Landless Satirizes Scooby With Spooky
The cast of "Spooky" (courtesy Landless).
When doing a parody of a parody, the result should be double the laughs, not double the length. The cartoon Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, itself a send-up of the mystery show, was under half an hour and felt short, but Landless Theatre's production of Spooky Dog and the Teen-Age Gang Mysteries runs for about an hour - and still feels a bit long.
The show is preceded by Ally Jenkins and John Sadowsky's attempts to warm up the crowd, cluing the audience in to the improv nature of the show. The audience provides a name of a celebrity, a common saying, and a prop for use in the "85 percent finished" play about to begin (They had Sean Connery, "don't eat yellow snow" and an empty bottle of Fuze to work with Sunday.).
But the show really begins when Spooky Dog (played enthusiastically by Nick Greek) gives a familiar howl of "Spoooky-Spooooky Doog!" Then the cast launches into a musical number about how subtle name changes (Ted instead of Fred, Tiffany instead of Daphne) make them litigation-proof. The play takes off in familiar directions: the gang goes to see Sean Connery perform at a funhouse, and discover he's been kidnapped - no doubt by the phantom that always kidnaps the main attractions.
A play like this takes actors with timing, energy, and good improv skills, and unfortunately not all of the cast had all three. Amy Baughman as Thelma was peppery, sharp, and fast on her feet: One of her first lines about Connery referenced his alleged wife-beating, which snapped up a good reaction from the crowd. She also managed to pay a lesbian fascination with Tiffany (Jen Speerstra) for long laughs, rather than making it groan-worthily predictable. Nick Greek's canine protagonist was one of the delights of the night, overflowing with energy in his limited, practically voiceless role.
Matt Baughman, playing Ted, was less consistent. His character had some great things to say about Connery, and his reaction to the phantom earned one of the big laughs of the night. His pursuit of Tiffany, though, was less laughable and more creepy, making his blond wig resemble a sexual predator's toupee. Speerstra's Tiffany was vapid enough, but she faltered when having to think on her feet. Scraggly, played by Josh Speerstra, seemed to lose energy 10 minutes into the hour, possibly under the strain of doing his vocal impression.
There are some hilarious moments, but on the whole the audience was chuckling politely rather than guffawing. With so many of the cast sharing the same last names (two Speerstras and three Baughmans, counting director Andrew Lloyd), perhaps Landless's production suffers from knowing each other too well. What's funny in rehearsal among close friends or relatives doesn't always translate to a broader audience. If the actors doubled their energy and halved their time, Spooky Dog would be a great way to spend half an hour. As it is, the audience will probably be investigating where their time went, and where the humor was being held.
Spooky Dog and the Teen-Age Gang Mysteries plays at the DC Arts Center June 5 through July 4 Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available online.