Fans of chaotic 1980s improv comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway? will recognise the format here instantly – four actors/comedians/all-round entertainers, an empty stage save for some chairs, and a few scattershot suggestions from the crowd are all the ingredients needed for what initially looks like a catastrophe waiting to happen, but actually results in an hour of well-observed, genuinely amusing improvisation from a talented troupe of performers. 'Each night is different!' boast the flyers – a perilous high-stakes gamble in this bear-pit of a festival that, on the strength of the size of tonight’s crowd, some of whom have been before, seems to have paid off.

Tonight’s inebriated audience's offerings result in a musical story of an aspiring kung fu martial artiste, hindered not only by the fact that she’s a she, but also by the openly misogynistic local kung fu dojo ('no women allowed!'), located, decides the audience, in the local shopping centre. Leaving the barn door wide open for cross-dressing hilarity and sexual confusion. Half Rocky, half Tootsie, it’s the kind of precarious set-up that could end in potential tears and/or embarrassed silences. Thankfully, not only do the cast know how to put together a proper narrative arc off the cuff – complete with male and female leads, supporting characters to provide 'light relief' and a cheesy redemptive message at the end – they manage to do so with flair and style, closely accompanied by skilled Richard Vranch-style pianist Andrew Resnick and some well-timed, presumably ad hoc lighting.

The performers seem all too aware of timing. One of the most impressive things about tonight's performance is that it's bang on its scheduled one-hour running time. Although at times it feels a little like watching an anarchic am-dram rehearsal in a 1980s youth club, the quick-witted exuberance and creative energy of the likeable cast propel things to their (admittedly predictable) conclusion. When it works, there's a curious magic about watching people create entertainment on the spot from thin air using nothing but their wits. It's a rare commodity that’s in encouraging abundance here.

Cast credits: (alpha order): Quinn Beswick. Adam Cochrane. Josh Margolin. Samantha Martin. Jonah Platt. Mollie Taxe.

Company credits: Music Director – Andrew Resnick. Producer/Co-director – Daniel Fishbach. Co-director – Michele Spears. Executive Producer – Marc Platt. Producer – William Adashek. Company - Quarter Life Crisis. www.onenightstandmusical.com

END

(c) Dan Geary 2007

reviewed Tuesday 7 August 07 / Pleasance Dome

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008