One of the GayCo comedy group’s slogans for their work is that “gay is never the punchline.” Having sat through a lot of terrible comedy where gay is all there is to the punchline, I appreciate this philosophy on aesthetic as much as political grounds. “Breast in Show” is an all female revue which allows the writer/actresses to present the concerns of gay women exclusively. The result is a show that is targeted at a niche audience of gay women as well. Funny, however, is funny, and this is definitely a show broad enough to be enjoyed by everyone, and will in fact, be most illuminating to a general audience.
While the show begins with a series of tired old “punchline-blackout” sketches that serve mostly as padding for the one hour running time, things get good later on. A series of sharp pieces reveal this show is best when it revels in its pitch black dark side. Standout sketches include Dora the Explorer trying to get health insurance, a woman realizing her girlfriend is a racist, and a divorced lesbian mother trying in vain to get food stamps for a child she is raising that is not hers biologically.
A general theme emerges of good people being powerless in the face of impersonal evil. And that’s funny stuff.
There are a couple of lighter bits as well, such as a group of straight housewives enjoying Ellen DeGeneres as a “safe” homosexual and a musical number about a group of lesbian “she-wolves” carousing.
The show also takes a couple of admirable off-format risks, like Arianna Wheat getting to dramatize, with support from Kelly Yacono, what appears to have been a pre-existing poem.
“Breast in Show” works as a sharp comedy for everyone, LGBT and otherwise.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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