Gapers Block has ceased publication.

Gapers Block published from April 22, 2003 to Jan. 1, 2016. The site will remain up in archive form. Please visit Third Coast Review, a new site by several GB alumni.
 Thank you for your readership and contributions. 

TODAY

Friday, March 29

Gapers Block
Search

Gapers Block on Facebook Gapers Block on Flickr Gapers Block on Twitter The Gapers Block Tumblr


A/C
« Last Minute Plans: The Seldoms Review: Time Stands Still »

Comedy Sat Feb 04 2012

Review: Come On! We're All Adults! @ The Annoyance Theatre

Patrick Raynor in Come On! We're All Adults!.jpg

Directed by Joe Avella, local improviser Patrick Raynor's one-man show at the Annoyance Theatre, Come On! We're All Adults!, is a collection of solo pieces (with a couple guest appearances by Nat Topping) mostly featuring characters in absurd situations.

Starting off with a scene of a newscaster launching into increasingly specific tangents about the local community, the show jumps from one character to the next, ranging from a South Dakota man trying to win his love back at the airport, to a substitute dry cleaner manager who can't stop talking about his weight loss.

One-man shows are tricky, because the person in question has to create a character, a setting, interact with imaginary characters on stage, and drive the plot with their words and actions. Unfortunately, I don't think Raynor fully pulled these things off. Part of this was due to several scenes that either didn't have an strong comedic build-up and release or went on for a little too long. Raynor's overall delivery and tone of voice between scenes and characters was indistinguishable, and he seemed to rush through many of his characters' lines to the point where I couldn't understand what he was saying in a couple places. Although it may sound like a contradiction, most of the scenes could have been shorter, but Raynor's actual recitation of lines within them could been slower-paced to better embody the characters.

On the plus side, Raynor had great physical comedy and gestures, and the lighting and sound were very well-done. I particularly enjoyed his solo lovemaking scene, which I felt played to all of these strengths. Another scene I really enjoyed involved a father looking for his daughter at a movie theater, because he successfully created the visual of the setting, props, and other character in my head better than in other scenes.

My favorite scene was Raynor's story about his dad's reaction to his decision to leave Nebraska for Chicago. Although this was a sketch show, it reminded me of the stand-up comedy formula: a long, tension-building set-up told in the first-person, followed by a hilarious payoff. However, because that very personal scene was so different from the sketch-based scenes of the rest of the performance, it seemed tacked on within the context of Come On! We're All Adults! as a whole.

Overall, Patrick Raynor had some good ideas, but tweaking a few subtleties here and there could have gone a long way towards making the show tighter.

Come On! We're All Adults! runs Wednesdays at 9:30pm through February 22 at The Annoyance Theatre (4830 N Broadway). Tickets are $10.

 
GB store
GB store

Architecture Tue Nov 03 2015

Paul Goldberger Describes the "Pragmatism and Poetry" of Frank Gehry's Architecture in His New Book

By Nancy Bishop

Architecture critic Paul Goldberger talks about Frank Gehry's life and work in a new book.
Read this feature »

Steve at the Movies Fri Jan 01 2016

Best Feature Films & Documentaries of 2015

By Steve Prokopy

Read this column »

Blogroll

ACRE
An Angry White Guy
Antena
AREA Chicago
ArchitectureChicago Plus
Arts Engagement Exchange
The Art Letter
Art or Idiocy?
Art Slant Chicago
Art Talk Chicago
Bad at Sports
Bite and Smile
Brian Dickie of COT
Bridgeport International
Carrie Secrist Gallery
Chainsaw Calligraphy
Chicago Art Blog
Chicago Art Department
Chicago Art Examiner
Chicago Art Journal
Chicago Artists Resource
Chicago Art Map
Chicago Art Review
Chicago Classical Music
Chicago Comedy Examiner
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Daily Views
Chicago Film Examiner
Chicago Film Archives
Chicago Gallery News
Chicago Uncommon
Collaboraction
Contemporary Art Space
Co-op Image Group
Co-Prosperity Sphere
Chicago Urban Art Society
Creative Control
Defibrillator
Devening Projects
Digressions
DIY Film
ebersmoore
The Exhibition Agency
The Flatiron Project
F newsmagazine
The Gallery Crawl...
Galerie F
The Gaudy God
Happy Dog Gallery
HollywoodChicago
Homeroom Chicago
I, Homunculus
Hyde Park Artcenter Blog
InCUBATE
Joyce Owens: Artist on Art
J-Pointe
Julius Caesar
Kasia Kay Gallery
Kavi Gupta Gallery
Rob Kozlowski
Lookingglass Theatre Blog
Lumpen Blog
Marquee
Mess Hall
N'DIGO
Neoteric Art
NewcityArt
NewcityFilm
NewcityStage
Not If But When
Noun and Verb
On Film
On the Make
Onstage
Peanut Gallery
Peregrine Program
Performink
The Poor Choices Show
Pop Up Art Loop
The Post Family
The Recycled Film
Reversible Eye
Rhona Hoffman Gallery
Roots & Culture Gallery
SAIC Blog
The Seen
Sharkforum
Sisterman Vintage
Site of Big Shoulders
Sixty Inches From Center
Soleil's To-Do's
Sometimes Store
Steppenwolf.blog
Stop Go Stop
Storefront Rebellion
TOC Blog
Theater for the Future
Theatre in Chicago
The Franklin
The Mission
The Theater Loop
Thomas Robertello Gallery
threewalls
Time Tells Tony Wight Gallery
Uncommon Photographers
The Unscene Chicago
The Visualist
Vocalo
Western Exhibitions
What's Going On?
What to Wear During an Orange Alert?
You, Me, Them, Everybody
Zg Gallery

GB store

 

Events


A/C on Flickr

Join the A/C Flickr Pool.



About A/C

A/C is the arts and culture section of Gapers Block, covering the many forms of expression on display in Chicago. More...
Please see our submission guidelines.

Editor: Nancy Bishop, nancy@gapersblock.com
A/C staff inbox: ac@gapersblock.com

Archives

 

A/C Flickr Pool
 Subscribe in a reader.

GB store

GB Store

GB Buttons $1.50

GB T-Shirt $12

I ✶ Chi T-Shirts $15