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So many dynamos - it's ¡Run, Palindrome, Nur!
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Ever wanted to stack cats? Maybe set a party boobytrap? Do you sometimes just want to yell “yo, banana boy!” If you answered “yes” to none or more of these questions, chances are you’ll enjoy "¡Run, Palindrome, Nur!" Will you see cat stacking or party boobytraps? No. But! If you read those underlined words (that aren't links) backwards, you’ll get the same thing, much as Robot vs. Dinosaur’s sketch experiment does with their new show. Taking a backwards approach to the ordinary sketch show formula, RvD asks “why watch another ho-hum 6-person show when you could watch a quality 18-person show?” Facing the daunting task of wrangling 18 actors, 13 scenes, and somewhere around 80 parts, the writer/directors of RvD threw caution to the wind, shouted “draw, O coward!” to doubt, and came up with a nicely-crafted and fun-to-watch result.
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The show starts with what appears to be another overdone “film set” scene, where the actors are stopped mid-scene to receive direction from a director located near the audience. The twist, however, comes when the actors begin being replaced quickly and efficiently with other actors. As the action snowballs, old actors remain on stage while new actors are added until the entire cast is on stage welcoming the audience to the show, and smartly (on RvD’s part) showing the audience just what they’re in for – a hot mess of a fun time. I really appreciate RvD’s ambition in having so many people in the show for scenes like the opening scene and the following, a scene at an old-fashioned witch burning. Not that there are new-fashioned witch burnings. Or are there… My point is that many shows try to do huge group scenes with 6 people, and they’ve always worked, but they’ve worked because they had to. With 18 people to play with, group scenes can work because they’re actual group scenes, and the writing/acting can shine much more without having to worry about establishing environment. It may seem simple, but it’s refreshing to see.
Not every scene involved 18 people, however. There was a good variety in number of performers in each scene, some scenes even holding their own with 2 or 3 actors. This was wise on RvD’s part, as having 13 scenes with 18 people in each would definitely get stagnant. Some scenes involved only a few actors but had a few more in the background to help set the environment. With all those actors, you’d think transitioning from scene to scene would be a recipe for chaos, but I was impressed with how cleanly and quickly the show kept moving, and transitions were handled in a few different ways. The film set feel was called-back to help with some transitions which was fun, and in a nod to the classic “Spies Like Us,” some transitions were simply the actors moving their chairs and exiting whilst “professionally” greeting each other with “Doctor.” “Doctor.” “Doctor.” “Doctor.” I appreciated the reference and it did lead into the following scenes, but thought there might be a stronger choice for a transition, especially with so many options to work with. Some kind of human machine for placing chairs might’ve been fun or a more choreographed, short, almost-dance number to music would’ve been cool. But then again I’m a sucker for spectacle, and simpler is better. Most of the time.
With all the variety in actors and scenes, it remains a pretty standard sketch revue. The scenes were well-written, but many lacked a strong ending. The better scenes, surprisingly enough, were written around a prop, concept, or sight gag, while the relationship-based scenes played second fiddle. Perhaps one of the best-written scenes I’ve seen in a long time was a parody of Romeo and Juliet, called "Laffy Taffy," in which the children of two rival candy company owners fall in love. The scene uses Laffy Taffy jokes for much of its dialogue, and is original enough to not be Shakespeare while still living in that Elizabethan world. If you go, watch for the variety in humor, from more-than-slightly perverse to cleverly intelligent. Also check out the smart use of 18 actors spread amongst that humor variety. Never odd or even, "¡Run, Palindrome, Nur!" is not completely groundbreaking for a sketch show, but is a nice and well-done change of pace from average shows and can definitely bombard a drab mob with fun!
¡Run, Palindrome, Nur!
Fridays @ 7:30pm
April 24th – May 22nd
Donny’s Skybox
$12 Gen. Ad./$10 for students
312.337.3992
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