The Complete History of America (Abridged)

by A. Long, R. Martin and  A. Tichenor
Directed Tom Smith
 
 
 
A laugh riot at the Black Box
American history joins sketch comedy at the Downtown Mall

By Joel Courtney
The Las Cruces Bulletin
July 7, 2006

The latest presentation by No Strings Theatre Company, "The Complete His­tory of America (Abridged)" by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor and directed by Tom Smith, offers much more than a quick jaunt through the history of America. It-offers non-stop laughter at the expense of some of the quirkier moments in the past of our nation.

The three extremely versatile actors that are the guides on this journey — Michael Anderson, Darin Cabot and Matt Tompkins - keep the audience guessing at what will happen next with quick costume changes, music, slapstick, vaudevillian humor and even improvisational comedy.

The entire cast excels as they present a little less than 600 years of American history in approximately 6,000 seconds. Anderson plays the straight man at times to. the silliness of Cabot and Tompkins, which seems to suit him well. Tompkins" spends the majority of the night wearing the dress­es of the numerous women from throughout the history of America. Cabot easily shifts from persona to persona, as quickly as the costumes and sketches change.

The   story  covers  from  the   original settlers that followed their food source over the Bering Strait to modern-day wars and presidential follies. The brief intermission is the perfect time for audience members to work on their questions for the performers. In the middle of the second act, the actors will answer any question about American History that they may not have covered, with the exception of a few questions that are included with the program.

Director Tom Smith also designed the costumes, props, set and sound for the pro­duction, which help add to the zany romp through time. Minimalistic props like wigs and poster board signs are used to their full effectiveness while adding to the silly feel of the evening.

Even stage manager Rose Linnell gets into the jokes with the actors, providing voice recordings and great work in the slide show. Lighting is designed by Peter Herman, No Strings Theatre Company's resident designer.  Ceil Herman is the producer for the production.

I would highly recommend that anyone who enjoys a good laugh make time to see this wonderful production. According to No Strings Theatre Company, "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" was a sold-out performance, so make your reservations as soon as possible, before the seats are all gone. There are a couple inci­dents in the play that might be too risque for very small children, but overall the play doesn't ever exceed a PG-13 level.

""The Complete History of America (Abridged)" runs through Sunday, July 23 at the Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Downtown Mall. Performances are Fridays and Satur­days at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and a Thursday performance on July 20 at 7 p.m. Ticket prices are $9 for regular admission, $8 for students and seniors over 65 and all seats on Thursday are $6. Reservations may be made by calling the Black Box Theatre at 523-1223 or online at www.no-strings.org.
 
 
 
Introducing the Show
L to R: Mike Anderson, Darin Cabot, and Matt Tompkins