I was really looking forward to seeing The Von Pufferhutte Family Singers (the musical) because I really enjoyed the same company’s (I Like Nuts) production of Captain Squishy’s Yee Haw Jamboree last year. I’m sorry to say that this musical about a German family troupe who despise their competitors – the famous Van Trapp Family Singers (from The Sound of Music) because they stole the song “Edelweiss” from them – bit off a “liesl” too much, and frankly “es war nicht zu gut!”
It all started off well with the snappy – yet too long – opening number called “I’d Rather Be Dead Than Not Successful” where we were introduced to all the family members including a dead baby/sibling named Heinz (who is carried around in a container by son Klaus (Josh Speerstra), and his Mom and Dad – Cookie Monster (Belen Pifel) and Helmut (Nick Greek) – and the other kinder (“children” in German) Ronald Reagan (Timothy R. King), Octopussy (Loren Bray, and yes, you got it right – she’s sexy and horny and can’t keep her clothes on), and Goldfinger (Jennifer Speerstra). Each family member shared with the audience how they would kill themselves if they didn’t become famous.
Now, if you find these first names hysterical and yearn for more “dead baby” jokes, and if you can’t wait to hear the cast sing a song about devouring a baby, and you enjoy puke jokes, this is the show for you. At the performance I attended, some of the audience laughed and some stared in disbelief. I was one of those disbelievers.
The problem is that if you want me and the audience to root for the Pufferhuttes, (and not The Von Trapps, who we are told don’t like Asians and are demons), you gotta give us a reason. I mean, who could love a family that banishes one of their own children because she’s too ugly (there are repetitive jokes calling her a boy even though she clearly has recognizable cleavage) and replaces her with a Mariachi Singer (a very funny Jesse Terrill), who never accept responsibility for their own actions, and that is so stupid to choose for their breakthrough audition on “The Eddie Cantor Show” a song about eating a baby? At least Cantor had the sense to banish them from his studio after that “infantile” audition.
Look, the above mentioned cast gave it their all. They were especially good in a song called “Mike Jarboe” about one of their heroes. The remaining cast members Greg Crowe, playing their eccentric agent LaMont Sharkface a la Groucho Marx (with a cigar in his mouth), Christopher Todd as a shocked Eddie Cantor, and Suzannah Wells and Amy Thompson, who played several minor roles, worked hard to get a laugh or two from the audience. Jennifer Speerstra who played the un-wanted daughter Goldfinger, was the only character who wasn’t “cartoonish” and she brought some heart, dignity, and emotion to her performance. I wish composer Deborah Jacobson would have written a song for her after she was banished. Jennifer would have stopped the show (in a good way).
I was pulling on my lederhosen for 75 minutes praying for something “non-dead-babyish” to laugh at and a big finish. Unfortunately, it all went ‘puff’!
The program says, “Get ready for your brain to bleed with joy”! My brain and heart bled for this poor cast. This troupe of local actors (who I admire and whose performances have been the focus of many articles in my Theatre Schmooze column on DCTS) and the audience and I deserved better.
The Von Pufferhutte Family Singers (the musical)
Written by C.T. Davenport and H.F. Greek
Music by Deborah Jacobson
Directed by Heather Gaither-Greek
Reviewed by Joel Markowitz
Running time: 75 minutes
Read all the reviews and check out the full Capital Fringe schedule here.
Did you see the show? What did you think?
You can see it again! We are performing two more shows this week at the Atlas Theatre, on Friday and Saturday night at 8 pm, so if you missed us during Fringe, you can still see us this weekend! Your brain will bleed with joy!
I have to 100% agree with the commentors, especially Tex JD, and not Joel Markowitz!! This was the Fringe Festival and he obviously didn’t get the humor in the show, which I honestly thought was hilarious! And I’m not just saying this because one of the cast is family! I would not have left a comment at all if I didn’t enjoy the show. I seriously would if I could, go back and see it again!
This is absolutely the capitol FRINGE festival, not the capitol MAINSTREAM, TENNESSE WILLIAMS/ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN FESTIVAL! These shows are on shoestring budgets (when they are lucky, most are probably on flip flop budgets which don’t even have strings), their actors are volunteering their time (or close to it), and the venues range from backroom bars, to open air tents, to 250 seat theatre spaces. These shows are meant to be fresh, fun, experimental, and thought provoking. All one need do is look at the line-up. There is a one-man show about deadly sex robots, a show where the cast literally stares down the audience to provoke participation (they also transcend clothing), and yes, a crazy Pufferhutte dead baby roller coaster ride of dark comedy and musical madness! I found this show very entertaining. The cast worked hard to bring some twisted jokes our way, and the script manages to spoof a legendary wholesome family troupe, while “inventing” a new American folk hero, destroys the boundaries of family bonds, and loyalty, all while giving us an adventure (of NUTS proportion) that both makes you laugh out loud and wonder if you are a little sick to have enjoyed it so. I applaud the I lIke Nuts writing duo for bringing another installment of edgy comedy and musical whimsy. I don’t fault the reviewer for his opinion, as this type of comedy is not for everyone (though perhaps it should be). I do, however, find it perplexing that he raves about their last production, Captain Squishy’s Yee Haw Jamboree the musical, which had the audiences rolling due to the creative use of a Dead Kitten Tea Party or two, but he can’t abide a dead baby joke?? The comedy is fine when it’s a bunch of dead kittens talking to each other with outrageous accents, but one dead baby in a jar and a hysterical song just crosses the line eh? Well, to each his own I guess. I, for one, am very thankful that Fringe is around to wake us up a little, and that The Von Pufferhuter Family Singers the musical was there to make me cringe a little and to make me laugh so hard I peed a little. I mean, if it wasn’t Fringe could I submit a comment with such poor grammar and run-on sentences? Thank you DC Theatre Scene for provoking the conversation either way!
Tighten up your Lederhosen, “The Von Pufferhutte Family Singers!” is not for the faint of heart. From the hummable “I’d Rather Be Dead Than Not Be Famous” to the goose stepping kick line, this zany musical farce with its multitalented performers puts the oomph in oom pah pah. Ausgezeichnet! — P.K. Powell
You are aware this is a fringe show, right? As such it’s supposed to be a bit on-the-edge, it’s supposed to challenge the audience’s expectations. Seems to me that the reviewer had something personal against the content of the play and decided to take it out in his review. This is not how a review is supposed to be.
I saw the play and loved it. I was offended slightly and I loved that too.