Landless Theatre is at it again.  Yes, the company that brings you inane post-modern theatre, has hit another one: Devil Boys from Beyond, premiering this February, and though it’s a triple to the right field wall rather than a grand slam, it’s still worthy of a trip to Adams-Morgan. [Read more...]

The Dark Knightmare Before Christmas and  Breaking Hunger

Recent years have seen the music industry taken over by “mashup artists” – DJs who meld numerous popular songs into a surprising, coherent whole. There’s a similar philosophy at work behind the second year of Landless Theatre Company’s wacky, genial Mashup Festival, which invites audiences to see some of pop culture’s most varied and enduring characters clash on stage.  The four-play Mashup Festival is split into two halves, with the first two “all-ages” plays, The Dark Knightmare Before Christmas and Breaking Hunger, showing earlier in the evening­. (My colleague, Steve Hallex, reviewed the latter, raunchier half of the festival). [Read more...]

Night of the Living Golden Girls and TarXXXanadu

This Saturday, I attended DCTS’ annual party at a lovely Thai restaurant near DuPont Circle.  I must say that every moment was enjoyable, but the party really started with Tim Treanor’s toast, followed by the obligatory game of Who Said That.  As we sipped our non-adult adult beverages, slips of paper were passed around with a quote from a reviewer’s work this past year.  After (usually correctly) guessing the reviewer who penned it, we voted on our favorite.  [Read more...]

In his play The B Team, David Holstein, who, it should be noted also writes scripts for the Showtime series “Weeds”, asks and partially answers a question kind of fundamental to our times: can terrorists—and terrorism and suicide bombers—be funny?

The answer will likely come out as something like this: well, yeah, kinda, maybe, sometimes, are you kidding me?, or “Sure, but I’ll deny that I ever said such a thing.” [Read more...]

As paper-thin and disposable as a one-sentence fortune and about as filling as the cookie it came in, Mark Brown and Paul Mirkovitch’s musical pseudo-homage to China is getting a silly, sporadically successful production at DCAC in Adams Morgan, thanks to the eager and disheveled efforts of Landless Artistic Director Andrew Lloyd Baughman, his brother Matt Baughman, and relative newcomer Ben Demers. [Read more...]

Billy (Charles Johnson) is just like you. You have a J.D., an M.D. or a PhD in Political Science; Billy has a PhD in Horribleness. You hunger for a position with those powerful K Street lobbyists or that white-shoe law firm; Billy longs to join the Evil League of Evil. You have someone who you admire at the pinnacle of your profession; Billy has Bad Horse (briefly, Clay Comer wearing the head of a horse). Like you, Billy desires to take over the world. Also, you pant after that hot person at the Laundromat (Stefanie Garcia); so does Billy. You have a moronic wingman; Billy has the sweat-spewing Moist (Matt Baughman). You have an arch-nemesis, who gets all the things you want, and so does Billy. His is named Captain Hammer (Comer). Finally, you have a nom de plume (check out the comments section in this website, or any other). So does Billy: Dr. Horrible. [Read more...]

I’ve got a confession to make.

I’m a virgin.

When it comes to going to going to Landless Theatre Company, I’ve never done it.

I don’t know what I was waiting for. [Read more...]

If you’ve been to a Cherry Red or Hope Operas production, you know that Chris Griffin’s work can be a little ‘off the wall’, so he is in company with his hysterical and swingingly good Tarxxxanadu, which closed the evening of two shows with four mash ups from Landless Theatre Company. I was there on opening night (February 4th) for both shows.

Clay Comer as Tarzan

As the hunky, loin-clothed King of the jungle (Clay Comer) is kidnapped by a dingo and fails to find his Mom, who happens to be an Olivia Newton–John look-alike (the very Australian sounding Karissa Swanigan), He learns a new way of ‘swinging’ and becomes a famous Gay (“I’m not Gay)” porno star. You still with me? As Tarzan continues to make more films with his co-star Casey (the adorable JR Russ ) – Casey falls for the jungle stud, but with no luck – the Jungle Man claims he’s a hetero.

Add into this scenario the arrival of mass murderers Mr. Gacy (the creepy Cyle Durkee) and Mr. Dahmer  (an equally skin-crawling Richard Reinfield), a funny but loud porno director (Oscar Ceville) and a ‘not-all-there’ producer/owner Maggie Gallagher (Ally Jenkins) – and you can imagine the monkey business that happens on the stage.

Mr. Griffin keeps his energetic and talented cast on their toes – as they run around and hang on to the small and cramped and intimate DCAC performing space. The four songs he wrote for Tarxxxanadu not only unveil the plot, but are also very humorous. Fans of the Xanadu film will find “Gene Kelly Had His Way With Me” – sung by Ms. Swanigan, Mr. Durkee and Mr. Renfield – a funny but nasty homage to the famous dancer who starred in the film. I enjoyed tapping my feet to the two ‘company’ songs “Tarzan’ll Do” and “We’re in Love”- which sounded like two songs from the Xanadu film and recent Broadway musical version. My favorite of all the mashup songs was the lovely and heart-warming “Family” sung by Ms. Swanigan and Mr. Comer as they long to reunite again and become a family. It was a poignant moment in a zany story. Let’s just say Tarxxxanaduwas the mash-terpiece of the festival.

Landless Theatre Company’s Mash Up Fest is performed Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 and 10pm through February 26 at the DC Arts Center, 2438 18th Street NW, Washington, DC.
Details here.
Buy tickets.

Landless Theatre Mash Up Fest:

Pii-Wii’s Big Poseidon Adventure
by Jon Gann
Directed by Melissa Baughman

All that Jaws
by Kerri Sheehan
directed by Andrew Baughman

Gleeam
Book and Music by Andrew Baughman
Lyrics by Randy Blair
Directed by Emily Jablonski

Tarxxxanadu
Written and Directed by Chris Griffin

Highly recommended