And then the Rodeo Burned Down Off-Broadway Reviews

The conceit starts tripping on its own feet when it devolves into rope-a-dope role-playing where you’re unsure who’s who and who wants what. And yet, and yet. … There is a genuine artistic sensibility in this show, which Xhloe and Natasha direc...

The conceit starts tripping on its own feet when it devolves into rope-a-dope role-playing where you’re unsure who’s who and who wants what. And yet, and yet. … There is a genuine artistic sensibility in this show, which Xhloe and Natasha directed with Tom Costello. Every time I became a little frustrated with its tilting into whimsy, that feeling was superseded by a surreal bit of slapstick or the perfect music cue at the perfect time from the well-curated playlist, which includes the likes of “Ring of Fire” and “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise.”

One might argue that this comic routine is an oblique effort to be part of the show’s effort to comment on masculinity. But there are more direct ways, some of them non-verbal. A couple of times, Xhloe as Dale wipes his nose with his knuckle. This ...

One might argue that this comic routine is an oblique effort to be part of the show’s effort to comment on masculinity. But there are more direct ways, some of them non-verbal. A couple of times, Xhloe as Dale wipes his nose with his knuckle. This simple, precisely observed gesture winds up illuminating the entire macho culture of the American West.

The show’s central joke—”we can’t afford to keep the lights on,” “we can’t afford a cliché,” “we can’t afford a B-plot”—turns theatrical poverty into a philosophical argument about who decides what art is worth. It’s a mind...

The show’s central joke—”we can’t afford to keep the lights on,” “we can’t afford a cliché,” “we can’t afford a B-plot”—turns theatrical poverty into a philosophical argument about who decides what art is worth. It’s a mindf*ck in the best possible way.

The charm of the show's latter half lies in an overlapping monologue about paying your dues to be able to afford — with both your reputation and your literal wallet — the art you want to make. This screed will hit home for many in the audience, t...

The charm of the show's latter half lies in an overlapping monologue about paying your dues to be able to afford — with both your reputation and your literal wallet — the art you want to make. This screed will hit home for many in the audience, though it may feel different for the onstage duo than it did in 2022, when they were struggling to debut Rodeo at the postponed Fringe; since then, they’ve performed it at Netflix’s comedy festival in Los Angeles. In an era when clown is elbowing its way into the mainstream, Xhloe and Natasha are cartwheeling right to the front.