AndrewAndrew

AndrewAndrew gives their first impression of Viagara Falls currently playing at Little Shubert Theatre, 422 West 42nd Street, Manhattan. For AndrewAndrew’s in depth review, click here.

Warning: Viagara Falls is Not Your Grandkids’ Theater.

Lou Cutell and Joao Machado’s, new comedy, Viagara Falls, is just what the doctor ordered for the 50+ theater goer who needs a little “pick me up”. However, if you are under 40, it might leave you a “little soft”. The thin plot involves two elderly men who have been best buddies since the Korean War; staying together through thick and thin, sharing the experience of becoming widowers, and watching out for each other. They are a couple of real Bosom Buddies. One of them is celebrating their 77th birthday and proposes a night of Viagra and Prostitutes. Things go awry and belly laugh comedy ensues…. but only if you are collecting a retirement check.

Besides offering jokes that fall limp to the younger crowd (they milk every last conceivable gag about sexual incompetence, senility, and hemorrhoids) the script also shows it’s age by being mildly racists and misogynist. Middle Easterners quickly become Jihadist terrorists, “Indian Givers” are mentioned, and there are uncomfortable references to Confucius (pronounced with a bucktoothed accent). This is not the in-your-face conformational humor that vivisects culture and makes the likes of Don Rickles and Joan Rivers legends; rather it’s the vaudevillian brand of zingers and one-liners that lack awareness of the current climate of political progressiveness. Towards the end of the show, the plot breaks down into a Benny Hill type slapstick comedy routine involving the lone female hooker, played by Teresa Ganzel, whose performance made us quite uncomfortable, not because of it’s racy and saucy content, but because it felt like watching a rerun of Laugh-In or a Carry On Films, neither aged well.

Lou Cutell, one of the writers who also plays the main role, is an acting veteran with a remarkable sense of comic timing. He is a smooth and sly comedian who can effortfully put a smile on your face. Bernie Kopell, the actor who plays his best friend, is best known for his portrayal of Doc on long-running television show “The Love Boat”, is suitable as the anal retentive sidekick, but during the 90 minute performance we kept imagining Christopher Walken in the role. That just might be our sick minds at work.

The set (Sydney Litwack), lighting (Joshua Scherr), and sound design (Peter Fitzgerald) served their roles sufficiently. We admired the subtle way the numerous photos of Frank Sinatra populating the set where framed in colors matching the open shirt worn by the Sinatra-obsessed “Charley”. Throughout the production he is constantly mimicking and identifying with the crooner, thus visibly linked to old blue eyes for the duration of the show. The rest of the costumes, designed by veteran designer Bob Mackie look like an afterthought. The designer, best known for his outrageous and over the top outfits for Cher, failed to give any panache or flash (not even a single sequin!) to the prostitute; instead giving all of his the allocated glitz to the two males in the form of foolish looking clown jackets. This inversion of expectations may have looked good on paper but falls flat in execution.

The show is, at times, truly humorous and the rest of the crowd, mostly grey haired, laughed out loud and genuinely seemed to enjoy themselves. The show does have an audience. However, unless you have a grandparent inquiring what show they should see on their next trip to New York, we can not prescribe Viagara Falls; there are so many more potent theatrical pills to be swallowed.

*Thanks Jeff!

Viagara Falls
Little Shubert Theatre
422 West 42nd Street

Ticket Information: Telecharge: (212) 947-8844