Almost 2 decades in, Squawks humor still flies
'Charlotte Squawks 19: Go Pluck Yourself!' runs through June 29 at Booth Playhouse
This review by longtime Charlotte arts critic Lawrence Toppman was published by The Charlotte Ledger on June 13, 2024. You can find out more about The Charlotte Ledger’s commitment to smart local news and information and sign up for our newsletter for free here. And check out this link for Toppman’s archive of reviews in the Ledger.
Review: After 19 years, ‘Squawks’ is still caws for laughter, contemplation
Politicians like congressman and N.C. attorney general candidate Jeff Jackson (whose face is featured here) are ripe for material in the perennial “Charlotte Squawks.” (John Merrick Media/Blumenthal Arts)
by Lawrence Toppman
A chicken generally lives five to seven years, a duck a little longer, a goose up to 15. But “Charlotte Squawks” has been around for 19 seasons. So the feathered creature on the poster, literally giving the viewer the bird as it simmers in a kettle atop a fire, must be another kind of beast — perhaps an indignant phoenix, rising each year from the ashes of the last 12 months.
This installment bears the tagline “Go pluck yourself,” which augurs a higher level of rage than usual. It leaves us with the feeling that Charlotte, the state of North Carolina and America itself have been well and truly plucked by politicians, sports teams, imbecile celebrities and anyone else who has successfully taken advantage of collectible gullibility and ignorance.
I hadn’t seen “Squawks” for a while before going during the second week of the long run, after the cast had been given five performances to polish their collective act. I was prepared neither for the sold-out midweek house at Booth Theater nor the vast amount of “Squawks” merchandise on sale in the lobby, from drink koozies to hoodies.
I was prepared for the professionalism of the ensemble, the hard-rocking tightness of the musical sextet, the videos that flash by so quickly that you sometimes have to absorb jokes subliminally. “Squawks” has become an institution, where actors often perform for many years alongside perennial host Mike Collins. Fans expect and get an annual parody of Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day,” gags about the ineptitude of the Hornets and the irascibility of David Tepper, comments about snarled Independence Boulevard traffic and mass transit.
Yet producer/author/lyricist/PowerPoint designer Brian Kahn and executive producer/director Collins find ways to freshen topics that could otherwise grow stale. You knew stage space had to be devoted to a would-be tyrant recently convicted of 34 felonies. Would you have predicted that “You’ll Be Back,” King George’s snide song in “Hamilton,” would morph into “I’ll Be Back” as a promise of the Reich to Come? (Jeff Stetson nailed this number, unbilled in the program.)
A few spots, inevitably, slowed the pace. “I’m Just Mike,” a takeoff on “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, managed to be self-congratulatory and self-pitying at the same time, a dull letdown after Lucia Victoria’s powerhouse performance of “Don’t Stray from Roe V. Wade.” That number, the toughest and most overtly political in the show, summoned memories of Barbra Streisand belting “Don’t Rain on My Parade” in “Funny Girl.”
“I Will Follow Him” toothlessly teased attorney general candidate Jeff Jackson — or was it an out-and-out tribute? — and a number about Aldersgate’s financial woes left an odd taste: The old-timers cavorting onstage, who suffer blamelessly in real life from the retirement center’s collapse, didn’t seem funny.
Yet the rest of the show sizzled. Jessica Rebecca channeled Tina Turner with “Strollin’ on the Twitter,” a “Proud Mary” knockoff about our obsession with social media, while the ensemble did its best Ikettes impression in funky choreography by Linda Booth. Johanna Jowett capped Act 1 with a bravura “Porn That Way,” an adaptation of Lady Gaga’s “Born That Way,” laughably lamenting Pornhub’s decision to deny access to North Carolinians.
Brutal visual montages savaged the self-destroying planes of Boeing — its motto became “When one door closes, another one opens” — and the self-destroying authorship of South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, whose chance at the vice-presidency vanished when she proudly wrote about shooting her daughter’s pet. That segment ended with Forrest Gump wearing a pained look above the caption “Kristi Noem is like a box of chocolates: They will both kill your dog.”
In the most innovative moment, videos revealed gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson in his most bigoted, moronic and sexist moments. Two guys and a guitarist came on to sing “Mr. Robinson” as a parody of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” but lost heart midway through, shook their heads and walked off — a dramatic way to say that some behaviors are too vile and dangerous even to be mocked, when they threaten to upend our lives.
If You’re Going: “Charlotte Squawks 19: Go Pluck Yourself!” runs through June 29 at Booth Playhouse, 130 N. Tryon St. Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 Sunday. No shows June 25-27.
Lawrence Toppman covered the arts for 40 years at The Charlotte Observer before retiring in 2020. Now, he’s back in the critic’s chair for the Charlotte Ledger — look for his reviews about two times each month in the Charlotte Ledger.
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