Questionable Acts Theatre Company
Created and performed by: CB Goodman and Josh Rice
New York, NY
by: Stanley Allan Sherman © September 21, 2014
Josh Rice & CB Goodman
If you like avant garde or absurdest theatre – you might like this show. There are several good things going on. CB Goodman and Josh Rice are two very multi-talented performers. There is everything from shadow puppets, great well executed acrobatics and other things. Josh is naked for some parts of the show and these bits works.
The show is made up of several short pieces, some solo others duets. Most work well, some are funny other dramatic. The performers look well rehearsed and very hard working. There are powerful visuals throughout this show of all types.
CB Goodman & Josh Rice
The show starts out with our two performers going through the audience meeting people, asking their names and writing name tags for some members of the audience. For me they did not write my name. CB wrote “Beautiful Barn.” I have no idea what they wrote on other peoples name tags. After she asked me my name, I asked her hers. She told me you will find out later. Never found out unless it is Sharon Tate. Nothing was ever done with these special odd name tags.
CB Goodman & Josh Rice playing Sharon Tate and Charles Mason
Most of their bits worked, except one. CB does a fun getting dressed for a ringing door bell piece. Ringing doorbells is a transitional theme of the show and used well. Soon we understand that Josh is playing “Charles Manson” with a black swastika drawn on his forehead and CB is “Sharon Tate.” With a very tragic topic like this, mass murder, it is very delicate. The topic of a mass murder that actually happened can be amazing powerful theater, even funny or it can blow up in you face in bad taste. Their jokes did not work with this audience on this night. Unless they were trying to turn the audience off; like the great Andy Kaufman would do sometimes. When the audience understood what was going on, there were more than a few muffled “oh my G-D’s” that I heard in the audience. Looking across the audience, people were stone faced. Now maybe with a certain audience they might find this funny. This NY York Clown Theater Audience on this night did not. This is where they lost me.
CB Goodman & Josh Rice
This show does have excellent potential. There seems to be lacking a clear story line and/or dramatic build. There is a part of a nice ending. These two do have something very special and powerful going on, on stage. I did not see any director credited and it is possible an excellent outside eye that knows how to direct and develop original pieces might help this very talented team.
Almost Definitely) Questionable Act check it out, if you are into avant garde or absurdest theater. They have one more show in the festival.
NY Clown Theater Festival www.bricktheater.com/clown
Saturday September 20th @ 8:30pm
$15
Questionable Acts Theatre Company http://www.questionable-acts.com
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