by JESSICA SAnTInA
the paltenghi collections
Stacy Johnson and Joe Garton perform one of that 99 original sketches that comprise The Untamed.
Stories of our lives
JANUARY 21 - JULY 16 Take an intimate look at Maynard Dixon’s life in the American West through more than sixty works drawn from the collections of brothers Bruce Paltenghi and Dr. Richard Paltenghi. Included are many never-before-seen drawings of mountain and desert landscapes, portraits, and figure studies.
MAJOR SPONSORS
The Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation Brian and Nancy Kennedy The Satre Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Nevada Whittier Trust, Investment & Wealth Management
Maynard Dixon, Tortolita Range, 1944, oil on canvas board, 20 x 24 inches. Dr. Richard Paltenghi Collection
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PHOTO/ERIC MARKS
For each show, 33 sketches are randomly selected and their titles put in a hat. Audience members are asked to draw from the hat, so the final arrangement of sketches is a mystery to all involved, creating the feeling that you’re watching improv comedy. Plus, the material is often A long time ago, CBS had a prime time self-referential, and the actors occasionally special called Everybody Has a Story. Host whisper asides to each other and audience Steve Hartman would throw a dart at a map members. on a wall, and whatever town the dart hit, Directors Greg Klino and Stacy Johnson he and his crew would drive there, find a also perform in the sketches, and kudos random name in a local phone book, and must be paid to Johnson’s brave and call that person to ask if he and his crew somewhat brazen hot dog consumption. could come record that Local improv comedy person’s story. It was masters Joseph Garton a marvelous program and Ian Sorensen of because everyone he Utility Players fame interviewed ended up are cast members as having a remarkable well, and Sorensen’s story—from the illegal sketches “America’s The Untamed runs Feb. 16-18, 8 p.m. at Brüka immigrant to the guy Next Top Game Show Theatre, 99 n. Virginia St. Tickets are $18who kept a mummy in $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Call Host” and “Criminal his garage. 775-323-3221 or visit www.bruka.org. Crimes” were among Everyone has a story my favorites of the show to tell, no matter how I saw. Also worthy of mention are Ryan small, and some of them can be unexpectKelly, a longtime local actor/singer who edly resonant, profound and downright can belt any line and create instant drama, hilarious. Ten years ago, local actor, direcand Riley McKinney, a relative newcomer tor and playwright Bud Perry decided that whose soft voice and innocently wide eyes everyone should have a chance to tell theirs. make her comedy all the funnier and more His idea became The Untamed, the sketch unexpected. comedy show 10 years in the making that To be honest, the show felt long—33 has finally made its way to the Brüka stage. sketches is a lot. And they’re not all The nine-member cast helped to write winners, which is to be expected in a show the 99 total sketches that comprise The such as this. Some felt like when you watch Untamed—as did Perry and a few other a Saturday Night Live skit that’s gotten local theater talents. Some of the sketches away from the actors and isn’t working. last only a minute or less while others may Others simply spent too long getting philolast up to 10 minutes or more. They run sophical and bummed me out. the gamut from full-fledged plot to tiny Then, though, there were gems, these vignette, and their content ranges from little two-minute wonders. And just the comically absurd to the surprisingly consider the sheer talent of those nine frank and serious. Subjects may include people being able to dive, instantly, into any Donald Trump (duh), dating, sex, religion, one of 99 sketches that could be randomly drug use, food porn, crazy work situations, drawn from a hat and still getting most of aging parents and even the drinking laws the lines right and landing the jokes. That in in Utah. and of itself is worth watching. Ω
The Untamed
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