Melbourne Comedy Festival

Otis Lee Crenshaw

Starring:
Rich Hall

Venues: Who Weekly Room, Lower Town Hall

Dates: March 29 - April 22, 2001

 

Listen up, y'all

There's probably no finer performer on the international comedy circuit than American funny man Rich Hall. Fresh from his Perrier Award win at last year's Edinburgh Comedy Festival, Hall returned to Australia for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as his alter ego, Otis Lee Crenshaw.

This show has been around in various incarnations since 1999, but Hall manages to make it seem original and lively all the same. A mix of music, set pieces, stand-up and improvisation, Otis Lee Crenshaw was clearly the most hilarious show I saw at this year's MICF. Good ol' boy Otis is a jailbird from Tennessee. He manages to bring his peculiar talents to the world by the good graces of international prisoner exchange programs. He's also managed to smuggle in a couple of fine Texas musicians to help him out.

He asked for help from the audience too; and on this occasion, nearly got more than he bargained for. After seeking the assistance of an audience member in the front row for his opening number, a man sitting nearby raised a gripe. His problem wasn't with the comedy - he was upset because Hall wasn't playing enough keyboards (!). Apparently, this gentleman had forked over his cash to the COMEDY Festival expecting a keyboard recital. >>>

 

Anyway, just as things were looking like getting ugly, Hall - ever the consummate professional - simply turned the situation around. The result was a song about a trucker having to stop a huge spill of tungsten (don't ask), that was a higlight of the show.

Otis brought out some old favourites, including Women Call it Stalking ("You can do it in a letter/ you can do it face to face/ or you can do it in phone call that can't be traced").But it was his improvisational work that really distinguished this show from the run-of-the-mill.

His banter with the audience, his ability to think on his feet and his razor sharp wit combined to elevate the performance into something special. It's a sign of Hall's ability that, despite what must have been a diffiucult show for him, I left with sides aching from laughing so much.

Keyboards Boy notwithstanding, the audience seemed to agree, calling him back on stage for a very popular encore. If you get the chance to see Rich Hall live, do it. This is the pinnacle of contemporary comedic art.

David Edwards

Send us your feedback on this article or anything else in The Blurb