Saturday, September 5, 2009

Opera Glasses and Shear Madness: a Comedic Review

By Jeff Bridges

If you are reading this, you are probably planning on seeing Shear Madness which is a play written by Paul Portner. In this review, I would like to prepare you for the comedic experience of a lifetime! To get you started, let us just say that the title of the play is a drastic understatement. This is truly a performance requiring opera glasses.

The stage is set to take place at a unisex hair salon. The usual gossip takes place. As in real life, for some reason, people seem to think they need to share their utmost secrets with their hairdresser. So many funny lines take place as well as an intriguing storyline. The people acting are extremely believable characters. You have the snapping gum pretty hairdresser with a gorgeous figure who is an airhead, the brightly colored clothing character played by the homosexual hairdresser (fabulously played by John McGivern in Milwaukee, Wisconsin when I attended), a high class society woman, policemen and the different clientele that comes in. Of course, one man is a hunk which makes John McGivern's character giggle with glee.

Shear Madness is truly an evolutionary play; this is because it is always changing! What I mean by this, is that many of the words that are spoken in the play are not actually in the script but rather are given as improvisations by gifted comedians, in fact, much of the things talked about in the play focuses on current local and world news, you will never know what to expect. One of the things I found most amusing about this performance, is that many times, actors are caught off guard by the other actor's improvised lines, and you see them trying to contain their own laughter. For this you will surely want to bring your opera glasses as not to miss a beat!

Unexpectedly during the play one of the actors will speak directly to a person or people in the audience to ask for opinions. You may even find yourself yelling out the answers. You must understand that you answer may vary from your neighbors, which adds an exciting new element to this wonderful performance. I do advise you to be careful if you find yourself in the first two or three rows, as you may become the topic of one of the jokes, remember though this is all in good humor.

Aside from the typical chit chat you find in a beauty parlor, Shear Madness' plot turns to a murder mystery. The person who is killed is always the same; it is the owner of the parlor. The owner lived above the parlor prior to being murdered, and you will see that any of the characters potentially could have been the murderer. You will be working and trying to figure out who the murderer is; your opera glasses will help you to not miss any subtle hints.

Here is where Shear Madness gets fun. The owner of the salon is the one that is always murdered in this play, but the killer will vary from performance to performance, based on clues presented. Also the audience, based on the clues chooses who the murderer must be. This may sound odd, but is a very funny development. Many (like me) see the play over and over so that they can see the different endings!

The play Shear Madness is actually one of the longest running non musical plays being attended today. Many very popular critics such as The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, and reviewed this play, and have written wonderful things about it. There is no doubt you too will love this play, and want to see it again and again.

Remember when you attend, as always; bring your opera glasses, so as to not miss one single moment! Opera glasses will help you to make sure that you don't miss one moment or a laugh.

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