Shear Madness
Off-Broadway at New World Stages

 

Well it may not be a Little Shop of Horrors, and not quite Sweeney Todd, but could Tony Whitcomb be the gayest demon barber of 50th Street?    There has been a murder, and one of four suspects at the Shear Madness Salon is guilty.    You are the judge and jury, and it’s mad fun.

The Shear Madness Salon looks like something out of the 60’s, but the dialogue is very much present day.    We meet salon owner, the very over-exaggerated gay, Tony Whitcomb (Jordan Ahnquist) and his ditzy blonde sidekick Barbara DeMarco (Kate Middleton, no not that Kate).  There are 4 customers at the shop, but two are actually NYC undercover police detectives Mike Thomas (Adam Gerber) and Nick O’Brien (Patrick Noonan), and the others are 'used' Antique Dealer, Eddie Lawrence (Jeremy Kushnier) and   the well – to – do Mrs. Shubert (Lynne Wintersteller). The scenario is as follows.  Hair is getting did, and dirt is being dished.  The famed concert pianist  Isabel Czerny  owns the building and is living upstairs.  Her piano playing is driving Tony into a mad rage.  Mrs. Shubert is acting suspicious, and possibly involved in an extramarital affair.  Eddie also looks like he is up to no good, and appears to be romantically involved with Barbara.  One line is funnier than the next and the dialogue is filled with play on words that takes shots at many celebrities including the Kardashians, Spice Girls, the Clintons, Donald Trump to name a few.    There are a series of events where some leave and return until finally Barbara returns from a garbage run screaming bloody murder, “Isabel is dead”.  She passes out in Eddie’s arms and the detectives burst in with guns blazing.

The real fun begins when they turn up the house lights and let the audience take part in the investigation by recreating all activity up to the time of the murder.  The audience is asked to chime in whenever someone is not telling the truth, so pay close attention to detail of what is happening on the stage.     As the first act ends, we are told that Detective O’Brien  will be outside of the theatre during the break to take questions and discuss your theories, and that on return  you will be able to ask the suspects questions.  There a stand outside of the theatre where you can buy Shear Madness souvenirs or you can take photos in the barber chair while your friend pretends to bludgeon you with a pair of giant scissors (which is the route I took).  If you chose to remain in your seat, most of the cast remains on stage, engaging the audience and will even toss you a starburst in your favorite flavor.   Since the audience is not limited to script, you can only imagine the amount of funny that comes out during the Q & A.   Some of the audience members  get really riled up, and the cast is always ready with a great comeback. Finally  a vote is taken from the audience and the person with the most votes is found guilty.  Depending on the audience line of questions and their assumptions, the murderer can be any one of the four.    Since I actually saw the show twice, I can attest to the fact that the murderer can change, and in fact was different in both shows.   This show will be fun for the whole family, but use your judgment based on the subject matter I’ve described.   Shear Madness has actually been running for 36 years  around the US and  World and is coming to New York for the very  first time, so don’t miss it.  The show is 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission.  For tickets and more information visit http://nyc.shearmadness.com/  or check for available discounts here  -ThisbroadSway 11/15/15

In Chair: ThisbroadSway

Behind Chair:  Actress, Jasmyn Wachenheimer