reviewvancouver: Ragin' Men: Ed Farolan

Men Out Ragin'

Date 8 June 2007 @ 8:00pm Venue Shadbolt Centre

Reviewer Ed Farolan

If Outrageous Ladies can be back, why not start off a new season with Men Out Ragin’, according to Dan Jfoffre, known as "That Improv Guy" as he hosted some of Vancouver’s talented men who did skits, improvised, and danced in a one-evening performance last Friday.

The first half saw Dan Joffre asking the audience what song they wanted to hear, and someone shouted "Chinese," and so he improvised a song about a Chinese rabbi who owned a restaurant. The audience enjoyed this improv.

Following this was John Murphy who is known for his one-man comedy acts. He did a baby in diapers playing a guitar and singing about peeing and pooing, a little satire of a rapper spitting on a mike and dancing, and a small skit about apathy. The variety of his solo acts entertained the audience.

Vancouver TheatreSports actors Michael Robinson and Graeme Duffy later did a spoof on Sputnik, the first Russian satellite. I wasn't so sure whether this was a plant in the audience who suggested this theme, or whether someone just thought of it when they asked the audience to think of a topic for them to do.

I was a bit skeptical because they seemed so prepared as they did an almost 15 minute sketch of the history of Sputnik. Perhaps their training in improv just made them flawless in the delivery of made-up lines, including Russian accents to boot.

Right before intermission, Joffre asked the audience to stand up and do some calisthenics with him and Michael to which the audience responded positively and enjoyed as we swirled and bumped and raised our arms on high.

The second half dragged a bit with Charles Demers and his nasty, clever jokes on racism and homosexuality followed by Marcus Youssef who was practically reading his script and not hitting the punch lines right. He is better as a scriptwriter, I would think, than as an actor/comedian, as he's won the Chalmers and Alcan play awards. A puppet show satirizing Bush, Rice, Cheney and Powell done with Murphy ended the first half.

The last portion of the show saw a dance performance by Shay Kuebler and Josh Martin. There was a third performer but he wasn't listed in the program. They did some tap dancing and hip hop to the delight of the audience.

It was an entertaining two and a half hour show, and I look forward to seeing a second season next year with other talented and funny Vancouver comedians.