The show, "Deadpan on Campus," played Friday and Saturday night at the Union's U-Club, and the intimate setting was a good one for the Comedy Company's bent sketch comedy. The crowded house was in a mood to enjoy themselves, and the performers established a rapport early on with their audience.
The show started about 15 minutes late, but one could keep themself occupied by reading the demented program the organizers handed out. The format was an edition of The Michigan Daily on a day when the entire staff had smoked banana peels. The program also managed to work in a couple of cast biographies and a list of sketches, but was very incidental.
The most inspired idea for a sketch was "Wag the God." Assistant head writer Amol Parulekar was responsible for this travesty of the President's recent problems, in which God is investigated by the special prosecutor for an alleged improper relationship with the Virgin Mary. Absolutely everyone was lambasted in this satire, which kept taking more and more demented twists until the very end.
Another highlight was an original uncredited short film, apparently just filling time so that the cast could change clothes, but actually a wicked takeoff on the recent MasterCard ad campaign. The macabre tale of a murderer using his MasterCard to conceal his crime was all the funnier for its initial obscurity and the sudden dawning of recognition it inspired.
One standout among the cast members was Christopher Wilson, who had a double whammy of scene stealers. First he played a beer-swilling, shoddily-togaed God who emerged from reclusion to testify before Congress with a barrage of incoherent doubletalk. He then followed up by playing Winnie the Pooh as a dimwitted hunny junkie who is dismayed when his show is forcibly invaded and his usual companion is replaced by a Christopher Walken impersonator, direct from the ninth circle of hell. "I want Christopher Robin back," Wilson lamented.
Another talented cast member (one who was unfortunately under-used) was Aric Mutchnick, who received laughs as God's chicken-fried press secretary, St. Johnnie. Afterwards, Mutchnick mostly contented himself by contorting his face into beady-eyed lunatic expressions, despite being restricted to smaller parts.
As usual, the show finished up with the Comedy Company's interactive improvisational routines, which aggressively showcased the members' undeniable talent.
The Comedy Company's next performances will be at the U-Club on January 29 and 30.