'Excess Hollywood' offers great comedic performances

In many ways, Hollywood is its own parody. For her role in "Monster," Charlize Theron had to put on fifty some-odd pounds — the bête noir of showbiz — in order to win an Oscar. Likewise, Nicole Kidman donned a de Bergerac-esque nose for her part in "The Hours," and was heaped with praise. Oliver Stone's "Alexander," grounded in rigorous historical research, was impaled for being too easily de-contextualized by modern viewers. Yes, the Great fought many men, and fornicated with them too.

But the Triangle Club in its new show, "Excess Hollywood," that premiers this weekend, doesn't seem satisfied with Hollywood's own comedic self-indulgence. Instead, they turn the film industry's self-evident parodies into their own humorous feast with their tried-and-true blend of musical farce, theatrical professionalism and one hell of a kickline.

If the subject matter — a parody of Hollywood — is a little too easy, a bit like picking on the ugly kid, the delivery is anything but. That's because this year the Triangle Club has created a complete "book show," something it hasn't done in more than ten years. Instead of their typical format, which ties individual skits loosely together with a general theme, "Excess Hollywood" presents a full-fledged story in musical form.

The plot is not so simple either. Two producers recently shot a critically acclaimed film about a natural disaster that imbues the afflicted region's denizens with supernatural powers. A month before the Hollywood award season's main event — the Maxine's — a natural disaster actually does happen, but the town's denizens aren't so lucky. They all die.

And that's just the back-story to "Excess Hollywood." The political sensitivity of the first film's subject matter forces the producers to try and create another critically-acclaimed gem in only four weeks. The rest of Triangle's show, and the bulk of it too, tracks the making of this haphazard film.

The Hollywood jests are bountiful. There's the conflict between the artistic-minded screenwriter and the money-obsessed director. The latter, played by the impeccable Megan McGowan '06, delivers one hilarious performance after another. In one scene, McGowan tries to infuse the fight scene — between the new film's villain, the scrawny hero (Scott Wolman '07) and his orc sidekick (Ben Fast '06) — with more panache. The director's assistant offers McGowan advice: Hire her seedy film director friend whose resume includes such "indie" classics as "American Booty," "Laying Private Ryan" and "Men in Back." And so, we see the fight scene reenacted with the addition of a sultry new score. It may not be terribly original, but it's still terribly funny.

While Triangle will always be best at eliciting a cheap laugh, this may be our last chance to view two Princeton theatrical greats at work. Fast delivers another gut-busting performance replete with his intentional befuddlement and awkward gesturing. But if you feel like there isn't enough of him, that's because there isn't. He spent most his time actually writing the script.

The other exquisite performance comes from Jed Peterson '06, who after two years of performing professionally in Russia, is giving us here at Princeton one of his last adieus. Performing as the French director trying to sabotage the new American film, Peterson possesses a rare combination of nuance, grace, presence and, most of all, comedy.