Dan Rottenberg, click here.
A parody of A Christmas Carol shows President Obama confronted by the ghosts of presidencies past, most notably Jimmy Carter, who tells Obama to learn from the Georgian's mistakes: "Everyone says I was a nice guy and I wanted bi-partisan cooperation, but my presidency was a failure." When he wakes from his nightmare, a transformed Obama quickly closes Guantanamo, eliminates "Don't ask, don't tell," and pushes changes that he has promised but hasn't yet fulfilled.
Jennifer Childs as an insular South Philadelphian supplied rambling conversation that turned out to contain some trenchant comments about Obama.
Best of all, Brian Anthony Wilson offered his explanation for anti-Obama prejudice. Wilson, who happens to be black, is convinced it's because Obama is left-handed. "Some people say, sure his Dad was left-handed but his Mom was right-handed," Wilson explains, "so technically he's ambidextrous. But you know in this country if one of your parents is left-handed, you are left-handed."
Wilson is tired of "blatant left-ism in this country, of eating leftovers, of people who can't dance saying they have two left feet. Or if somebody has a crazy idea, they say it's coming out of left field. They're always talking about how in America you have to protect your rights. Nobody's talking about protecting the lefts. We have the Bill of Rights. Women are always looking for Mr. Right. And when you're driving, you can always make a right on red, but very rarely can you make a left on red. Step right up? Why not step left up?"
This is sharp material.
Otherwise, This Is the Week That Is contains effective parodies of Joe Biden, Bill Cosby, Al Franken and other public figures, as well as a send-up of formulaic local TV news anchors and interviewers. Its weakest moments are a series of pre-recorded faux interviews with people who represent the Republican party of the future. This is flat ridicule of too-easy targets.
This production is better than in previous years because it does more than attack the unpopular Bush Administration. The writers clearly have conflicted views about Obama's behavior, and their uncertainty leads to a more nuanced show than in the past.
The performances by Jen Childs, Tony Braithwaite, Dave Jadico, Don Montrey, Steven Wright, Alex Bechtel, Brian Anthony Wilson and Thomas E. Shotkin are all excellent.♦
To read another review by Dan Rottenberg, click here.
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