Samedi

An American sailor with Popeye arms and a comparable groin, Captain Eddy (John Michael Haas) and his passengers, two free white virgins, Delicious (Melody Keel) and Delightful (Allee Peck) hoping to work in show business, voyage to the Paris of the East. Played like a golden boy, Haas parodies the conquering and optimistic American man. His sweet songbird voice does nothing to alleviate the hysteria surrounding him. Also parodies of American privilege, the innocents turned ladies of the evening are indeed delicious and delightful. They are a dynamic duo who successfully work as one in song and dance. Their giggling, whining girl personas don’t feel void; rather, their commitment to such roles is magnetic.

While Eddy pursues a star-crossed romance with Lili Frustrata (Owen Ever), a hysterical yet sensitive vagabond who sings a dreamy number about his wares of apples and wantons, the sailor-striped gals are soon lured into Mother Fu’s (Nicole C.W.) master plan of making the West the East’s slave. These dancing girls who boast that Uncle Sam will save white mothers are too easy a prey for the devious Mother Fu, trilling about white slavery. C.W. strokes her long thin beard and holds out her crossed arms in a permanent power stance; she embodies Queen of Evil. Her laugh is maniacal and her gestures are grand, usually corresponding to portentous thunder rolling. Of course, this Empress of Pleasure must have a sidekick to do her bidding and that is the hilarious Chris Wecklein playing Chop Chop, a big-bellied, slavish, chocolate bar-humping rodent. C.W. and Wecklein are another irresistible duo who feed off each other rather than alienate.

Some of the musical numbers are forgettable and the singing could be improved for  clarity. But this isn't just a musical. The production features several other elements that keep the show exciting. When Ever hobbles in the audience singing about his lonely life on the streets, Tomassetti, adorned in a rice field worker-like hat, doles out snacks that take you to the East a bit more. Fire-eating The Kahnartist is a constant, writhing acrobat contorting her body into all kinds of shapes in glittery four-breasted body suits; she is the sensual center. The duped and the conniving all galavant under enchanting clouds of tissuey cotton and flickering electric pink and blue lights. The lighting is suddenly intensified during a group number in the palace of pleasure: a sickly green haze smears the scene as every fool reaches up for more of the drug that imprisons them. Melodrama? Absolutely. If you take it seriously, you'll miss an opportunity to laugh with Mother Fu.

Dark humor, Disney-esque villains and sidekicks, wit, bawdy play like assless chaps and ceaseless grinding, vaudeville and gender-suspension all collaborate for one of the most diverse comedic romps. Tomassetti directs not just a funny show, but a talented group of comedic actors who know how to play big right and in many different ways.