REVIEW: Lobsters' Fantastically Funny Show Dripping With Wit, Absurdity
by Pat Craig, Contra Costa Times, November 7, 2005

Really good comedy seems to happen when a wide-eyed sense of wonder collides with a sharp attitude of outrage. Laughter bubbles naturally from this vinegar and baking soda combination, as demonstrated once again by San Francisco's Killing My Lobster sketch comedy group, back for the next several weeks with "Nothing Is Original," something visual arts fans might view as comedians pioneering into the arena of found-object art.

The group collects things -- discarded notes, advertisements, stray signs and other scraps evidencing the downside of a literate culture -- and turns them into sketches on subjects as random as a musical tribute to MySpace.com, and a Civil War romance story told through advertisements found dangling from doorknobs.It is a devilishly clever idea that plays right into the Lobster strong suit of finding wildly funny, and incredibly innovative, comedy in the most ordinary places. Because the group can spin humor off such mundane objects as angry notes left under windshield wipers, and pathetic, barely literate, letters of apology, those in the audience quickly lock onto the Lobster wavelength.The players' agenda is simple -- they are interested in making you laugh. They seem to have no interest in bitter irony or tortured stabs at political commentary. Instead they poke joyously at the insane asylum we all know as life, to create some of the freshest and funniest comedy going.This time out, there are seven Lobsters on stage -- Andy Alabran, Andrew Bancroft, Melane Case, Tonya Glanz, Daniel Lee, Nick Olivero and Shaye Troha. Jon Wolanske, a veteran Lobster performer and writer, directs with a deft sensibility and style, which grasps the notion of ending a bit before the audience either tires of it, or gets ahead of the jokes.All of the sketches play with minimal scenery in front of a floor-to-ceiling wall of cubby holes, containing what appear to be the contents of several garage sales, all neatly arranged on shelves.The set does little more than put you in a mood for randomness, which is happily provided by the Lobsters, as they launch into a film noir sketch using dialogue consisting only of movie titles, to a killer snowman, a running gag throughout the show, who has puzzledauthorities by leaving nothing but a carrot nose and a couple of raisin eyes at the crime scene as clues.Disc jockey Russ Hogg holds the piece together with recorded music that fits the show well but in some ways isn't as satisfying as the live music that has been a part of previous Lobster shows.Altogether, though, the Lobsters serve up what could be the best comedy buffet in the Bay Area.