The Flaming Idiots--Vaudeville in Austin is back!

[TeresaYork]

I used to see the FI all the time growing up while at the Texas Ren Fest. Then, they went to Dallas, and I saw them do their off Broadway show. Then about six years past.

Now, they are back! At the Zach Scott Theater. Wednesday night shows are about $20, and if you buy them at the Box Office directly, much cheaper than online.

These guys bring a consistently funny, vaudeville-esque, family-friendly (sort of) show every time. They represent true showmanship, and I get a happy feeling everytime I see them perform. I clap, and I say "yay" outloud. Seriously.

Don't miss it! They will sign your program afterward!

http://www.zachtheatre.org/show/flaming-idiots

Side note: At the consession stand, you can get champagne in a can for $5. It comes with a straw.

[sara farr]

A bunch of us are going for Amy McKenna's bday!!!

[York99]

I think every performer should go see this.

First, there is a real sense of Vaudeville here. They do a bunch of different kinds of skill acts and take on persona. The humor is pre-packaged and hokey, but that lends to the authenticity. Edgier humor would be a different show.

Also, the showmanship is very impressive. I noticed this (and I think posted about it) when I went to the Ren Faire about a year and a half ago. The command of the audience, the interplay with the music and with the musicians and with each other and the near impeccable timing are great examples of some ways to make a show more of a show experience, rather than just an audience looking at a performance, which is what we see most often--for better and for worse--around here.

Another thing that impressed me was their use of mistakes. Through the eye of a performer, it seemed like they incorporated mistakes into their act for at least 2 reasons:
1. Showing mistakes as part of the act early on allows them to make mistakes seamlessly later on (when they're doing more difficult bits) and make that also look like part of the act.
2. The jokes they have around the 'mistakes' are good material.

Johnny Carson had pages of jokes ready to rebound off a bad joke to play it off. Sometimes he would tell jokes that he knew would fail just so that he could use these follow-up jokes.

Anyway, it's a fun way to pick up on some old show biz tricks that you don't see much these days.

Also, the little guy studied improv at UCB and sketch writing at Second City, both in LA, and he said that he was going to check out some comedy in Austin over the next few weeks. Find him and chat him up!

[DollarBill]

Another thing that impressed me was their use of mistakes. Through the eye of a performer, it seemed like they incorporated mistakes into their act for at least 2 reasons:
1. Showing mistakes as part of the act early on allows them to make mistakes seamlessly later on (when they're doing more difficult bits) and make that also look like part of the act.
2. The jokes they have around the 'mistakes' are good material.

Awesome. That's very much like what Johnstone said. He said the host should mess up at least once to set the tone. THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE WHEN WORLDS COLIIIIIIIIDE!

[York99]

A great moment in the show that makes me proud to live in Austin:

At one point two of them went into the audience and picked out audience members. They had them each do a little thing and then recite Shakespeare. The first guy was a very unassuming guy who looked like a slacker/metal-head. He pulled out a huge soliloquy from "Richard II" and performed it beautifully. The next guy looked unassuming in a typical office worker kind of way. He did the bit and then recited some Shakespeare lines from I don't know where... but it was very impressive, as well.

The guys were blown away that as long as they'd been doing that bit (they toured for 20 years before reunited last year) that was the first time that AT LEAST one of the audience members didn't do "To be or not to be.."

It's fun living in an intelligent society.