Something about going to see an improv show always makes me nervous. Perhaps this is because, in my experience, it’s easier to make someone cry than to make them laugh. Comedy is the one area where an audience can really tell if someone is trying too hard and not quite getting there, and that can be painful.
Add in improvised music, as Jet City Improv’s latest venture does (running through April 19 on Thursday and Fridays at 8 p.m.; tickets), and you’ve got two things — comedy and music — where timing is of utmost importance, and if it doesn’t come together, it’s hard to salvage.
For the most part, The Adventures of Gilbert & Sullivan! holds together. Thank G&S for Nathan Cox (Gilbert) and Douglas Willott (Sullivan), who are the lynchpins of the whole operation. They were quick on their feet, generous scene partners, and fairly solid singers to boot.
The night I saw the production, the plot hinged on the fact that in Timbuktu (an audience suggestion of where the action took place), any visitor must prove his ability to do the hula (audience suggestion), and if he could not, he must be executed. Horror of horrors, Gilbert couldn’t dance! Strife, conniving, melodrama, romance, and dastardly deeds ensued, until Gilbert was saved by another audience suggestion. I’d enjoy seeing the show again just to see what changes, and what of Joe Koenen’s direction would remain the same.
Ridiculous as it is, the whole thing went to the next level with the addition of improvised music. May G&S bless accompanist Yancy Phillips, who occasionally had to subtly wander the keyboard to find the key the actors jumped in on, and who had to hastily make up cadences when songs ended abruptly.
Casey Middaugh was very charming on stage, but it seemed the music tripped her up; improvising both lyrics and melody made her less successful than when she was improvising sans music. Lauren Bond and Will Li lent an upbeat energy, and their voices and comedic timing worked well in the story’s context.
Amalia Larson rocked my world — I’d watch her make up songs any day. The songs she invented on the spot really gave her license to tear it up, and her command of both the stage and the music were a kick in the pants. Making up music didn’t seem to faze Ryan Miller, and as a scene partner, he was playful and creative.
