Right from the git-go, that is a tall order to fit into a 90-minute show. Let’s face it…when we think about US History what we remember most is sitting in a high school classroom while Mr. Rumpole droned on about Millard Fillmore, who was either one of America’s least remembered presidents or a place where the Grateful Dead used to play in San Francisco. We vaguely recall the Louisiana Purchase but we’re not sure if we bought Louisiana or if there was a sale on Smart Phones there that year. To some underachieving and imaginative students, the Gettysburg Address was where Abraham Lincoln lived, and The Truman Show was the one where Jim Carrey dropped a bomb on Japan. We were not interested in history. We just had to learn it.
Cue the curtain at The Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, a theatre that prides itself as bringing diverse, engaging entertainment to New Jersey. Add to the list of concerts by American legends, comedy by the nation’s brightest young comedians and theatre that rivals anywhere in the state the newest and boldest event to come down the pike in months – The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s production of The Complete History of America, the abridged version. Here is what the critics are saying about this 3-man lollapalooza of cultural and historical data:
“An apt description of what the company does is intellectual vaudeville. They are smart, cheeky clowns who present themselves as a collective repository for most of American mass culture.” Stephen Holden—New York Times
“History has never been this much fun. Or as delightfully mutilated.” Bill Brownstein—Montreal Gazette
“What the “Daily Show” might be like if it were hosted by the Marx Brothers.” Boston Herald
From Washington to Watergate, the New World to the New World Order, The Complete History of America (abridged) takes a rollercoaster ride through the glorious quagmire that is American History. Who really discovered America? Why did Abe Lincoln free the slaves? How many Democrats does it take to screw in a lightbulb? The answers to these and many more questions most of us have never asked will unfold before your eyes in a blaze of nonsensical sketches and songs that will leave you questioning if the comedy is more relevant that the current upcoming elections (which have their own moments of the ridiculous. Nothing is off limits and everything is off-kilter. The Reduced Shakespeare Company is a renowned touring company that has conquered the worlds of Shakespeare’s plays as well as skewering the classics in modern literature. Now they take on the big boys, the world’s number one superpower. There will be heroes, there will be drama, and there will be laughter. Mr. Rumpole might not approve, but I guarantee you will.