The Producers: Bialystock & Bloom (pt.1)
It’s been almost one year since the last Tony Award ceremony and these are the shows I’ve seen since. I have a problem.
In August 1987, Washington City Paper theater critic Bob Mondello sat through Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center. He returned with a lengthy review, titled “Sheer Idiocy,” and the following capsule, which has run in Washington City Paper’s listings section almost every week of the 24 years since:
The “most fun night” Arch Campbell’s ever had at the Kennedy Center is an extended vaudeville routine set in a Georgetown hair salon rather than a play. Funny without ever becoming either witty or clever, it’s an audience-participation whodunit in which we’re encouraged to grill the witnesses and essentially to write our own ending by voting for a guilty party. In practice, there are four endings (one for each suspect), but how the performers get there each evening depends on the questions. There are faggot jokes galore, and shaving-foam jokes, and general stupidity for those looking for froth. It’s not theater exactly, but as empty-headed entertainment it’s not appreciably less stimulating than Cats or a visit to the bowling alley.Last week, we sent Bob back. Read his re-review here.
