‘Acme McBeal’ Looks for Cheap Laughs
The TV series “Ally McBeal” spends time in the bathroom, and so does the Acme Players main stage company’s new sketch comedy show, “Acme McBeal,” at the Acme Comedy Theatre. This current bill aims low, scoring points in bathroom humor (perhaps not so coincidentally the name of one skit) and cheap chuckles.
The aforementioned skit by Travis Oates is about a man (Oates) who is too paranoid to relieve himself in front of other men. Other suitable toilet humor includes a rock star (Joel Berti) talking about a “hash enema.” Berti’s character first appears in Jonna Tamases’ “Penny’s Song,” in which a guest relations manager daydreams about a lurid marriage with a drugged-out rock star hotel guest.
There’s body-part humor, including blood-oozing guts, a senior citizen phallic joke and a musical about stigmata. But only Jeff Lewis’ “Review of a Lifetime,” which pits Gene Siskel (Lewis) against God (Paul Jackson) in a familiar television format, is truly clever.
M.D. Sweeney mixes and paces this bill well, but perhaps he hasn’t pushed this group far enough, leaving a tad too much self-indulgence.
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* “Acme McBeal,” Acme Comedy Theatre, 135 N. La Brea Ave. Saturdays, 8 p.m. Indefinitely. $15. (323) 525-0202. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.
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