NY Musical Theater Festival Review (sort of):I Got Fired

Note: I don't usually review shows in the NY Musical Festival, or shows written by and starring personal friends, but for a variety of reasons, I'll include some notes about this one because the subject is probably one that will appeal to many of my readers. I don't want you to miss out entirely just because I know Keith, but I promise that nothing here is influenced by the fact that I think he's a neat guy. I'll use the same format I use to review shows in the NY Fringe Festival. If there were tassels (like we award for the Fringe shows) or some other form of something awarded "1-5" with 1 being worst and 5 being the best to rate the show, it would have received 4.0.
--Lauren Yarger

NYMF Review: I Got Fired: A Semi-Autobiographical Sort-of-True Revenge Musical
Presented by: Moonshine Project; Producer Liz Ulmer
Writer: Keith Varney, based on a concept with Devon Goffman
Director: Steve Bebout
Choreographer: Dontee Kiehn
Music Director: Doug Oberhomer

Summary:
Keith recreates a fictionalized account of the events leading up to his being fired and escorted out of the building by security at a NY medical school where he had been working in the special events department as a temp (for more than five years...). The laid-back, family-like atmosphere in the office run by Kathy (Toni DiBuono) is threatened when over-achieving Jenny (Kelly Karbacz) is hired. She looks and talks as sweet as the lollipops she distributes to her co-workers, but her eye is on Kathy's office. She is rewarded with promotions as she lies, manipulates and stabs people in the back to ingratiate herself with the big boss, Dr. Weinberg (Michael Thomas Holmes).

Meanwhile, caught in the crossfire, and singing some catchy tunes like "The Daily Grind," "Things Have Gone to S***," "Office Warfare" and "I Got Fired," are Keith's co-workers Steven (Devon Goffman) Mike (also Holmes) Rick (Collin Leydon), Chen (EJ Zimmerman), Maria (Robyn Corujo), Myrtle (Shana Barone) and Phil (Jake Lowenthal).

The funniest of the characters also are the most stereotypical: Mike as the office incompetent whose hysterical, near-death-sounding messages on the answering machine provide entertainment for his co-workers (and for me -- I laughed as heartily as I had when I and my co-workers used to gather around the answering machine to listen to a particular employee call in sick. Who knew that happened in other offices too?)

Maria is the busty, Latin bombshell; Rick is the geek who spends most of his time outside of the office watching "Star Trek." Chen, so called because no one in the office can pronounce her real Chinese name, is the Asian with an attitude shouting a curt,"None of your business!" to anyone asking a question work-related or otherwise. The humor comes not from the stereotypes, but from the fact that if you have ever worked in an office, you have worked with someone just like one or more of these characters.

Highlights:
• If you've ever been fired, had a boss from hell, worked with incompetent people or just worked in an office, you'll relate and enjoy.
• Rick's courting of Chen and their eventual coming together in a "Star-Trek" lovers number titled "Green-painted Girl." Funny stuff, engagingly staged.
• Lots of funny lines with many clever asides dropped in specifically for the audience's enjoyment.
• You can't help but take a little pleasure in knowing that there's a real "Jenny" out there whose actions have come back to haunt her and make her the villain of a New York musical.

Lowlights:
• Some characters are stereotypical and/or underdeveloped.
• Some of the songs sound repetitive.
• Lots of curse words used in the lyrics and dialogue. It's a little lazy.

Christians might also like to know:
• God’s name taken in vain
• Language

I Got Fired has been extended with an additional performance Thursday at 1 pm at TBG Theatre, 312 West 36th St., NYC. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at http://www.nymf.org/ or by calling (212) 352-3101.