1-2-3 Sing!: Instant Broadway with BATS

SF Weekly
August 8, 2003
by Joyce Slaton

There are few things easier to satirize than musicals. By their very nature they contain many aspects that can cross the line from sensational to silly: overwrought lyrics, feverish phrasing, the artificial "I feel a song coming on" pause in dramatic action that forces those onstage to stand and smile uncomfortably as another actor emotes tunefully. It's these built-in absurdities that make an event like Bay Area Theatresports' Spontaneous Broadway such frivolous fun, with its turn-on-a-dime improvised musical concepts and tunes.

As is customary in improv, the show's content is governed by audience members. As they arrive, they're handed pencil and paper and asked to write down titles of fictional songs. When BATS performers start the act, they pretend to be Broadway stars ready to sing a few melodies from their respective hit shows. They rummage through the audience's suggestions, pick out several, string them together with an improvised concept and title ("Hi, I'm Heidi, and this is "You Slay Me' from Mafia!"), and start to sing. The effect? Perhaps BATS Artistic Director Regina Saisi puts it best when she says tactfully, "Some are hits and some are -- well, not so good." During the second half of the show viewers vote on the songs they liked best; the performers then present a lengthy musical based around the favored songs and containing an oft-hysterical medley of audience-titled tunes. The event starts at 8 p.m. at the Bayfront Theater in Fort Mason's Building B, Marina & Buchanan, S.F. Admission is $12; call 474-8935 or visit www.improv.org.