Abbie Fest XXII: Alive & Kicking

Photo from The Plagiarists Facebook page shows Ryan Palmer on left; Gregory Peters on right.

As I arrived at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre a little after 3PM this past Saturday, Artistic Director Rich Cotovsky was getting psyched for his role as Rex in Matt Borczon’s short piece Wild Dogs. Cotovsky has performed in this two-man tragicomedy at every Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins festival since 1989, pretty much with a different co-star each time. Wild Dogs, a tale of a deranged loner who takes in a timid businessman who’s been tossed out by his wife, exudes an in-your-face attitude that’s well-suited to the Abbie Fest and the Mary-Arrchie itself. The theatre group has always aimed for a streetwise grittiness.

Cotovsky held up a package of Twinkies, much to the delight of the audience, and as Wild Dogs unfolded, he rewarded their enthusiasm by tearing it apart with his teeth. With whipped cream smeared across his nose and beard, he howled and scampered on all fours, before taking a massive swig of Mad Dog 20/20. The Abbie Fest was set up as theater in the round this year, and sitting so close to the action, I was able to appreciate the various comic nuances Cotovsky continues to bring to a role he has performed numerous times.

Abbie Fest likewise continues to entertain and surprise as it charges into its third decade. Longtime fans are familiar with the nonstop schedule that kicks off at 7PM on Friday and runs through late Sunday night; the eclectic mix of seasoned professionals and mistake-prone rookies tackling everything from Harold Pinter to an early hours talk show about oil; and above all, the sense of support within Chicago’s theatrical community. The artsy, dramatic ambience of the Abbie Fest’s earliest days has given way to a raucous party spirit, and there are a lot more comedy groups on the schedule now.

So there was something reassuringly old school about watching members of the Dandelion Arts Center performing A General Revue of Dorothy Parker’s Situation by Brooke Johnson and Dina Marie Klahn. It wasn’t clear if this was a straight up presentation of the witty Parker’s own words, or a work that was inspired by her. Either way, a likable cast breezed through clever scenes with well-crafted dialogue. No belly laughs, but definitely satisfying. Later that day, Lance Eliot Adams, who has been affiliated with Mary-Arrchie for several years, read from his own novel, A Voice I Heard.

Black Forest Theatre founding members James Moeller and Carla Hayden have been gracing the Abbie Fest with their off-kilter charm for several years now. Their latest piece, The Dogstar Rages, was penned by Moeller, and displayed his usual fascination with clever word play and quirky characters.

Existential Crisis, a duo comprised of Matt Peterson and Mike Cherry, poked fun at various conventions of theater and sketch comedy, like banging into each other during a blackout, or jumbling various elements of Shakespeare. They finished with a funny but poignant bit about a guy who’s devastated to learn that his hero from back in their high school days wasn’t the sexual stud his overblown reputation made him out to be.

Journalistic integrity should prevent me from reviewing a performance by Famous In The Future, the group I spent 20 years writing and performing with, but what the hell, this is a blog. FIF used clever dialogue and imaginative costumes in a funny opening bit that mashed Alice In Wonderland with the current Tea Party movement. Long time member Desiree Burcum’s original song exploring how America embraces mediocrity scored some major hits on current celebrities. A sketch about two mountain climbers debating whether they should save the life of a circus clown who had fallen into a ravine was laugh out loud funny, especially for those of us familiar with founding member Frank Carr’s pathological fear of clowns.

A.S.S. IV by The Plagiarists once again featured the hysterically funny Gregory Peters portraying a pompous professor introducing the works of an obscure (purely fictional) playwright. The revue bounced between rapid fire eloquence to can-you believe-we’re-actually-doing-this-onstage gross-outs, with the highly polished cast somehow holding the insanity together. At this point it was after 10 o’clock, and the huge crowd that had gathered in the Mary-Arrchie’s storefront venue on Sheridan Road made it impossible for audience members sitting toward the back to see much of what was taking place. But there was a positive vibe in the air, and for those of us who have been coming every year since Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins I, it was great to see this freewheeling celebration still going strong.

Slumgullion #27

The Hollies in celebratory mood.

A Year Already? Today marks the first anniversary of my doing this blog. I’d like to thank my wife Pam for setting it up, and offering all sorts of tech advice. Also, thanks to John and Steve at the Illinois Entertainer for being cool with me posting reviews that originally ran in their magazine.

Although Broken Hearted Toy takes its name from the Hollies song “I Can’t Let Go,” and is dedicated to promoting power pop, 1960s music, and cutting edge rock, I’ve also strayed into comedy, theater, and pop culture memorabilia. It’s been a challenge finding things to write about, but it’s also been fun.

A special thanks goes out to my followers, as well as the people who have taken the time to comment, or post a link to BHT on their Facebook pages. Thanks in particular to Herb Eimerman, Dag Juhlin, Julie Blore-Bizot, Frank Carr, The Braam brothers, Mike Galassini & Marianne Shimkus, Brad Elvis & Chloe F. Orwell, Rick Hromadka, Steve Gerlach, Todd Wright, Christopher Bevard, Mike Burns, Miranda Lange, Matt Carlson, Dan Pavelich, Clay Eals, Kevin Cornell, Charlie from Blane Fonda, George Hall, Jeff Charreaux, Karen Brown, Terri Hemmert, Lin Brehmer, Kristin Kay, and Allen Marten. I sincerely apologize if I’ve missed anyone.

I’ve been happy to review CDs I’ve received from The Valley Downs, The Bradburys, The Greenwoods, The Britannicas, Maple Mars, WhiteWolfSonicPrincess, Aaron Fox & The Reliables, Matt Dodge & The Lobsters, Kevin Lee, Magatha Trysty, and Welcome To Ashley. (I’m hoping to post my review of Braam’s Living Room here Monday.)

And so, grab your champagne, and join me for another batch of Slumgullion:

Inducted, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Congratulations to WXRT daytime radio personality and Breakfast With The Beatles host Terri Hemmert on being inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. I’ve been listening to Hemmert for over three decades, and once had the pleasure of interviewing her at the station’s old digs on Belmont Avenue. In addition to her regular on air duties at XRT, Hemmert will once again serve as MC at this year’s Fest For Beatles Fans at the Hyatt Regency next weekend, August 13th -15th.

Doing Del Well. Members of the international power pop trio The Britannicas are posting an audio link on Facebook to their latest song, “I Got You.” It’s a cover of a Del Shannon tune, and will appear on an upcoming Del Shannon tribute CD. Britannicas guitarist-vocalist Herb Eimerman says his band was honored to be asked to participate. The Britannicas’ version of “I Got You” has more of a jangling British Invasion (or maybe The Byrds) sound than the original, although I could also go with Eimerman’s comparison to The Traveling Wilburys.

I’m Gonna Wait ‘Til The Midnight Hour. WXRT will be broadcasting the Lollapalooza AfterShow concert by Phoenix this Sunday, at midnight. The band will be performing its entire Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix CD. Phoenix fans who don’t live in the Chicago area, can stream the concert at 93XRT.com

Going Down To London. It’s not Liverpool, but The Bangles will be performing in London this October. The band will also be making a stop in Dublin, Ireland, along with a series of dates in Australia. Come back to Chicago, please.

Now Don’t That Make You Feel Like You Better Not Pout? B-52’s founding member Fred Schneider has formed a side project called The Superions, who’ll be releasing a holiday CD on Fanatic Records on October 26th. Destination . . . Christmas! features synth dance tracks like “Santa’s Disco,” “Teddy and Betty Yetti,” and “Crummy Christmas Tree,” that have a similar ring to the B-52’s. According to the press release, “the album is destined to become a holiday classic for tuneful toddlers, snarky teens, and cool Moms and Dads everywhere.”

These Lobsters Rock Too. Matt Dodge & The Lobsters have filmed their first video. It’s for “My Life,” one of the more commercially viable songs from their Lobsters debut CD. The funny and well-made clip mixes live action and animation, along with some scenes of the lads at work in the recording studio.

That’s A Buck A Band. Tomorrow The Moon, which features guitarist Steve Gerlach from The Bad Examples, will be performing with Milk @ Midnight and Berserker Theory on August 19th at The Darkroom on Chicago Avenue. The show starts at 8:30 PM, and the admission is a mere $3.

Long Live Vanessa Kensington. Rolling Stone recently speculated that Weezer’s upcoming Hurley CD might be named after the character on Lost. Considering the album is said to have a decidedly 1960s pop feel, it would make more sense to honor Elizabeth Hurley, who starred as the very Emma Peel like Ms. Kensington in first (and best) Austin Powers flick. Hurley (the CD) is due on in stores September 14th.

You’ve Got The Way To Move Me, Cherry. Mary-Arrchie Theatre has had such a successful run with its production of Kirk Lynn’s Cherrywood, it’s adding seven more performances. The play is directed by David Cromer and has been doing well with critics, as well as at the box office.

Famous In The Forest. In more Mary-Arrchie related news, Black Forest Theatre has announced they will be performing a new piece titled The Dog Star Rages at this year’s Abbie Fest at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre. James Moeller, who founded BF with his amour Carla Hayden, describes the piece as “scattershot and schizophrenic” on his JimmyDumps/SunnyJimmy blog. He also states that it’s “very much of the moment” and “kind of reflects the world.” Show time is 5:00 PM. Two hours later, my former comedy group, Famous In The Future will be performing an all-new, scripted comedy revue at the Abbie Fest. I’m still not seeing a title for the FIF show, but then the group was always a little slow in coming up with revue names.

On With The Show!

I was a writer/performer with the Famous In The Future comedy group for 20 years before leaving to pursue other interests about a year and a half ago. The others continue to roll along, and we remain friends. I plug their occasional shows, usually when they’re teaming up with Black Forest Theatre. In less than a month, FIF will be playing at Abbie Fest XXII at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre.

Today, I’m plugging my own comedic endeavors. My wife Pam and I have created a series called Manchester Gallery, which can be seen on Jeff Kelley’s Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff Internet show. I play Terrence, the devious and inept curator of a pop culture museum who lies about all the items he’s displaying. Kelley and I have developed a mutual admiration for each other’s comedic styles, so we decided that he would direct a sketch that I had written.

We got together this past Saturday, along with Dave Metzger, who had done so well in a previous Manchester Gallery, and Karen Yashon-Brown, a talented comic actress who had performed with Famous In The Future for over 10 years. We taped a skit called The Cancelers that I had written and performed with FIF a few years ago. We also taped an episode of Manchester Gallery, with Karen playing the museum’s Director of Public Relations; Dave reprising his role of a victimized button collector from the earlier episode; and Jeff doing a cameo.

Everything went extremely well, and it looks like we’ll be taping more sketches in the future. It was a kick performing with Karen again, and she really brought her character to life. Manchester Gallery has had a few running jokes and story lines involving Terrence getting into more and more hot water, and within the next few episodes, they’ll all be resolved. I’m not sure if there will be a season or series finale. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing and performing Manchester Gallery, and being part of the fun and eclectic Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff lineup. So I’m hesitant to abandon it. I’m hoping for inspiration for a new series.

In the meantime, check out Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff. In addition to having Manchester Gallery every other week, it has enjoyable features like On The Road With Willy, The News With Mark, Anklebone Stories, Cinema Cheese, vintage clips, and Jeff’s commentary.

BlackforestPalooozzzaaa!

Photo of James Moeller and Carla Hayden from Hayden's Facebook page.

As Pitchfork Music Festival and Lilith Fair prepare to lock horns in the Chicago area this Saturday, James Moeller and Carla Hayden of Black Forest Theatre are spreading the word about their first ever BlackforestPalooozzzaaa, which takes place on the same day. Kicking off at noon, it’s a free, DIY multi-media event spread across a few locations in Evanston.

“We have a little storefront space in Evanston and we’re trying to create a local scene by inviting in a bunch of cool acts to perform,” Moeller said of BlackforestPalooozzzaaa in a recent e-mail. “It’s a party, a scene, a happening where everyone is welcome!”

The fun includes music, comedy, and meditation, as well as a BYOB and BYOM (Bring Your Own Meat) backyard barbecue at 746 Hinman. I’m assuming it’s BYOVS (Bring Your Own Vegetarian Substitute) as well. Attendees can get a free acupuncture treatment at the nearby Acupuncture Access if they mention “BlackforestPalooozzzaaa.” Call for an appointment at 847-312-1797 or just drop by 915 Elmwood between noon and 3:00 PM.

Surprisingly, Black Forest itself won’t be offering one of its charmingly offbeat theatrical productions at the fest. But the multi-faceted Moeller and Hayden will be on stage performing a half hour set with their alternative band WhiteWolfSonicPrincess at 9:30 PM. Moeller is also a guitarist-singer with the garage rock band The Telepaths, who’ll perform at 5:00PM.

The live entertainment portion of the fest, held at Black Forest’s space at 512 Kedzie, will get underway at 4:15PM, as John Dalton sings the National Anthem. Cynthia Marchant, Cory Hance, Peter Demuth, and Joe Lapsley will be doing solo acoustic sets. Hance will also be doing some stand-up comedy. John & the Deerfield Boys, pysch-folk Hannah Frank Trio; Bad Burrito; and 1960s rock specialist Mr. Mo are also on the eclectic schedule.

Famous In The Future, a comedy group I performed with for 2000 years, will be offering a musical set at 8:40 PM. Dave Drazin, a former FIF member who has since become a highly respected silent film photoplay pianist (see Elevated Observations column), will be reuniting with the group for this set.

“We're performing four songs with Dave on piano, two newer and two older,” founding member Frank Carr explained in an e-mail. The two older tunes, “Mr. Beauvais” and “Stop That Guy,” are Drazin compositions; Carr and cast member Desiree Burcum each wrote one of the other two.

Famous In The Future and Black Forest are veterans of the annual Abbie Hoffman Died For Sins festival, which has been held at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre for over 20 years. Hopefully, BlackforestPalooozzzaaa will capture that same creative and cooperative spirit that the Abbie exudes.

“We hope to fill up the space with positive vibes and coolness,” Moeller said of the living room ambience of the Black Forest HQ. Or as the BlackforestPalooozzzaaa poster states, “Unchain your heart. Open your head. Energy is Eternal Delight!”

Slumgullion #6

Photo taken from Sarah McLachlan's website.

It's late Friday night, and metaphorically speaking, the dirty pots and pans are in the sink, the stove is covered with spills and stains, and the kitchen has a strange, but not altogether unpleasant fragrance. All of which can only mean one thing: another serving of that exotic stew of entertainment happenings, Slumgullion.

There Will Be Songs To Sing The pond in our back yard is only now starting to thaw, and it will be at least a month before migrating birds start dropping by on their way back up north. But there has already been a flood of reports on the music festivals that will be coming to the Chicago area this summer. In addition to highly anticipated announcements about Lollapalooza, Ravinia and Pitchfork, there was the welcome surprise that Lilith Fair is coming back. Created by Sarah McLachlan, Terry McBride, Dan Fraser, and Marty Diamond in 1997, Lilith Fair lasted for three years. The tours were billed as celebrations of women in music, and according to Wikipedia, raised 10 million dollars for various charities. Toward the end of last year, McBride announced that Lilith Fair would be reborn in the summer of 2010. Like its predecessors, the new version finds McLachlan joined by female musicians and female-fronted bands from several genres, including The Go-Go’s and The Bangles; Loretta Lynn, Kelly Clarkson and Martina McBride; Cat Power, Metric, and Gossip; and Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu. The Indigo Girls, Heart, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, and Colbie Caillat have also signed on. Lilith Fair 2010 has stops scheduled in several cities, including Chicago, Washington, D.C., Tampa, Boston, Dallas, and Nashville. It’s not clear yet if all of these artists will perform in each city, but it would be a tremendous festival if they did. Lilith Fair is also conducting a Local Talent Search for new artists who would like to join these impressive headliners in concert.

Famous In The Forest Black Forest Theatre is offering a double bill of “comedy and weirdness” on March 20th at its brand new space at 512 Kedzie in Evanston. Black Forest, led by Carla Hayden and James Moeller, will perform its own avant garde piece, The Wig. Famous In The Future, the sketch comedy group I wrote and performed with for 20 years, will perform a revue titled Loose Animals. I believe that’s the revue FIF (Frank Carr, Desiree Burcum, Michael Hora and Tina Teske) did at last year’s Abbie Hoffman Festival at the Mary-Arrchie Theatre (See August under Archives). As I said last summer, it would be impossible for me to write an unbiased critique of Loose Animals, but I did think my old mates offered some funny takes on current topics. Hayden and Moeller will be performing with their band WhiteWolfSonicPrincess at the Elbo Room on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago on April 2nd. I caught a WWSP gig at Goose Island Brewery a few weeks back, and the new lineup is looking good.

The Story On Story Week Columbia College will be sponsoring Story Week from March 14th through 19 at its Film Row Cinema and other venues around Chicago. Subtitled a Festival Of Writers, it will include readings, panel discussions, performances, and signings. In addition to guests like Joyce Carol Oates and Achy Obejas, Story Week will hold a special Literary Rock & Roll: Rock The Genre night with writers Aleksander Hemon, Bonnie Jo Campbell, and Marcus Sakey. There will be a performance by Bread & Puppet Theater, and music provided by DJ/Metro owner Joe Shanahan and DJ Don De Grazia. Call 312-369-7611 for more information.

Abbie Fest Aftermath

Photo by Gavin Robinson, taken from Mary-Arrchie Facebook Photo Album

Mary-Arrchie Theatre presented Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins XXI over the past weekend, and this annual festival showed no signs of losing steam. Having only seen a fraction of the performances this year, it’s hard to make a fully informed assessment, but the opening ceremonies on Friday literally set the stage for what was to follow. Audience members clapped, stamped their feet, and whooped it up in anticipation of Artistic Directory Richard Cotovsky’s arrival in the persona of Abbie Hoffman. His political ranting, flavored with a touch of stand-up comedy and delivered from a makeshift soapbox, was highly entertaining.

Team Venture Productions had the difficult task of following this mayhem. Just Us Two, their gentle sci-fi comedy about two socially awkward virgins being whisked off to populate another planet, won over the audience with appealing performances from its cast.

The Plagiarists have a well-deserved reputation at the fest for intellectually stimulating comedy, and their new parody American Stage Sessions was both clever and laugh out loud funny. This is a group that bears watching closely, as they engage in several sight gags.

Bruised Orange’s show I Saw You fell somewhere between improv and sketch comedy as the group drew inspiration from the classified section of The Chicago Reader. It wasn’t clear if these were actual or fictional ads, or if the cast members had seen the ads before bringing them to life, but the results were very funny.

The cast of Red Ink Theatre showed their singing and dancing chops as they reeled off a series of provocative songs and sketches about our current president’s effect on the country in their revue Obama Nation. Their material brought laughs at the expense of liberals as well as conservatives.

Mary-Arrchie Theatre performs Gas Mask 101, a politically-charged comedy set at Southern Illinois University during the Viet Nam War, every year, and this goofy and touching play is a welcome Abbie Fest tradition.

On the Fest’s second day, my old comedy group Famous In The Future surprised me by going back to basics with its all new revue Loose Animals rather than performing the more elaborate song and dance routines of recent years. Much of the material was driven by current events, featuring sketches about animal rights and the slow economy. As an FIF cast member for several years, I can’t give an unbiased critique, so I’ll simply say I enjoyed the show.

Black Forest’s performance of their original piece The Drugs, which was inspired by David Bowie’s Low album, found James Moeller dressed in a long black coat and Carla Hayden decked out in a white pants suit. The imaginative and funny show included Moeller’s guitar playing and a blast of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on the sound system.

The Mary-Arrchie's crew of actors and actresses, more accustomed to performing onstage than selling tickets, did a super job of keeping things running smoothly. Pictures and more information on this year’s Abbie Hoffman Died For Our Sins can be found on the Mary-Arrchie Theatre’s website (www.maryarrchie.com). Also check out the blog http://jimmydumpssunnyjimmy.blogspot.com/