Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Branchburg, NJ’ Category

Trout Fishing in America (RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, October 21, 2012)

Posted in Branchburg, NJ, C., Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey!, T., Theater, Trout Fishing in America on October 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2012] Trout Fishing in America

Trout Fishing in America is (primarily) a children’s band.  They are a duo comprised of Ezra Idlet (who plays the guitar and is six-foot nine inches tall) and Keith Grimwood (who plays bass and is five foot five inches tall).  When I first encountered them, Ezra had very long hair–although he no longer does.  They are quite a sight onstage (and they play up this height difference a lot).

Trout Fishing is, I assume, a rather successful band.  They have been around since 1979!  Their first big family friendly record came out in 1991.  Amazingly, given their longevity, they are not opposed to playing small venues.  Two years ago, they played my son’s elementary school.  Which was a hoot.

They came back through the area again and this time they played RVCC.  I’ve said before that RVCC gets some pretty major acts, but I’m not sure exactly what went on with this show.  They played at 1PM and 3:30PM and rather than perform to the audience in the normal theater seats, they let the (much smaller) audience sit on stage with them.

They erected a small stage–big enough for  the two of them and their minimal gear.  The audience chairs were arranged around them in three section and my family got front row seats, approximately ten feet from the mini stage.  It was wonderful.   Since it was the day after T.’s birthday  when Keith asked if it was anyone’s birthday  T. was right up front to get singled out (they said it was okay that her birthday was yesterday).

They played about a dozen songs.  And in between songs, their banter was wonderful.  They told jokes (Keith juggles), they did left brain/right brain challenges (draw a square with one hand and a triangle with other) and they explained to the kids about the instruments they use (they also do musical instruction at schools).   (more…)

Read Full Post »

Spencers: Theatre of Illusion (RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, October 13, 2012)

Posted in Branchburg, NJ, C., Doug Hennig, Illusion, Magicians, RVCC Arts, Spencers: Theatre of Illusion, T. on October 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 13, 2012] Spencers: Theatre of Illusion

This past summer, we purchased some subscriptions to many performances coming up at Raritan Valley Community College   Last year I was impressed by the quality of the performances our little community college attracted, and again, this year, the stars are coming out!

We started off our series with this show, a family entertainment (although honestly going until 9 was a little long for T.  It did say that it was recommended for slightly older kids, although this wasn’t so much content as the pacing and lateness of the show).

The Spencers have a fascinating back story (told in the programme and during the show).  Kevin Spencer always wanted to be a magician.  Doug Hennig was a huge inspiration.  At some point in his career he was in a car accident and it changed the nature of his show (although we never learn what the act used to be like). (more…)

Read Full Post »

David Sedaris (RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, April 11, 2012)

Posted in Animals, Audiobooks, Branchburg, NJ, Corporate skewering, Culture Shock, David Sedaris, Essays, Gordon Grice, Monkeys, New Yorker, NPR/PRI/PBS, Prospect, RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey!, Yuck! on April 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 11, 2012] David Sedaris

I have enjoyed David Sedaris for a number of years now.  When our friend Melissa went to see him a few years ago, she said he was hilarious.  I’ve heard several readings done by him and had to agree with her–he’s very funny live.

I find that he’s much funnier when I hear him read his stuff than when I read it myself.  Indeed, when I read his stories I try to imagine it in his voice, just so it will be funnier.  Turns out he does a much better David Sedaris than I do.  Each of the stories was very funny (tear-inducingly funny) and very typically Sedaris.

This show was him on stage reading from a number of his pieces and from his diary.  I didn’t know the first piece, called “Understanding Owls,” which was about Owls and taxidermy.  It was also about trying to find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for his boyfriend of 20 years (wow!), Hugh.  He wanted to buy a stuffed owl because of a long running joke about all of the owl tchotchkes in their house.  The setup alone was hilarious and the sequence in the taxidermist was very funny and rather uncomfortable. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Gizmo Guys (RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, April 1, 2012)

Posted in Big Apple Circus, Branchburg, NJ, Comedians, Funny (ha ha), Peking Acrobats, RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey!, The Gizmo Guys on April 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 1, 2012] The Gizmo Guys

Our friends were going to see the Gizmo Guys, so we bought (surprisingly cheap) tickets and went to the same show as them.  I was under the impression that the Gizmo Guys were kind of science-tellers–doing “magic” with sciencey things.  Well, that was utterly wrong.

The Gizmo Guys are jugglers.  That’s it.  Well, they are comedians AND jugglers and they are very funny and very talented.    But there’s no science and, I have to say, very few gizmos.

The show opened with some jokes.  But these were jokes from the kids in the audience.  And our brave friend’s 7 year-old went on stage and told a joke! (while Clark cowered so he wouldn’t be chosen).  The joke section was cute and served as a nice warmup. (more…)

Read Full Post »

The Peking Acrobats (RVCC Arts, Branchburg NJ, February 24, 2012)

Posted in Acrobats, Branchburg, NJ, Peking Acrobats, RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey! on March 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 24, 2012] The Peking Acrobats

Raritan Valley Community College continues to impress me with their wonderful selection of performances.  And this was another amazing one.  It had me literally slack jawed.

The Peking Acrobats (let’s start simple) are acrobats from Peking, China.

As the show opened, there were ropes hanging from the ceiling (not secured to the ground).  And then several men came out and climbed the ropes.  Which would be no big deal, except that they climbed them like monkeys do–or more literally as if they were walking up the rope while holding on to the rope like a grappling hook line.  From there they proceeded to leap back and forth between the ropes, winding themselves up and then rapidly spinning down until they almost hit the floor.  Nothing I write will convey how amazing it was to watch.

And the best part about it was that that was, when all was said and done, perhaps the least interesting part of the show. (more…)

Read Full Post »

Aga-Boom (RVCC Arts, Branchburg NJ, February 11, 2012)

Posted in Aga-Boom, Branchburg, NJ, Funny (ha ha), RVCC Arts, Theater on February 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

[ATTENDED: February 11, 2012] Aga-Boom

This past weekend, my family attended Aga-Boom, a “theatre of physical comedy and circus arts.”  It was incredible, and it was hard to believe that this was performed at the Raritan Valley Community College theater, which is nice and all, but seems small potatoes for a troupe that was part of Cirque de Soleil and which has been in Vegas and on Broadway.

Aga-Boom‘s show is perfect for all ages–my kids loved it, but I may have laughed more than they did.  There are three clowns, an older woman, a goofy “large” clown and a kind of morose alien-looking clown.  None of these are you typical “clown make-up” type of clowns.  In fact, I found the lady clown’s make up to be amazing–astonishingly emotive and expressive.  And the morose clown was all white face with a completely fake nose and a simple red frown line for a mouth and yet wow, they could convey everything.

There are several set pieces.  The first is a joke about paper getting stuck to the lady clown.  It’s a good introduction to the paper conceit that runs through the show (the stage “curtain” is a large sheet of paper!  It morphs into this amusing/intimidating section where the morose clown (dressed like an astronaut with (a wonderful detail) a water cooler bottle on his head as a space helmet–is mad because the woman clown accidentally launched his ship into space.

Then comes the goofy clown who does some amazing juggling with a suitcase.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts