Theatre Wed Oct 08 2008

Scooty and JoJo's Carpenters Halloween

In the spirit of full disclosure, I must begin this review with a troubling admission: I have never seen any of the Halloween movies. Not a one. That being said, I went into the performance of Scooty and JoJo's Carpenters Halloween hoping that my lack of knowledge of the films wouldn't hamper my enjoyment of the show. You see, Carpenters Halloween is the story of the original Halloween film, set to the music of The Carpenters. As in, Karen and Richard Carpenter. If that isn't enough to pique your curiosity, here's a few other facts about this show: there are puppets, men in drag, and the show takes place in Mary's Attic, the small space above Hamburger Mary's in Andersonville, on Clark. That means, that while you are watching a man in drag singing "Rainy Days and Mondays" to a puppet, while being leered at by a dude in a hockey mask, you can also have a drink, or two. And order off the appetizer menu. During the show. Need I go on?

All of those compelling facts aside, there are many other things to like about Carpenters Halloween ,which is a remount of last year's successful production. The show is unabashedly campy, gloriously self-aware, and the cast shows not only great comedic instincts, but also wonderful singing voices, highlighted in the saccharine ballads for which The Carpenters are so well known.

The brain child of Scott "Scooty" Bradley, who stars as Laurie Strode, the virginal protagonist of the movie, this show is a wonderfully guilty Halloween-time pleasure, and a welcome distraction from the political and economic muck we are currently mired in. Carpenters Halloween runs now through October 31st, and tickets can be purchased at Scooty and Jo Jo's website.

— Julianna Mendelsohn / Comments (0)