Freestyle Love Supreme

Freestyle Love Supreme:

Improvisation, Participation and perhaps a little Humiliation

What did you miss the most when the world shut down? Live music, comedy nights and laughter? Friend and family gatherings, a sense of community. Now that shows are back and in full swing you can find all of that joy in abundance if you are lucky enough to snag yourself a seat in this interactive audience. All of that plus a little mischief when the audience participants spill their own tea. Prepare yourself for a night of dancing in your seat and absolute hilarity. 

Born from friendships between the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda himself, Anthony Veneziale, and Thomas Kail, director of both In the Heights and Hamilton. The show has since received a special Tony Award and may have new performers, in fact the faces on stage are constantly rotating and welcoming special guest star appearances but the heart it needed for its inception remains. On stage, the love and enjoyment shared between the cast is infectious. Freestyle Love Supreme is some kind of wonderful combination of Who’s Line is it Anyway, Wild ‘N Out, Def Comedy Jam, all genres of music concerts, all decades of pop culture revue, and a live David Blaine show. If you’re surprised by the magic/illusion comparison, trust me, I was too. I had been looking forward to my chance to witness this show on tour but was not expecting to be this impressed with the improv skills. I kept looking at my girlfriends next to me and asking aloud, “HOW?”. How do they do this? Seriously, how? I don’t want to give too much away about their formula but at an intimate venue such as The Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park there is plenty of opportunity to volunteer as a participant. 

Last night we were blessed with the extreme talents of our entertaining cast which included Andrew Bancroft (Jelly Donut), who acted as our MC extraordinaire. Pulling personal details from the audience he could have been mistaken for a comedic group therapist. Speaking of therapy, we actually did get a sneak peek into a couples therapy session gone wrong along with a few other regrettable moments. Bancroft has a talent for connecting with people and is perfect at getting the engagement piece of the puzzle going. His chemistry with the ensemble on stage is strong as well and it makes it all the more fun for us to see. Jay C. Ellis (Jellis J) is a fabulous force of nature and FUN! (Jellis J) had the crowd roaring with his larger than life personality or should I say,”non standard sized playbill”? Sorry, I guess you had to be there. Those playbills are pretty large though. Aneesa Folds (Young Ness) brought us the voice that can hit all the highs and lows. Just like her name, as a baker combining all the right ingredients, Folds blends all your favorite styles of music from belting big notes to low sultry soulful singing. All that and then add her comedic timing plus I couldn’t help but notice her fashion sense is on point. Can’t wait to catch her in something else someday soon. Mark Martin (Mandible) is a beatboxing badass who makes the room vibrate with his vocal percussion skills. Martin is like an animator that uses creative sounds and body movements instead of paintbrush or pen strokes. His train conductor skit was a perfect introduction to the crowd and led to many other tricks he had up his sleeve. Mandible’s mix of physical comedy and sonic skills are the perfect addition to the show. Richard Baskin Jr. (Rich Midway) and Victoria Theodore (Gigawatts) rounded out the team as the band members of the group with some beautiful music moments to shine as well.

As for the humiliation, well it was all in good fun but let’s just say it may have been pre show drinks that assisted in a few hands going up for volunteering to join in the interactive fun. One of the regular games, “A Day in the Life” can go off the rails if a volunteer shares too much. Playful teasing is lighthearted and nowhere near the at times mean spirited roasting that takes place at a usual stand up gig. I could have been a victim myself had I raised my hand for the game, “Second Chance” but I didn’t want to seem greedy as I had already raised two hands simultaneously when they asked for “A Few of Our Favorite Things”. I was chosen to give an answer and was even given a nickname of “Two Hands” because I excitedly raised two hands to double my chances of being called on. I took that as a sign that I had become an honorary member, I mean “Two Hands”? That sounds very familiar… almost the same as ”Two Touch”…Anthony Veneziale’s MC name? Ahem, ok probably a stretch to believe that but my plan worked and I was chosen to yell out a suggestion for my favorite thing. What did I say? George Michael. Did they use my word? No, they went with Harry Potter. They killed it, it was ridiculously good. However at some point during the show they said ‘Last Christmas’ and although they weren’t referring to the song I smiled inside anyway. Had I chosen to volunteer again for the “Second Chance” game I may have shared a story from the fifth grade at Rolling Hills Elementary School. The one where I faced great humiliation….

I was in the fifth grade and I can’t remember if my mom suggested I start wearing a training bra or if I had asked to get one. Either way, I was wearing one in my fifth grade class and it was so uncomfortable. Why was this thing so itchy and why on earth was I actually wearing it? ‘I don’t need this, this is so ridiculous, I have to get this thing off before I lose it, I am not paying attention and if I can’t pay attention I might not understand my homework tonight and if I don’t understand my homework tonight I might not be able to finish it and if I don’t finish it I can’t turn it in or if I do I won’t get a good grade and then I might get a turkey stamp instead of a wizard stamp and if that happens again I cannot under any circumstances get my parents to sign it and get in trouble. I better ask for a bathroom pass and take this stupid thing off’. So I headed to the bathroom with a jacket around my waist. The jacket had pockets and I’d shove the flimsy, itchy training bra into the pocket and then stuff the entire jacket into my backpack and there it would be safe and out of sight until the end of the school day when the bell rang and I could go home and forget all about this nightmare but hopefully not about the lesson the teacher was giving. Inside the cramped bathroom stall I finally was free of the damn thing, instant relief. As planned I did the wadding up of the barely there cheap, polyester, latex? fabric. Maybe it wasn’t the fabric after all, maybe it was snaps or clasps but whatever it was it had been miserable. The return walk looked much different than the way there, suddenly I had a pep in my step, I was floating on cloud nine. School was almost out and I was going to lay on the shag carpet and watch Punky Brewster or something, that is if I got to the TV before my brother, Donny. If he took control he would most surely pop The Karate Kid movie into the VHS player. As I turned into the entry walkway of the classroom, the fire drill alarm started to blare out over the halls. I continued on into the classroom to leave the jacket but as I entered the room, all the other kids were making their exit. I didn’t have time to stuff it into the backpack as originally planned so laid upon the desk it must wait. I rushed out to catch up to my friends. No time to waste when given the chance to enjoy a fire drill, I had to make the most of this gift. Unsurprisingly, I was at the very end of the line to return to the classroom after the drill had been completed. As I stepped foot inside, something didn’t seem right. It was unusually quiet, silent actually. Every kid in the class had formed a giant circle facing the center of the room and they all seemed to be looking down at the same thing. I made my way to the circle to see what was causing such a spectacle and my heart sank. Someone had bumped into my jacket causing the stupid training bra to fall out onto the gross classroom carpet. I parted that circle and ran to and pounced on top of the bra to hide it from view. I remember it like a wild animal warning off the other animal predators almost like a she-wolf hissing or growling from side to side. Not sure how I managed to compose myself after such a display, not sure if I watched Punky Brewster or if my brother watched The Karate Kid. I am sure I was traumatized and ended up getting a dreaded turkey stamp. I would have loved to hear the FLS version of my story but then again the one we all heard about the daughter going to hell because her mom ate ¾ of a pan of insanely intense pot brownies left on the counter because the parents weren’t supposed to be back in town yet and the college boyfriend, Jeff had at least slipped out in time because daughter was too messed up to continue their date due to said brownies was hysterical and unforgettable. Maybe I’ll have to catch the show again and raise “Two Hands”. It’s a different show every time so I truly want to go again and again.