WHOA // A THEATRE REVIEW OF "THERE IS NO SPOON: THE USUAL REJECTS"
There are a lot of great comedy shows in New York, from The Pit to UCB, The Comedy Cellar to those wacky folks in Spamilton. But one of the most unique ones is the pack of misfits who call themselves "The Usual Rejects." Here's the concept: For each show they tackle a different movie. The audience sits down, the cast of the night is revealed and is told the rules of the game. The cast will do a staged reading, in costume, of the movie they are parodying. They include props, sound effects, and a lot of naughty curse words. Oh, did I mention that it's a drinking game? Because it is. If this all sounds familiar it might be because I did a write up of it here at "The ArtsWire Weekly" in 2015.
The latest incarnation was a one night event called THERE IS NO SPOON: THE MATRIX which finds them lampooning, you guessed it, The Matrix. The cast is compiled of some of the usual rejects of "The Usual Rejects" and some rookie faces. It also marked the last show featuring Kyle Kirkpatrick because he's moving to LA and becoming a foot fetish model (editor’s note: That may not be the exact reason he's moving to LA. To be honest, this was a drinking show and I had a lot of drinks). The rest of the cast included Deven Anderson (who created all of the amazing props), Stacy Ayn Price, Kirk Gostkowski, David Rey, Evan Bass and Matthew Bogorad.
Deven Andrerson takes on the lead role of Neo, Stacy Ayn Price is a leather clad Trinity, and David Rey is a Spanish version of Morpheus. The rest of the cast round up all the rest of the characters, with Kirk Gostkowski also doing the narration. To be frank, I've seen a lot of these, and they never get old. But I do believe this one was the best one yet (Betcha feel foolish for missing it now, don't you?). The props and "special effects" were hilarious and creative (giant 90's cell phones, two actors clad in black helping with the fight scenes, tiny short legs doing all the kicking, and a lot of Vaseline (you've seen the movie now so you know what I mean). The delivery veers from deadpan to overacting to just ridiculously funny. Everyone is clearly having a great time, including the audience. Beers are always cheap and no matter who the cast is, you will have a blast. As an extra bonus, there's a not so silent auction at the beginning and whoever wins the auction gets to play "God," stopping the show three times and force whoever they want in the cast to stop what they're doing and chug a whole beer. It's the one time you can be a prick in public and everyone will give you a high five. Their next show has yet to be announced but do yourself a favor: join their mailing list, check their website & their Facebook and get your ass to their next show. You can thank me later. At the show. Because I'll be there.
So, in conclusion, did I have a great time? Hey, I won a trivia question and won a FREE Rick & Morty toy. So... yeah. I have a pretty damn good time.
GRADE: A
Created by The Usual Rejects Starring Deven Anderson, Kyle Kirkpatrick, Stacey Ayn Price, Kirk Gostkowski, David Rey, Evan Bass and Matthew Bogorad Played at The Wythe Hotel, 80 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn NY. For more info on "The Usual Rejects" upcoming shows visit: http://www.usualrejects.com/