Monday, May 30, 2016

reviews - EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OFFENDERS: MUSIC FROM SOUTH PARK - Theatre Artists Studio

Elyse Wolf, Tony Robinson, Alex Kunz, Patti Suarez, Josh Vern, and Brenda Goodenberger
Photo by Mark Gluckman
highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through June 5th.

 "For almost twenty years, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been lampooning religion, race and ethics with their relevant social commentary in their hit TV show "South Park." ...Husband and wife Tony and Mary Robinson...have taken some of the best songs from the show, as well as numbers from the duo's feature films and their hit musical The Book of Mormon, and crafted an original concert entitled Equal Opportunity Offenders: Music from South Park. This Theatre Artists Studio production features a talented group of singers contributing to a fun, foul mouthed and joyful evening...the 90-minute show features close to 30 tunes, including many of Parker and Stone's most popular songs. It also gives a fairly in-depth overview of the main characters and plot elements of "South Park" and also of the highlights in Parker and Stone's careers. ..The cast of six features some very talented singers from the Valley with each delivering a solo or two and providing backup vocals throughout...Patti Suarez's take on "Blame Canada" gets a rousing performance. Joshua Vern's stellar vocal abilities and ease with performing different character voices in his singing form a perfect comical take on... "It's Easy MMMkay" and "I'm Super,"...Tony Robinson's smooth voice achieves some lovely sounds on "Up There," ...and Alex Kunz's performance of "Kyle's Mom's A Bitch" is filled with an exuberant amount of energy. Brenda Goodenberger's soaring soprano voice delivers a poignant take on the TV show's "I Remember When We Fell in Love" ...Elyse Wolf's stunning delivery of "This Side of Me" ...A trio of numbers from The Book of Mormon ...include Wolf's superb and moving version of "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" and Kunz's powerful "I Believe."  While the mix of songs is good, there are a few faults in the structure of the evening. The balance of the solo performances is a bit off, with Vern getting almost all of his solo moments in the first half of the evening and Wolf virtually non-existent until the last quarter. Also, while Tony Robinson's narration is informative and his delivery varied, he is mainly the only one to speak, delivering virtually every line. It would be more effective if the narration were dispersed amongst all six performers....While I may have a few quibbles with the concert, this Theatre Artist Studio production still amounts to a lot of fun and is a loving homage to Parker and Stone's silly, campy and comical yet also beautiful and poignant musical numbers."  -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

"... Trey Parker and Matt Stone only have one Broadway show under their belt ...But their songbook is deeper than that, in more ways than one....The concert-style show gathers 29 irreverent, often profane numbers from “South Park,” ..as well as their movies and “The Book of Mormon.” And even if it’s not the most imaginative presentation, the songs are so funny and tuneful that they make for a rollicking 90-plus minutes of F-bombs, potty humor and social satire....introduces the audience to the kids from “South Park” and explains their true-life inspirations from the experiences of their creators. It’s a bit of a Wikipedia dump, but it’s effectively jazzed up with images from the original shows as well as the lively singing of a cast that includes local standouts Brenda Goodenberger and Patti Suarez....makes for an impressive collection of melodies....every single one of these 29 tunes are stickily sing-along-able..."  - Kerry Lengel, Arizona Republic (click here to read the complete review)

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