Theater Review: THE BEST MAN SHOW (Hollywood and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals)

THE WORST BEST MAN MAKES
THE BEST MAN SHOW A GUARANTEED WINNER

We’re attending a wedding. Every viewer in the audience is an attendee. The vows have already been exchanged, and now it’s time for the groom’s brother — his best man — to give the customary speech. Charming and truthful but filled with toxicity and regrets (and quite a few cocktails), the best man — played by comedian and actor Mark Vigeant — goes from silly to inappropriate to train wreck in one of the most ingenious one-man shows I have ever seen.

Using a basic script for The Best Man Show, Vigeant assigns patrons roles to play, giving them simple props and clothing to identify them. With a dexterous combination of acting, stand-up, improv, and physical comedy, the brilliant clown Vigeant plays the damaged “Paul”, taking us from his childhood trauma to his current relationships with a stream-of-consciousness that makes us uncomfortable and cracks us up at the same time.

With director Joanna Simmons‘ insight, the show fully entertains while offering an examination of the offensive, harmful beliefs, tendencies, and behaviors rooted in traditional male roles that are taken to an extreme. Plus, the damn thing — aided by the handsome Vigeant’s intense likeability — even manages to fit in some sentimentality. How rare to recommend a show that is impossible to dislike.