SF Bay Guardian "Kisses A Toad" Review

BY ROB AVILA

From sfbg.com
Originally published by SF Bay Guardian, March 9, 2005
©2005 SFBG, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fey forests and troll-infested underpasses, Little Red Riding Hood exuberantly and unflatteringly drunk, the supernatural comedy duo of Puss und Asse – it was all true, once upon a time. But few conjure that faraway world with as much relevance to our own, especially its lame drinking games, as Killing My Lobster in this foray into fairy tales by the San Francisco-based sketch comedy troupe.

It’s some of their more consistently sharp writing in a while, but even the fluffier stuff works a kind of magic in the hands of director Melanie Case’s fine, frisky, and fearless ensemble (Andy Alabran, Andrew Bancroft, Tonya Glanz, Emily Helfgot, Nick Olivero, Shaye Troha, and Jon Wolanske). And while the forests echo with laughter, musical accompanist Tim Barsky (of The Bright River) captures the ideal ambience in the looped rhythms and layered melodies of his beatbox flute. These pop-up fables – whose obscure morals tend to come courtesy of a dour teapot – get a further boost from Jamie Munger’s playful costumes, Jarrod Fischer’s bold lighting, and scenic artist Sean Christensen’s cheery array of illustrations, in the manner of a vaguely deranged children’s book, projected at the back of the stage.