GEEK N OUT REVIEW
“The Tragedy of Johnny and Lisa: A Shakespearean Parody of The Room”
Reviewer: Randi Lea Bishop
What do you get when you cross a cult classic with the language of Shakespeare? You get The Tragedy of Johnny and Lisa, a new verse play and a parody of the film The Room. This original work by Kevin Johnson is currently making the rounds at various festivals and events in the form of a staged reading, and was mounted most recently by Geekspeare Theatre Company as a Saturday night closer at Otherworld Theatre’s sweeping Genre-Thon 2019.
New works written in verse are not a common occurrence, and The Tragedy of Johnny and Lisa packs consistent laughs and moments of real beauty. Scenes flow neatly with the rhythm, drive, and banter familiar to fans of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. But where this script truly shines is in its monologues and soliloquies. The show is packed with impassioned speeches, ranging in content from a florist wondering aloud to his pug about how he will save his business, to Mike adventuring in search of his abandoned pants, to a distraught Mark contending with Lisa’s advances and his own desires. Most excellent is Johnny’s epic monologue detailing exactly how Lisa is tearing him apart, which is almost certainly destined to become a classic.
But what brings this script to life, of course, is the performances of the actors. Even though the performances are staged readings, with the actors’ focus often directed at the scripts they hold in their hands, they still manage an incredible level of investment in the characters they portray. The relationships between characters are not hindered by the act of reading the lines off of a page, which is a rarity and a mark of skilled performers.
A staged reading of this inventive new script is an enjoyable and truly unique event. You can catch the next performance of The Tragedy of Johnny and Lisa on Saturday, September 14th as part of the Elgin Fringe Festival. Geekspeare will also be debuting their newest work , “Horror of the Twiggen Man of Summersisle: A Shakepearean Parody of The Wicker Man” on September 12th as part of the Elgin Fringe Festival.
For more information go to www.southgatemediagroup.com/geekspeare
To order tickets to Elgin Fringe Festival go to www.elginfringefestival.com
Cast:
Lisa: Gilly Guire
Johnny: Matt Holmes
Mark: Austin Halter
Denny: Lana Whittington
Claudette: Alex Boroff
Mike: Kaelea Rovinsky
Michelle: Angela Rak
Peter: Kevin Johnson
Chris-R: Eric Gronkiewicz
Florist: Kevin Johnson
Steven: Eric Gronkiewicz