Falcon Theatre presents “The Complete History of Comedy (abridged)”
Listen to this articleThe show begins much as humanity is believed to have begun as cavemen and cavewomen. Soon the very pregnant cavewoman begins squirting out babies, lots and lots of babies including one very large baby and with this full motion sight gag it is game on for The Complete History of Comedy (abridged), written by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, directed by Jerry Kernion and starring Zehra Fazal, Marc Ginsberg and Mark Jacobson at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, California.
So much of the show is wildly funny and pokes at so many different elements of our world including the Catholic Church and, of course, our fine politicians. As is so often the case when looking objectively at our world you can either cry or laugh, but it is proven that laughter is actually physically healthier so in the case of this particular show it will do you more good than the same amount of time at the gym. And I am happy to report that what is so often overlooked in the theatrical world, this show actually pokes fun at politicians of both political parties.
The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) starts with the premise that all comedy originated from the brother of the ancient Chinese master of The Art of War Sun Tzu and by interpreting his wise words one can come to a full understanding of all that is comedy. To its further credit the show does use visual aids to acknowledge some of the funniest people in recent history and presents a variety of comedy forms from slapstick to the mime and beyond.
Overall the show is very funny, albeit at times touching on topics and in ways that some could find offensive. But then again good comedy often does to some extent offend and even that has a positive because it forces thinking.
The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) is well done and well presented by its three actors Zehra Fazal, Mark Jacobson and Marc Ginsberg and it does succeed in keeping most of the audience laughing much of the time. But I felt that while very well presented it was just a wee bit off of where it could have been and needed some tweaking. Pondering that what I think could change for the better would be somewhat less explaining of the “ancient writings” and more presentation of actually funny material. That said it is nevertheless a worthy, laugh inducing show and something you may well want to enjoy, with the caution that the young (under 13) and the hyper sensitive might prefer staying home and watching reruns of “The Bachelor.”
The Complete History of Comedy (abridged) is at the Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive, Burbank, California 91505 now through April 23rd 2017. Show times aere Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 4:00 p.m. Reservations and ticketing available either online at falcontheatre.com or by calling 818-955-8101.
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Ron Irwin was born in Chicago, Illinois a long time ago. He served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, became a trial lawyer, TV and radio host, CEO of a public company and once held an Emmy. He never won an Emmy he just held one. Ron has written and published twelve books. His most important book to date is “Live, Die, Live Again” in which Ron tells of his early life and his unexpected and very temporary death in 2012. That experience dramatically refocused his life and within the pages of that book Ron reveals how he achieved a much healthier life, ridding himself of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Failure. Now Ron enjoys writing about many things including health topics, travel [he has circled the globe several times], adventure, culinary experiences and the world of performing art. Ron’s motto is “Live better, live longer and live stronger because it feels great and annoys others.” Contact the author.