They’re just making it up as they go along!
A group of improvisational comedians will create an original musical live on stage at the Annoyance Theatre in Williamsburg on April 11. Performers in “Happy Karaoke Fun Time!” create their off-the-cuff off-off-off Broadway shows by using audience suggestions to improvise new lyrics to well-known pop songs.
The familiar tunes offer a friendly way for improv newbies in the audience to dip their toes into the comedy style for the first time, said one performer.
“It brings improv to a more accessible place for people who are not familiar with long-form improv styles,” said performer Jen Connor.
The concept also allows the players to execute the theatrical gymnastics of coming up with original and humorous story lines while singing in meter and on key, Connor said. Not all of the players have musical training, but what they lack in skill, they make up for in enthusiasm, she said.
“We try to make it convincing no matter what,” said Connor.
The troupe performs “Happy Karaoke Fun Time!” twice a month at the Annoyance Theater. The comedians sing around eight songs in each show, out of an established playlist of around 35, which includes Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” and “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen.
Combining popular songs and audience propositions has resulted in some truly unique “Happy Karaoke Fun Time!” shows, Connor said. In one, the players paired Journey with a story about space lobsters. Other themes have included “Dracula and his ditzy Romanian girlfriend” and “Marky Mark’s fun-time playhouse,” she said.
“Happy Karaoke Fun Time!” at the Annoyance Theatre [364 Bedford Ave. at the corner of S. Fifth Street in Williamsburg, (718) 569–7810, www.thean
