Last month at McCarter Theatre, Princeton's Triangle Club celebrated its 113th anniversary with its flashy new fall production "For Love or Funny." In anticipation of its national tour this winter break, Triangle will open its final dress rehearsal to the public.
The show, dubbed a "reality musical," is in a variety show format. Explaining the theme, Triangle director and choreographer Dan Knechtges said, "Partly it's to say reality TV is not as real as it seems. It's scripted, like life often seems to be. But mostly it's a framing device for a bunch of unrelated skits and songs."
Finding Mecca
The show opens with an openly self-referential sketch about a writer who can't think of a concept for his new musical. Triangle's musicals are traditionally written by students, with the guidance of writing and music professionals.
When he hits on the idea of a "reality musical," he realizes he's found Mecca for the lazy playwright — a show that writes itself. Even the star needs no training, and the cast searches the audience for a potential lead.
"You don't need talent and you don't need looks," they announce, "But you do need to be willing to get naked in the second act!"
The lucky "random" selectee — actually a Triangle actor — is a "demographically average" guy named Norton. Norton emerges between most skits a device that weakens overall flow but keeps the energy level up between skits.
Many of the skits are giddy, unrepentant nonsense. "The Soprano" features a chamber ensemble backing up an operatic aria with penny whistles and kazoos. "Lake Monster" sets two young campers against a foppish British lagoon creature. In "In the '90s," cell phone-toting preschoolers listen to a twenty-something recall a time "when a phone was a phone and a man was a man."
Other sketches plumb greater emblematic depths.
"Pubescent Centaur," a sketch about a young centaur's social problems at a school dance, uses bimorphism as a metaphor for adolescence.
A funny and rhythmic profile of someone "Not quite a boy/ Not quite a man/ Not quite a horse," "Pubescent Centaur" might one day be one of the audience-participation skits at Freshman Week revues.
"Brain on Triangle," which caricatures Triangle Club members as junkies, suggests devotion to a high-pressure extracurricular activity gives students an identity attachment and adrenalin rush similar to drug addictiona comically absurd notion.
Of course the famous all-male kick line is there too. The seafaring theme of "Pirates of Men's Pants" allows Triangle's men to play on such terms as "seamen," "plunder your booty" and "shiver your timbers" — and to show off their gams.
"For Love or Funny" lampoons PTA meetings, women's prisons, "Reading Rainbow" and in a possible tribute to the late comedian Andy Kaufman, the nation of Latvia.
Artificial reality
It also makes jabs at reality shows such as "The Real World," "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and an imaginary series called "Kill and Become Chick Norris."
Knechtges attributed positive audience response so far to "our strongest cast in my three years with Triangle."
The choreography is fantastic. During the Nov. 16 performance, certain moves in "Pirates of Men's Pants" and "Brain on Triangle" roused the audience into spontaneous applause.
Triangle's costume department artfully clothes the production's show-business theme, making frequent use of top hats and ostrich-feather fans.
Music is equally flamboyant. Percussion features in virtually every number, in forms from pop guns to sleigh bells.
Triangle's technical department equals the difficult sound, lighting and scenery demands of such a high-paced and extravagant show. But certain aspects of staging proved still unpolished during last weekend's performances. Most notably, the spotlight that picks Norton out of the audience consistently lands on someone other than Norton, forcing the cast to point him out themselves.
National tour
From Dec. 11-20, Triangle will take "For Love or Funny" across the Eastern seaboard, hitting such cities as New York, Washington and Miami. Barring some technical polishing, it should do well on this tour.
"I've heard a lot of people say this is the best Triangle show they've seen since they've come to Princeton," said Matthew Losch '05, who attended the Nov. 16 performance.
"It's funny as hell," he added. "You can quote me on that."
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