Amy Sedaris & David Rakoff @ Symphony Space (now with illustration!)

Posted: 11/3/06 at 11:44pm

tonight I went to see Amy Sedaris & David Rakoff @ Symphony Space!
here's a recap of the performance:

when we first come into the theater, we are all handed index cards & told the write a question, any topic.

david rakoff comes out on stage & tells the audience that amy has been in a terrible accident. she was judging a chili cookoff in cinncinati with willard scott & the stage collapsed, shattering amy's femur & shoulder.
he tells us that he has been amy's sole caregiver for the past month...& that she's in great pain & on lots of pain killers so dont judge her too harshly.

amy then wheels out on stage in a wheelchair and a crazy ratty wig & a very prim dress. she then berates, nags, ridicules and abuses david rakoff NONSTOP as she directs him to clean and decorate her apartment for a dinner party. while doing this, she reads the audience questions, riffs & adlibs on them. then she walks david thru preparing her LI'L SMOKEY CHEESEBALL recipe...& he just cant do it to her standards, she criticizes his every movement & he gets more & more snappy as the show goes on. anytime she sees she's pushed him too hard, she says in a singsong voice dripping with insincerity, "i like you, david!"
she interrupts him throught to perform menial tasks for her, like shaving her legs, peeling a banana for her, massaging her feet, wrapping a gift, blowing up balloons, making placecards...none of which he can do to her satisfaction.

when shes through with the index cards (yes, she read every one of them...giving improv smartass answers for all), she starts asking the audience questions...about recipes, etiquette, kitchen utensils, etc....& insults the people giving her answers (ex: "does anybody know why forks go on the left?" "because most people use their right hand to cut their meat" "oh yeah? well, what if its meatloaf, a**hole?!?" ) the cheeseball is passed around the audience with a platter of ritz crackers. then she makes david get her ready for the party...he has to do her hair & makeup...he does it very badly ON PURPOSE, we see that this is his revenge!

then we hear a doorbell & amy wheels up the aisle of the theater to answer the door. david is alone on stage & drinks wine right from the bottle to drown his sorrow & frustrations. then amy comes back in & goes freewheeling down the aisle & crashes into the stage. & then she is healed! she can magically walk again!

& thats the show! as the audience exits the theater, everyone is given a cupcake handmade by Amy.

the way im describing it, it doesnt sound so funny, but i'm sore and aching from laughing!

if they perform this piece again, dont miss it!

Updated On: 11/27/06 at 11:44 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/4/06 at 12:02am

She is so funny and he is, in his own way, even funnier.

I would have been there this evening, but we had Chorus Line tickets.

Posted: 11/4/06 at 12:19am

& David Rakoff was so much cuter than i'd imagined!

OH!
& they made a Grey Gardens reference!

when he was doing her makeup she said. "you know, you can hold an eyeliner pencil to a lightbulb & then do your eyebrows like that edie lady from GREY GARDENS!" & a bunch of people in the audience clapped & hooted & hollered!
Updated On: 11/4/06 at 12:19 AM

Posted: 11/4/06 at 1:02am

my sketch:

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 11/4/06 at 1:07am

I love Amy Sedaris.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/4/06 at 5:06am

God, I wish I lived in NYC!

[mabel]

Posted: 11/4/06 at 9:44am

OH SH*T! I wish I'd known about this. I love Amy, and I would have loved to have been there. I went to her book signing a couple weeks ago at Barnes and Noble and even in the 15 or so minutes she had to just riff on audience questions she had me in stitches. Glad you had fun, and thanks so much for the report. I would have loved to have had a Sedaris cheeseball and cupcake!

Posted: 11/27/06 at 10:05pm

i had time to finish my illustration for this performance!

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 11/27/06 at 10:31pm

I can just hear the drink sloshing in her "shaky" hand!