Review: Dance Into the Night with MONSTER BOOGIE

By: Mar. 02, 2016
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Image provided by Broom Street Theater

There is one last dance for the Boogie at Broom Street Theater and it's monstrously funny.

Rob Matsushita is bringing the groove back to Madison for one final go round before heading out to colder pastures in Minnesota.

Monster Boogie, curated and directed by Matsushita, is a culmination of audio recordings, righteous dance moves, and the sharp wit of Jessica Jane Witham as the narrator.

Throughout the show, the ensemble lip syncs to favorites such as "A Story of Dracula, the Wolfman, and Frankenstein" or the cereal box classic "The Monsters Go Disco" starring Count Chocula, Boo Berry, and Frankenberry.

It's certainly not something I've personally ever seen before.

Aside from Witham's riffing, there isn't original dialogue in the show, but that's part of the fun.

To be fair, although there isn't much content that's totally original to Monster Boogie, there is the original "Dave" character who pops in and out of the show. In this instance, Dave is played by Bob Moore who incited laughter in each cameo.

Also featured in this standout ensemble are Michael Fleischman, Morganna Grim, Grace Grindrod-Feeny, Alan J. Hart, Terry McLaren, Benjamin Otto, Emma Ruby Roberts, Kathy Lynn Sliter, and Doug Reed who fills in for Moore during certain performances.

Adding some spookiness to the show is Taylor Kokinos' excellent lighting design. Filled with strobe effects, eerie red glows, and use of shadow, the lighting adds a whole other step into this dance with the devil - so to speak.

One also must pay tribute to Laurie Everitt's costume design - because the cereal monsters were as adorable as they were goofy. I couldn't get enough of Frankenberry's rad pink glasses.

As Witham points out, it's not necessarily the end of the night for this Boogie collection, but it is a well deserved sendoff for Matsushita who can depart the fair city of Madison with a dance in his heart and a spooky chill down his spine.

 

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