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By Drew Ludwig

Show reviewed April 11, 2002

Threes. Threes. Threes. Why are things funniest on the third repetition? Regardless of the answer, they are. Of course, the temptation is always there to latch on to something funny and ride it. Unfortunately, this train takes the scene nowhere. NextLine Improv, in their April 11 show, occasionally took this ride.

The most blatant occurrence was a scene (barely connected to any other scene) that involved girls signing up for classes at summer camp. The formula was this: "What do you want to sign up for?" A girl (which, as the troupe is mostly male, was often played by a guy, to laughter the first time) responds with a class name. The counselor checks a list, states we have room, but that they won't actually be doing what they wanted (i.e. "We won't actually be riding horses, you'll ride ponies." Or, as the classes got more extreme, "We won't actually be flying helicopters, there will just be a guy going fwt-fwt-fwt-fwt" [making a helicopter sound]). Then the girl would accept that and skip away. A few times, out of the ten times the pattern was repeated, it was funny, but the scene as a whole was lacking, as it was stuck in the same joke.

(from l to r): Jessica Wyant, Tony Amatuzio, Tony DiGerolamo, Dennis DiClaudio, Don Korobkin, Tom McPherson, and Chris Welsh. (not pictured: Jennifer Toner)

Another time, however, the pattern worked. The scene had a number of characters related to Hank Williams, Jr. We were told that they all looked exactly like Hank Williams, Jr., and after about the fifth Hank look-a-like arrived, the pattern was broken by the arrival of Zorro. Zorro, also looked like Hank Williams, and had a French accent. "I find it strange that Zorro has a French accent," was the response that, yes, flirted with denial and breaking scene but it led to the funniest moments of the show.

The next scene had French Zorro replaced quickly by French Evil Knievel, who upon seeing another character shouted, "Elvis!"

"Oui," was Elvis's reply.

Not too long afterward French Abraham Lincoln arrived, but the pattern was changed when he consulted with Italian Ben Franklin and met Ghetto Hammurabi and Irish Jesus.

The group was able to develop a number of different scenes from its single opening suggestion, "Elvis," that were framed by a series of three monologues. The closing monologues brought the show to well-defined end, although they did not completely integrate the earlier scenes. They were simply a restatement/conclusion of the opening monologues.

The group got laughs, but they were doing longform with a shortform attitude. Relationships were poorly defined and often didn't develop, scenes were sacrificed for jokes, and environments were sparse.

Sometimes, this led to some great moments. The best exchange was:

"I heard you're a lesbian"

"No, I'm a thespian."

"Well, could you act like a lesbian?"

There were no real problems with production-there were no lights or sound, but the room is small enough that they weren't necessary. The two biggest flaws were the lack of professionalism in the group's dress (shorts and an old t-shirt on one actor, no uniformity in the group), and the fact that occasionally the jukebox from the adjoining bar could be heard.

The show also includes a jam afterwards, and while there's no blaming them for the quality or lack thereof, they are to be commended for opening their stage up and encouraging other improvisers. The opportunity to perform with different people in a risk-free environment may be worth the price of admission.

Taking into consideration that the show occurs on a Thursday night, for five dollars, and that beer and pizza are available along with the jam, NextLine provides a fun night out. But they lack the quality of improvisation that is expected when the show is described as "Chicago-style longform." If you want a good time on a Thursday night, NextLine is your troupe. If you are looking for "artful" improv, where everyone supports each other, and scenes makes sense, wait a while. This group has some skilled players, and may get there someday.