SKINNYFEST WASP

Steve Martin's one-act parody of American culture and religious life contains some zingy one-liners that are noticeably attributable to the author's acute sense of the ridiculous. Unfortunately the over-acting in this production obscures most of the pointed humour; the audience is left watching enthusiastic actors whose exaggerated choices mean that you are only watching the acting rather than watching a play. They move about and pull faces as though no director ever showed up to tell them when to tone it down a bit in order to let the script pull its own weight. The audience however seems effectively entertained by the silliness itself, and the quick, musical scene-changes keep the energy high. The script is not nearly as seamless as Martin's other literary efforts, but would still be pointedly funny if not totally buried by the actors' overzealousness.