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Gorilla coughs up a furball with Christmas Gremlins II
By MARTY CLEAR, Times Correspondent
Published December 14, 2007
According to the Gorilla Theatre Web site, Christmas Gremlins II was born out of popular demand. But it's hard to imagine that this show is what the populace had in mind when it made its demand.
Gremlins II is an amateurish mess. Little kids may find sufficient fun in it, but with a wealth of shows for families at this time of year, they'll probably have more fun at any of a dozen others.
The original Christmas Gremlins premiered in 2003. So playwright Aubrey Hampton had four years to write this sequel, which feels as though it were slapped together in a half-day.
The half-hearted attempt at a story line involves an amateur magician. When we meet him, he's shopping for magic tricks for a performance. The magic shop's owner tells him the shop is infested with gremlins. When the two leave the shop, a gremlin runs around by himself for a very long time causing minor damage.
He does basically the same shtick, again for a long time, in the second act. After that, the show consists of the magician's act. And it's the cheesiest magic act you've ever seen, full of tired, transparent tricks presented with no sense of style, mystery or humor, all the elements that can make magic entertaining.
The cast gives it a try, but there's nothing here for it to hold on to - no conflict, no character, no laughs. Scott Isert, as the gremlin, tries to be entertainingly annoying, but he's just annoying. Amanda Buck ekes some substance out of her character, the magician's assistant, and David Baker makes a decent Santa Claus.
It's supposed to be mere silliness, and at scattered times it succeeds. But it's dreadfully slow-paced, muddled, very short of humor and paradoxically devoid of any kind of magic.
Marty Clear is a Tampa freelance writer who specializes in performing arts. He can be reached at mclear@tampabay.rr.com. If you go
Christmas Gremlins II
Through Dec. 23 at the Gorilla Theatre, 4418 N Hubert Ave., Tampa. 7 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. today and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. $20 Thursday, $25 all other shows. 813 879-2914; www.gorilla-theatre.com.
[Last modified December 13, 2007, 23:39:04]
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