Ann E. Wrecksick review

[Pinguin]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 4:53pm

So last night I saw the 10pm performance of Ann E. Wrecksick and the Odyssey of the Bulimic Orphans (by the creators of Bare) in LA, a spoof of Annie. There's nothing like walking into a theatre and being one of only like 5 girls in the audience :0) HA.

Now the show took a bit of getting used to because it launches you right into the raunchy and crass world that the musical lives in and for awhile I wasn't sure what to think (should I be liking this? But it's so crude!). But soon enough I was totally into it and it really made for a fun evening.

The show definitely benefits from having a great cast; this is not a show full of amateurs. My personal favorites include Whitney Allen as Wisheye Hadagun, Ryan Raftery as 'Lil E. (HILARIOUS), Tom Lenk as Nerd Boy, etc. who had some REALLY great characters, and of course Scott Allgauer, book writer and Ann E. Wrecksick.

For the most part I enjoyed the book; there were definitely some jokes that didn't land the way they wanted them to, but I think after laughing so hard it's hard to keep up :0) The show is AMAZINGLY FUNNY!!! I don't want to give away jokes to people who haven't seen it, but my personal favorite joke for those of you who have is the "wire" joke, HA. The show was really tight and moved really quickly and well. The part of the show that I thought was the least developed was the Bush part; I think that could've gone even further.

The music is...well...Annie-esque music so not particularly exciting, however the much of the lyrics were great and the music was always fun.

So while the show is certainly not Bare, I don't even know why you would try to compare them (moving show about homosexuals and Catholicism, HILARIOUS show about orphans obsessed with their gag reflexes...). It's a great evening that I would recommend for those of you who aren't too sensitive, 'cause it certainly doesn't hold back :0)

Updated On: 7/31/05 at 04:53 PM

[adampascalgal]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 5:07pm

Hey, thanks for the review, I was wondering how this show was, since I will not have a chance to see it! Sounds very intersting...

[JACXR71]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 5:09pm

How was Christine Lakin? She and I went to acting camp together way back in the day (long before she became Al on Step by Step). How's her singing? Great review of the show - there will definitely be some very confused and surprised Bare fans not knowing what they're in for...

[Pinguin]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 5:15pm

She wasn't bad at all...there were a couple of belting notes that you can tell she was straining for just a bit but for the most part she sounded good and had a lot of power in her voice! Her acting was also very committed...I was impressed! Very different from her Step by Step days :0)

[shira467]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 5:36pm

I enjoyed this show quite a bit - VERY funny.

[JACXR71]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 5:43pm

Great to hear, thanks Pinguin! I wonder how the show will do - maybe they'll bring it out east?

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 8:18pm

so you would recommend it? i saw the ad on goldstarevents.com but i was leery about watching it?

[Labashier]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 9:11pm

I was there the first Saturday at 7 (which I guess was technically the premiere, since opening night was cancelled). I was going to write up a review, but I guess I just wasn't as lazy as you.

I loved the show. It took me a little while to get over the initial shock of the content and enjoy it, but once I did it was a BLAST. The book was hilariously funny, if a little... vulgar. The music and lyrics were very clever, no less than I would expect from Damon. The cast was fantastic. Having just finished up a local production of Annie, I was laughing from start to finish. Although there are plenty of dirty jokes, if you really want to get all of the comedy you have to know the original show, as Ann E. follows it pretty much to the scene (things get a little more murky in the second act, but it's still fairly faithful).

I think the phrase that best sums up Ann E. Wrecksick is "when talented people get totally wasted and decide to put on a show". It was one of those things that could have been god-awful (a vulgar parody of a musical, with a cast of a half-dozen and performed in the basement of a Mexican restaurant in a largely gay neighborhood), but it was pulled off phenomenally well.

Unfortunately, I highly doubt it's going to go anywhere. It is a fantastic production, and everything is high quality, that's certain. I just don't think that MTI would find it very humorous at all. I was talking to some friends of Damon during intermission and they said he's been trying to keep it fairly quiet, so as not to disturb the powers that be and their lawyers. Sure, I bet that it could hold up in court (in fact, when I was talking to Damon about the project a few months ago he described the score as "familiar, but clearly falling under the parody laws"), but that doesn't mean that MTI wouldn't try if it got any bigger than it is.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 9:51pm

Definitely a great show!

And it is definitely like getting into a swimming pool--it can be cold and shocking at first, but after a while you get used to it and end up not wanting to come out!

I too found myself wondering about copyright laws during intermission! There are so many song parodies, not just from Annie, but from Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar...and more. The show wouldn't be nearly as inexpensive to produce if they had to factor in licensing....

I can't say enough good things about Christine Lakin. Although she's great in front of the camera (who DIDN'T watch Step by Step at least once growing up??), I think theater is where she truly shines. She's got a great set of pipes and tremendous energy. She's also a very, very sweet person.

In fact, the entire cast is the nicest bunch of folks I've met out here in a long time. So if you go to the show, be sure to hang around after and congratulate them on a job well done. It's obvious they they've worked hard.

Thumbs up!

[KindnessofStrangers]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 10:51pm

I saw it last Friday and, although the performers are game (and Jeffrey Christopher Todd is a doll -- he just oozes charisma) and there are quite a few laughs, it just misses being a complete success. Though my date argued otherwise, the parody seemed too obvious to me. Part of the problem was the most annoying audience I've witnessed recently. I realize that many think these little "let's-put-on-a-show"-shows in 50 seat theatres have different rules of behavior from the bigger houses, but I disagree. There was a really fat girl seated near me named Tina -- not a drug euphemism, just a fat obnoxious girl with dark hair who I hope reads this. She laughed too loudly and too long to indicate that she "got" the jokes, when the lights went up at intermission she plowed out of her seat, knocking over someone's drink, breaking the glass, then stooped to pick it up, blocking other patrons from exiting their seats. Then to top it off, the bitch got on stage and danced to Scissor Sisters' "Filthy/Gorgeous." I can't imagine having the nerve to get onstage during intermission, but this cow did. Her friends cheered her on, while others rolled their eyes in disgust. It's amazing that in 2005, some people don't know how to behave themselves in public.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 7/31/05 at 10:58pm

That's HORRIBLE...I would've been really angry in an audience like that. Thankfully, the audience for the show I saw was much more respectful.