REVIEW: Philly Improv Festival, 1st night, 6:30 & 8 p.m.

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REVIEW: Philly Improv Festival, 1st night, 6:30 & 8 p.m.

POSTED: Friday, October 2, 2009, 9:03 PM

Filed Under: Comedy

Lauren Seibert

Several hours of sheer randomness ' with scenes involving albino lobsters, imaginary friends and 'bakery purgatory' ' kicked off the Philly Improv Festival last night. I showed up for the first two blocks, at 6:30 and 8 p.m., witnessing performances by Activity Book, Everything Must Go, Fletcher, Rondo, Mrs. Estherhouse and Tongue & Groove. Though attendance was modest for this first night, the performances throbbed with energy and creativity. The first five groups used the "Harold" format, working off audience word suggestions ranging from 'horsey' for Activity Book (resulting in a haphazard series of scenes that didn't quite connect) to 'Liberty Bell' for Mrs. Estherhouse (sparking lesbian makeouts in front of the bell, observed from the heavens by the ghosts of our Founding Fathers). Everything Must Go developed some of the most creative scenes from the 'lobster' suggestion: mourning the death of an albino lobster, building a man into the foundation of his house.

But Fletcher carried the night in terms of sheer wittiness, continuously reworking past jokes and ending each of its scenes with a snap. My favorites involved a flirty teen couple sprawled in the boyfriend's Saturn, making vehicle-inspired, charmingly corny sexual innuendos ('If you wanna ride me, you gotta show me your ride, know what I'm sayin'?' and 'The gravitational pull of your sexuality is entrancin'!'). Tongue & Groove broke the Harold tradition by collecting secrets from the audience and developing complex dramatic scenes based on them.

Final verdict? Modest audience aside, the enthusiasm of the first-day troupes bodes well for the rest of the festival.

The second night of the fest will take place tonight at 6:30, 8, 9:30 and 11 p.m., for $10-$25 at the Society Hill Playhouse (507 S. Eighth St., 215-923-0210). Click here for a review of the opening night's 9:30 and 11 p.m. shows.

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