Written by Anne Brashier
Westside Comedy Theater
(1323-A 3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica 90401)
Date of reviewed performance: January 11, 2012
Cast
Anne Brashier
For two nights Anne Brashier remounted her one-woman show (seen most recently at the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival) in an quiet little alleyway comedy club that butts up against the buskers and bustle of the 3rd Street Promenade. If the venue itself is a study in contradiction, I imagine the bubbly Ms. Brashier felt right at home as she took the stage as the Spectre of Death.
The Most Fun Funeral wears the costume of a game show, hosted by a Death who could just as easily be your Avon lady. With the help of audience interaction, the purpose of Death’s game is to award life’s final moment to a lucky “contestant”. In truth, the contestant is really who this play is about - and Death’s show is far from fun and games. Bit by bit, old wounds break open - and ultimately it is the Reaper who must face the music.
Ms. Brashier is engaging and peppy as Death. She’s great at involving the audience and, on this night, the whole house was with her every step of the way. On occasion she takes a break from the Reaper long enough to play another character, Ophelia (who, one speculates, is far more autobiographical in nature). Watching Ms. Brashier’s characters transition is mesmerizing. It is in the angry, vulnerable Ophelia that she shows her chops as an actress.
The Most Fun Funeral is a tragicomedy stew. It is touching and fun (and funny!). It also needs some fine-tuning. Its main flaw is that the game show set up loses steam once the established story is clearly about Ophelia. I’ll not spoil the ending by going into detail about it here, but (as clever as it is in tying everything together) it leaves the audience a bit bewildered and unsure if the performance is over. Some of that may also be due to the brevity of the piece – at just over 40 minutes long, it feels like it’s over just as it’s beginning.
It’s an intriguing concept with entertaining pieces, performed by a talented actress. It has not yet tapped its full potential, but the promise is definitely there.
The Most Fun Funeral has ended its brief Los Angeles re-staging. For more information about the show and where you may see her next, please visit Ms. Brashier's website: http://annebrashier.com/
Directed by Rendel Leatherman
Produced by Anne Brashier
