Curse words. Slutty people. Sex with kangaroos. Weak comedians rely on material like this for shock value, easy jokes and old clichés. Good ones take it, dig beneath or dance around its stereotypes and potentially offensive nature and create something that you don’t have to feel bad about laughing at.
The Bad Astronauts, a New York City-based sketch comedy trio that landed in the ’Sco last Saturday, are some of the good ones. Simone Perrin, OC ’00, Greg Pierce, OC ’00 and Hannah Cabell, OC ’99 were all members of Primitive Streak during their college years. All three were among the best improv comedians on campus and their keen senses of timing, characterization and stage presence were key elements that kept the standing-room crowd amused.
Since graduating, the three have set up shop in New York writing and performing their original material at clubs around the city. They brought some of their best work back to Oberlin for a one night gig that succeeded in culling plenty of laughs despite a somewhat choppy performance.
Sketches included three un-hip hip-hop educators and a rigged spelling bee that devolved into some ugly name…spelling.
The sketches were all well written and very well performed — no throwaway lines or taking the easy route with standard, lowbrow humor. The production’s primary flaw was the stop-and-start feel as costume and scene changes broke up the train of humor.
A house band, led by Pierce’s younger brother, did keep the mood upbeat during longer scene changes and some prerecorded bits ensured that the audience didn’t have to wait too long between jokes. Unfortunately, the energy couldn’t be carried seamlessly all the way through; some of the more subtle material fell flat.
The talent of all three members was quite apparent regardless and each shone at varying points in the show. Cabell moved from one crazed character to another without overselling the lines or reducing the characters to cardboard cutouts. Her Adidas-wearing Russian sex-book writer was a particular highlight. Perrin yanked the audience around with ease with her delivery in the one solo piece in the show, an accordion-accompanied song about heartbreak. And Pierce proved that it’s not just the Kids in the Hall who can pull off fetchingly convincing cross-dressed characters.
The group finished strong with a perfect cap to the evening: a pleasant, ambiguously playful and friendly scene between Perrin and Cabell that quickly turned into a theme-song-like tune “Are they sisters or lovers or just good friends?” Both women’s acting talents carried the setup and Pierce’s musical contribution was clever and catchy.
Taking a show on the road always creates a set of problems — performances have to be adjusted for the size and layout of the venue, the technical crew will probably never have worked with you before and jet lag can slow the performers down. Even the Second City national touring company doesn’t have the same flow and feel as its main stage counterparts in Detroit, Chicago and Toronto (we’ll ignore that mess up in Cleveland).
So if you liked them enough for free last weekend, or this review strikes your comedic chord, then check out the Bad Astronauts the next time you’re in NYC.