A theatre review of “The Revue,” written by Jim Dooley, directed by Matt Walker and choreographed by Suzanne Jolie at The Colony Theatre through March 27.
If you, like me, have been stuck in the theatre doldrums for the past couple of years…feels like 30. Then “The Revue” is just what you need to jolt you out of your cabaret coma. Two producers, in desperate need of a hit show to save their failing theatre turn to scripts long since filed away under the absurd, the ridiculous and the totally untenable. As they flit through piles of the garish and hilarious and the sublimely silly scripts and musical adaptations such as “Die Hard,” “Lincoln,” “The Goonies,” and “Doctor Strange Glove,” the rest of the company perform a parade of brilliantly inventive hit songs. The producers’ wild imaginations made real for our entertainment.
The set is a producer’s office, with rails of costumes and props from hundreds of shows and our favourite movies like the huge ball helmet from “Space Balls” and Wilson the volley ball from “Castaway.” The insanely talented cast deliver the whimsical and bitingly clever songs with all the talent they possess, which is a lot, and the entire show is structured around an all new concept, the dynamic plot. This brilliant arrangement ensures that each performance is never the same, with hundreds of movies and their satirical and hilariously written musical numbers to pull from and the show helmed by the Matt Walker and Rick Batalla as the slightly unhinged producers in search of a unicorn.
The movies are all classics, so pretty much every reference is familiar. Now days of course films like “Titanic” and “Home Alone” are considered ‘vintage.’ So I guess I’m officially ancient…
I suspected this would be excellent. When you have The Troubies involved in anything there’s no chance it won’t be. But this really is even better than you could imagine. Matt Walker, with his suspiciously slipping English accent, and Rick Batalla, so sweetly sour, are absolutely phenomenal. They set the bar high, which the other four actors superbly meet. Katie DeShan, Tiffany Daniels, Isaac Robinson-Smith and Travis Leland are so good they had my toes curling.
So there you have it! A wickedly good concept, musical versions of movies we love spun around a cleverly camp storyline and the very real possibility that anything can happen at any moment, just to keep us on our toes.
Fantastic Improv meets the masked singer with a sprinkling of stand up and a dollop of Chekov – for hilarious darkness. I LOVED it! And it doesn’t surprise me at all that it’s on its way to New York already, so you have no time at all to see this gorgeous and brilliant show!
Down be a twit! Get your tickets now!!!! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-revue-a-musical-comedy-tickets-212703972307
Cast:
Matt Walker, Rick Batalla, Katie DeShan, Tiffany Daniels, Isaac Robinson-Smith and Travis Leland.
Team:
Book, Music, Lyrics and Produced by Jim Dooley
Directed by Matt Walker
Choreographed by Suzanne Jolie
Costuming by Yuko Koresawa
Photography by Jim Dooley
When:
Running March 17 – 27
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm
Where:
The Colony Theatre
555 N 3rd St.
Burbank, CA 91502