Archive for July 5th, 2007

I didn’t know what to expect from Freestyle Love Supreme at Ars Nova. I knew Shockwave (Chris Sullivan) would be showcasing his awesome beatbox and improv skills, but that was about it. I had never been to Ars Nova before and it’s a hip little place, which was a complete surprise because the street where it’s located is pretty unimpressive.
There was already a crowd in the lobby when I arrived. Lucky for me, I had reserved a ticket in advance because the people standing in front of me in line were told the show was sold out, but they could be put on a wait list. They happily agreed to wait.
The crowd was full of mostly hip looking young people that all seemed to know one another. There was a real sense of community; you know that feeling you get when you go to a show and it’s obvious that a lot of the people there have been there before and think of the show as their own
discovery? There was a collective anticipation that something amazing was about to take place. It was indeed the funnest show ever!
Freestyle Love Supreme is freestyle musical improv comedy and it feels so fresh and original. They do comedic totally made up freestyles based on suggestions from the audience and I’ve never seen anything like it. They freestyled about Harry Potter; Jean-Claude Van Damme;
Flint, Michigan. There was a whole song about porn taken from the performers’ true life stories. I especially enjoyed UTK the INC (Utkarsh Ambudkar), who did an amusing bit about discovering porn on the internet and watching videos while his girlfriend was away.
Nothing is as funny as the truth and there was so much relatable truth in this show. They brought an audience member onstage and asked her about her day and freestyled about that. Two-Touch (Anthony Veneziale), the charismatic host, interviewed the for some reason reluctant audience member. She volunteered, so I don’t know why she was giving such vague answers and being so standoffish. Regardless, the results were really funny and Two-Touch had a great sense of humor about it, so what could have been a lost moment in the show turned out to be one of the funniest. Then they acted out her day. Shockwave provided the beats and movements as her body and Lin-Man (Lin-Manuel Miranda) was her mind, so he provided the words with the other guys interjecting as the different characters in her world. It was hilarious.
The great thing about this show was that there was no weak link. The music, the beatboxing, the freestyling and the comedy were all successful. The performers were all equally smart, confident, and funny. J-Soul (James Monroe Iglehart) was impressive in what was apparently his first full show with the guys. As a group, they were so talented that they made it look easy and the crowd was completely enamored with the performers. The audience was so completley engaged the entire time. I cannot stress this point enough: they had us for the whole time!! That is a very rare thing in comedy, especially improv. I didn’t feel like there was a noticeable low point in the action at all. It was incredible.
FLS is on their way to the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal from July 12-22. So unless you can swing a trip to Montreal to see them (which I actually considered after seeing this show) you’ll have to wait till they get back. Keep checking their website for upcoming dates!! You will not be disappointed.