Sold out in Fringe 08', Second City alum and Congressional lifer Sean O'Brien returns with another night of political blarney, drinking, and keno.A one man laugh riot - The Politico. Fresh, contemporary political humor - The City Paper, Fringe and Purge 45 minutes
McSwiggin's Pub
Sean O'Brien
Venue: Goethe Institut - Mainstage
Ticket sales for 2009 Capital Fringe Festival closed.
- Jul 11th 9:15 pm
- Jul 12th 7 pm
- Jul 18th 12:45 pm
- Jul 24th 8 pm
- Jul 25th 10:30 pm
FRINGE BOOK
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maximumverbosityonline on 2009-07-15 said... It’s doubtful that this show even requires a review – it has all the makings of a Fringe hit, and deservedly so. But just a few quick, fragmented thoughts: - Some really nice character work, most notably because it’s so subtle. A lot of actors would be tempted to go for over-the-top, outrageous physicalities – he exercises restraint, and it pays off. This isn’t a stand-up routine, and it’s not that the jokes are necessarily all that funny on their own merits – they’re funny because of who they come from. He gets that, and that’s the main success of the show. - He also avoids the awkwardness of leaping back-and-forth between characters for rapid-fire dialogue – he chooses one character at a time and allows himself (and us) to settle in with them, showing us the various other characters through his responses to their behavior. The points where he does make the switch are carefully chosen for comic or dramatic effect. There’s an artfulness to this that’s worth lauding. - So it’s a character-driven piece – but he’s also occasionally willing to throw character out the window in favor of a laugh line, which I found jarring. I particularly found this with the character of the sleazy politician – he’s great and just boatloads of entertaining, but he feels at times like he wandered in from another show entirely. In particular, the scene in which he’s reading to his infant daughter – taking on demonic voices to represent the opposing party – seemed rife with irony, in that that’s sort of what the actor was doing with this character. I appreciated the depiction of him as an affectionate father, but ultimately the character didn’t feel to me like much more than a throwaway gag. - As opposed to the other driving characters of the piece, who I found totally compelling. Incidentally, this is the second show I’ve seen that revolves around people working on Capitol Hill – this is totally alien to me, and an aspect of DC culture that I find fascinating. more reviews available at wombwithaview.wordpress.com
