Bubba and Brenda Just Got Married

 Every once in a while you are reminded about how great it is to live in an era with amazing technology such as the World Wide Web.  I had just such a wake-up-call today, when the internet coughed up an almost forgotten highlight in Janet and my theatrical careers.  The following is a review that Jim Morekis wrote for Connect Savannah, about our dinner-theater comedy "Bubba and Brenda Just Got Married". Written and Directed by Janet Gamble (with a little help from Grace Tootle and myself), the show was ( excuse the expression) a true labor of love,  and the cast was fabulous, truly a joy and a privilege to work with. As you will see, the review is the kind that many Actors or Directors often deserve, but all too infrequently receive (well, except for Janet, who always seems to be the brightest light on the stage).


September 05, 2007
Review: Bubba and Brenda Just Got Married

    •    By Jim Morekis
    

The concept behind Bubba and Brenda Just Got Married is a familiar one to anyone who’s attended one of Jack North’s Murder Afloat events on the Georgia Queen riverboat:
Talented local actors improvise around a loose script using the boat itself as a stage, while the audience interacts -- or just eats and drinks -- as it sees fit.
The similarities to Murder Afloat end there, however, as Janet Gamble and J.R. Reynolds of Interactive Adventures have put together a comedy improv that digs deep into social satire and Britney Spears-NASCAR kitsch for one of the funniest theater experiences I’ve ever had.

As you board the Georgia Queen, you’re given a nametag with a fictional white-trash moniker -- mine was “Beans” and my wife’s was “Tiffany” -- that identifies you as either a member of the bride’s or groom’s family. While audience members are under no obligation to actually follow through on these personae -- though it is fun if you try it -- the two families couldn’t be more different.  Bubba -- portrayed by one of Savannah’s brightest young talents, Kyle Merritt -- is the stereotypical pampered Southern mama’s boy you see everywhere these days, wearing pressed jeans and driving a brand-new supersize pickup, whose idea of “off-road” driving is taking the Veteran’s Parkway to Bass Pro Shops instead of Abercorn.  As you’d expect, Bubba’s well-to-do parents -- portrayed by Barry Finch and  Cathy Pellicone -- look down their noses at Brenda’s family, who can charitably be said to come from the wrong side of the tracks.

Brenda -- played to the hilt by the always-excellent Stefanie Selai -- trys her best to control the antics of her mother Darlyne (played by the matchless local comedienne Grace Diaz Tootle) and her aunt Carlyne, hilariously and hammily played by the multi-talented actress and playwright Janet Gamble.
J.R. Reynolds is once again brilliant as the decrepit and completely Bible-illiterate rapping preacher who presides over the wedding, which features everything you’d expect in a nuptual: Bouquet-throwing, garter-snapping, sappy singing, snippy catfights, and -- drunken making-out?
Well, maybe just a little drunken making out.

The show has no profanity or anything a reasonable person would consider offensive. However, the themes are somewhat adult in nature, so young children -- while they’ll no doubt enjoy the energy and vivacity of the cast as well as the let’s-put-on-a-show interactivity -- probably won’t get much of the intricate plot, which is seamlessly woven into the reception activities and provides plenty of twists and turns while leading up to a hilarious surprise ending that left the audience in tears.

In addition to the show itself, the audience can enjoy a cash bar and a buffet with items that might be at such a wedding, like fried fish, hot wings and yes, Moon Pies.

While the show itself is just about as good as improv comedy can get, I have to quibble about the food. It may sound silly to complain about the buffet at a theatre performance, but it is included in the price of the ticket, after all, and food becomes especially important when you’re on a boat for an hour and a half.  While the wings were indeed excellent, most of the other food (provided by the Savannah Riverboat Company) was barely edible. I was looking forward to the fried fish, but discovered to my chagrin that the breading was soggy -- apparently it was covered to keep it warm, which you just don’t do with fried food.   But the service -- and the drinks -- at the cash bar are very friendly.

And the show is absolutely hilarious.

If you’re at all touchy about “interactive” audience-participation shows, don’t worry about this one. The level of participation is completely up to you.

The performers are top-level craftspeople, and their show stands with or without the audience. But I say step right in -- the water's fine. č

Upcoming show dates for Bubba and Brenda Just Got Married on the Georgia Queen riverboat are June 13, July 11, August 15, Sept. 12, Oct. 10 and Oct. 24. Tickets are $38.95 per person, which includes dinner. Cash bar available. Boards at 6 p.m., sails from 7-8:30 p.m. Call 232-6404 or 800-786-6404.