There's something special about a variety show -- the array of acts, the giddy performances, the mixture of the amateurish and the truly skilled. Unfortunately, most of us rarely get to experience a live variety show after high school, let alone participate in one -- until now.
On the last Friday of every month,
Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale puts on the
Matt Naas Variety Show to packed houses. Named after its host and organizer, an improviser and comedian who got his start at Second City Detroit in the early 2000s, the show is electric thanks to the pace and energy of the acts, few of which last more than five minutes. Naas wears a velvet jacket and bowtie that make him look like a Vegas lounge singer. A live band introduces the show, plays between segments, and closes out the night.
The audience of a Matt Naas Variety Show can expect to see anything from sincere musical performances, such as Hunter Dunn playing songs on his acoustic guitar, to the downright absurd. In one "act," Josh Campos runs around the audience asking people, "Are you hangin' or wangin'?" He then shouts their answers to exclamations of joy and circus-like music from the band.
Naas has his own peculiar description of the show.
"I want it to feel like a hybrid between 'I Love Lucy' when they're at the Tropicana and 'Goodfellas,'" he says. "There's tablecloths and candles and cocktail waitresses and a guy in a crazy jacket and someone doing vaudeville acts. It's the place I always thought my parents were going to whenever they got a babysitter for me."
Every act at least plays on the form of a talent show, even if the performers have no talent. In one recurring bit, Chris Moody finds new ways
not to perform his simple act of dancing to a video he made 15 years ago. One time it was due to a video malfunction, another because a police officer needed him to move his illegally parked car... and then accidentally running him over. Most recently it was because he thought the last Friday of the month was April 31st, which of course doesn't exist.
But no matter how goofy the action gets, like when Moni Jones and Jason Valentini dress in tights and do a mock ribbon dance to a Coldplay song, Naas demands the show feel polished. The live band is integral to achieving this effect. "I want the feeling of a late night show, and they have a band play everyone in," says Naas. "It ups the seriousness. I won't do this show without the band. We're very reliant and grateful to them."
Naas himself has a strong affinity for music. In the past he's done Reggie Watts-like one man performances with vocal loops, bass, and singing. In the variety show, he'll sing at least once with the band.
If there is one thing missing from the show, according to Naas, it's more pure demonstrations of talent. "I'd really like to get acts that aren't related to the theater and blow us all away," Naas says.
He cited vaudeville-type acts like people who do feats of strength, acrobatics, or plate spinning. But he'd also like to see more unironic, straightforward talents. "If it's different and put together, then I'm interested," he says. "The possibility that this special thing is out there is really exciting."
As for Naas, does he have any unique, non-musical talents, like the ability to spin plates?
"I fixed my kitchen sink with the help of YouTube," he offers. So no, not really.
If you want to perform at the Matt Naas Variety Show, the next round of auditions takes place on May 10. Reserve your spot on the show's facebook page or by emailing mattnaasvarietyshow@gmail.com.
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