Spontaneous Broadway: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Currently showing at Melbourne Trade Hall, much has been written about Spontaneous Broadway since its original appearance in New York back in 1995. Since 2000, audiences across Australia have also had the opportunity to experience this unpredictable, unscripted ‘improv’ show. Surprisingly, this is actually the first time in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s history that this show has made an outing and judging by the audience’s reaction, it won’t be the last.

The show falls into two halves. At the start, each audience member is asked to think up fictitious song titles which are then dropped into “The Bucket of Dreams’ – a title is then selected by each of the four characters - played by Julia Zemiro, Genevieve Morris, Geoff Paine and Ross Daniels, and an audition process takes place.

Each of the characters must then think up an improv song and a musical based on the song’s title - then the most popular choice, judged by applause levels, is selected for a ‘one night only’ performance which makes up the second half of the show. Obviously as no two shows are ever the same; anything can and usually does happen - it’s basically like waiting for a train wreck which miraculously never actually happens.

The highlight of the entire show for me was the host Randy Polack (played by the multi talented Russell Fletcher). Through some fast-thinking adlibbing, he manages to keep the momentum of the performances going and adds much to the overall experience and hilarity. Musical Director John Thorn is without doubt the backbone of each performance, with his amazing ability to interpret any musical style thrown at him something to behold.

Now I have to be totally honest with you: though I am very much in the minority, I was not completely sold on this show. From my perspective, the major flaw was that I simply didn’t find the overall experience that funny. Even though it is improvised, for some strange reason I felt that some of the one-liners were slightly too pre-emptive in their delivery, almost scripted. This could simply come down to the fact that these performers are so seasoned at this show they simply pull material from other performances which they know will work.

Unlike other improvisation performances I have seen, I felt that the four main actors had maybe too much control in their selection of material. I would be intrigued to see a more ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ approach, where the titles are selected randomly as opposed to being pre-selected by the cast. OK, so I am nit-picking, and as I have said I am very much in the minority—in fact there were people in the audience who have seen this show many times who would strongly oppose me.

If you are a fan of this style of performing, then I am sure that you will have a good night. There is no doubt that Spontaneous Broadway is a concept that is clever and that the cast is a highly talented bunch of individuals. Given another night, I may have enjoyed the show more than I did; I may have come away from the whole experience with a different option and a bigger smile on my face.

Spontaneous Broadway: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Dates: 1 - 25 April

Prices:
Full $30
Concession $25
Group (6 or more) $27.50
All Tix Sat $30