UNMENTIONABLES WORTH MENTIONING
New Yorkers are generally up for anything. Improv musical? Sure. Improv musical with five men in their underwear? Absolutely! Improv musical based on your most embarrassing moment in public? Uhhh…
Luckily, the talented performers of Undressed: The Musical even the playing field by performing in their knickers. The audience aren’t the only people laying something bare at this charming evening of comedy, improv music, and cheeky humor.
Coffee and cocktail queer bar Red Eye NY, formerly a seedy bikini bar on 41st and 9th avenue, is a perfect venue for the evening’s revealing proceedings. The affable ensemble features Alex Tracy, Chris Simpson, Curry Whitmire, Michael Bird, Ilan Kaplan, and Chris Bell (the final two are also the creative team behind this improvised skin fest). Accompanying our improv team are Steve Whyte on piano Ammon Taylor on percussion.
Our evening opened with a few songs from TikTok comedian sensation Kyle Gordon, known for his satirical self-aware songs lampooning musical eras and genres, and videos on social media of life in various decades and time periods of North America. After Kyle performs a few of his catchy style parodies, he provides hosting services while our underwear strutting troupe picks out embarrassing stories submitted via notes in a bucket as the audience is seated. We’re given a choice of tree stories to hear expanded into a musical, decided via audience applause. Kyle dips out once the story is chosen.
Kyle Gordon, comedian & The Cast of Undressed: The Musical
Upon deciding on a story about an incident of flatulence at Sephora (!), our merry (and nearly buck-naked) band is off and running. “22A Sephora farting farting story” gives way to a hilarious musical about a suburban married couple navigating middle age, diets, marriage counseling, and the quandary of public farting etiquette.
Undressed: The Musical features talented performers in a roughly hour-long made-up musical. Their chemistry is undeniable, as is their ability to remember running gags and punchlines stumbled upon throughout the evening. The ensemble has impressive voices, catchy riffs, and backup vocals, and some amusing characters to show us. A marriage counselor we meet halfway through the evening stops the show with the profound observation that “There’s no ‘I’ in marriage, unless you spell it the right way.” (Not gonna lie, I was nearly floored. I laughed so hard.)
The show isn’t without some friction. While clearly in control of the chaos that improv sometimes brings, the troupe can be seen negotiating who’s taking the lead through eye contact and nudges. However, no two improvisors end up outright performing on top of each other though, and overall the performance is a well improvised show by a competent cast.
I recommend seeing the show multiple times as no two shows are ever going to be alike, plus you could get to see a great up-and-coming comedian as an opener. Just remember to keep your own clothes on, or don’t, at least then you’ll have a funny story that might end up on stage.
Undressed: The Musical
Red Eye NY, 355 W 41st St.
reviewed on November 9, 2024
for future shows, visit Undressed Musical
