My evening of theater

Almost 20 years ago I joined an improv theater going by the name of Comedy Olympix. That was my "college" experience. I made friends who are still my friends to this day, several of whom were in my wedding. One friend I made there was actor Zach Curtis. He didn't have a car, and I would give him rides home occasionally. We started hanging out more and more, and eventually were joined at the hip. He lived in his parent's basement at the time, and I remember sleeping over once. We stayed up in the dark, he in bed and me lying on the floor, joking and laughing (and farting) until the wee hours of the morning; like a couple of kids in junior high.

We eventually lived together for a while in what my friend Jim affectionately called the "Den of Debauchery." During that time I would go see Zach in shows, and I knew that he was theatrically gifted. We eventually grew apart, and Facebook brought us back together. I haven't seen him in a show since 1998, but every review I read for his latest, The Whale, is better than the last. I was able to get out of the house for the evening to catch my old partner-in-crime in the show, and I'm so glad I did.

In The Whale Curtis plays Charlie, a 600-pound shut-in who teaches writing online (through audio, too ashamed to show his students his obese stature). Charlie grunts and wheezes for breath simply adjusting himself on the sofa, where he spends the majority of his time. His only friend is a nurse, Liz, who enables Charlie's unhealthy lifestyle, and gives him on-the-house nursing treatment (checking blood pressure, listening to his chest, etc.)

The cast is only five people, but every one of them gives a stellar performance. I don't want to give away the plot, just go see this show. I got a $10 'economic accessibility' ticket, so I saw it for cheaper than a movie on a Saturday night. Curtis's performance is so good that I felt uncomfortable watching him struggle to stand up from the couch to use his walker. I forgot that he was my old pal, and saw a 600-pound whale of a man.

The Whale A

After the show, I had time to speed to the Bryant-Lake Bowl for the sold out A Very Die Hard Christmas. I asked the box office if they had room for one more, and they did. After the dark subject matter of The Whale, I'm glad I went to see some comedy, and Christmas is funny. 

It's a vulgar parody of a lot of Christmas specials we all know, and look forward to, wrapped around the Die Hard plot; written by, and starring, Josh Carson, who I know by directing him in 48-Hour films. We don't really know each other, but we kinda do. The script for this show proves what a talent Carson is. 

The whole theater is used for the show; they even cast the entire audience as holiday party-goers. They happened to pull me on stage as Mr. Nakatomi, the Japanese president of the building overtaken by terrorists. I stood tongue-tied on the stage where I've performed dozens of shows. Rusty after years away from the stage, I couldn't form Japanese gibberish. It was fun to be onstage again, if only for a minute. They even called me back up at the end for a bow. 

The show features songs, and puppets, and blood. A lot of blood. It winks at the audience several times throughout, and some jokes hit hard. I belly laughed several times, and when I wasn't laughing I was smiling. It's a great show with a talented cast. Tom Reed stands out as antagonist Hans Gruber. Others are cast in several different roles, and they have fun with that too. The audience is in on all of the jokes, and it plays to the top of its intelligence. 

A Very Die Hard Christmas A