Triangle delivers another raunchy hit

It’s that time of the year again: Triangle presents its much-awaited spring show, “Are You There Dod? It’s Me, Marquand,” with its trademark combination of laughter, wit and “wait, what just happened?” moments that catch the audience off guard in the best and worst ways possible. The performance showcases a plethora of Princeton jokes, opening with stereotypes of all the eating clubs and finishing with a comical take on the state of McCosh Health Center.

Unpredictable writing and creative pop-culture references from Dan Abromowitz ’13 make up some of the best parts of the show. His funniest scenes include “Threesome,” which opens with a waitress asking about a simple order but quickly takes a hilarious and menacing turn, and “Under the Radar,” featuring Kitty Cook ’15 as a character who believes that being “gay” is to be “black.” D.J. Judd ’12, who deduces this confusion, does a great job making the audience laugh in this scene, but he can’t quite keep up with the fast-paced and elaborately explicit dialogue in “All Talk.” Despite a couple of stumbles, the dirty talk is outrageously funny, compounded by hilariously horrified expressions from Taylor Mallory ’13.

Fellow show writer Alex Moss '14 gives Abromowitz a run for his money with “Ding Dong Pitch,” a brilliant phone conversation featuring quickly changing accents and voices. Dan Rattner ’13 doesn’t miss a beat and delivers the punch line impeccably. Rattner’s phenomenal acting isn’t limited to this scene; he shows versatility throughout the show, opening it as a drug addict and closing it as pompous old James McCosh, Princeton’s 11th president, after which our health center was named.

President emeritus Hilary Moss '12's maniacal expressions in “Plan on Fire,” a song about the qualities of asbestos, would make Gollum jealous. The song is catchy, and Mallory and Yael Wollstein ’15 sound great with Moss, though Wollstein’s level of comfort with the choreography does not match her strong voice.

Wollstein is one of the many freshmen to whom director Carolyn Vasko ‘13 has decided to give opportunities in this show. Carl Nist-Lund ’15 is the perfect target of a sexile scene in “Why Does this Hallways Happen to Me?” with a certain babyish charm that makes the audience sympathetic. Evan Strasnick ’15 has some strong performances, including his creepy insistence on being eaten in “Raft Punk,” but the scene is too bizarre to appeal to a wide audience. Other absurd moments include jokes about having sex with parents in “Indefriendence Day” and a sex scene in “Why Does This Hallways Happen to Me?” that wasn’t funny enough to complement its boldness. The song in this scene, however, was fantastic, as was the music throughout the show: Kudos to music director Julia Bumke ’13 for a job well done.

Adam Mastroianni ’14 plays it refreshingly old school in “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Rhyme,” reminding the audience that you can never have too many witty rhymes. Savannah Hankinson ’13 plays the role of the pretentious cafe barista and reminds audience members of her part in Triangle’s Yale parody. Hankinson also delivers delight in “Prom Wonderful” as she incessantly questions her high school sweetheart, Brian Lax ’15, on how true his love for her is. Lax shows great potential, Rafael Abrahams ’13 supplies an ending that is unexpected and comical, and Vasko’s directing hits the mark.

A show that features everything from cannibalism to on-stage sex, “Are You There Dod? It’s Me, Marquand” pushes the limits of outrageous humor. You may be mortified, roll on the floor with laughter or even be offended, but you just cannot ignore it.

3 out of 5 paws