With my schedule being what it’s been lately, it was exceedingly pleasant to go to a show with my wife Saturday night. As she isn’t normally into going into smaller venue shows, it’s quite an endorsement for In Tandem that she agreed to come to its production of All The Great Books (abridged.) The show, which runs through October 26th at the Tenth Street Theatre, features local guys Kevin Rich, Doug Jarecki and newcomer R. Chris Reeder in a dizzying run through of some 89 great works of literature in 90 minutes.
A full review of the show will run in this week’s Shepherd. Here’s something that won’t make it into the review: the show has quite a few bits of audience participation, including a game of inflatable dodge ball that pits the audience against Doug Jarecki in the role of “Coach.” At one point, there was a comic altercation onstage, prompting Reeder to run for cover behind my wife. (We were in the front row.) When one of the other characters called him out for “hiding behind a woman,” he said, “it worked for John McCain.” (The improvised jokes about Sarah Palin did particularly well Saturday night.)
Tomorrow: the first part in a three-part series of transcripted conversations with the cast of the show.
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