There’s no laugh track in Capt. Tickle Britches. In fact, you can hear the crowd at the bar in the Fort Fringe tent buzzing in the background of the performance. But this play, a series of sketches presented by Guerilla DC, managed to deliver some solid guffaws from a late-night audience all the same.
The conceit is this. Capt. Tickle Britches is the narrator, guiding the audience between the different sketches. All the scenes tackle outlandish situations, like a racist hate group not realizing that they had an African-American member, or a PSA for excessive pubic hair.
Some strike a chord with the audiences, while others fall flat. The titular character seemed almost pointless, and made DC-area in-jokes that didn’t land.
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Capt. Tickle Britches
by Allen McLeod and Robby Newman
70 minutes
at The Shop – Fort Fringe
607 New York Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
Details and tickets[/wpcol_1quarter]Some of the stories were meant to be titillating and offensive, but seemed uselessly obscene. Where Capt. Tickle Britches thrives, though, are in its energetic performances.
Chad Fornwalt excelled as the hilarious Liberal Arts Man, and the sketch elicited numerous chuckles about post-collegiate skills from the audience. The only female in the cast, Jjana Valentiner brought a great range to her vivacious roles. From a redneck to a restrained stalking victim to a rambunctious little girl, Valentiner left a lasting impression.
The ensemble cast does a terrific job of drowning out the bar and zoning us in on their performances, but the writing of the sketches leaves a little to be desired. But if you want to bet on a few zany jokes at Fort Fringe, Capt. Tickle Britches could be for you – just without the laugh track.
