Never Being Boring

We went out to laugh and laugh we did.

How can you not laugh at the idea of a Free Love Nursing Home? You know, the kind of place that plays the Pet Shop Boys all the time because the Sixty and Sexy crowd still dig it. Now imagine a cuddle puddle of residents doing Jello shots in a king-size bed, while one taps his vein and bellows, "This IV's empty, Nurse!"

Hilarious.

I was supposed to be at a potluck birthday party and concert tonight and then yesterday it was switched to last night, a shame since I already had plans for last night. So with a free night staring me in the face, I asked Mac to join me at Comedy Coalition for a good laugh.

The Man About Town greeted us in the lobby, bowing low and juggling a beer. We talked about how neither of us was at the International Film Festival or the opening of the new Valentine Museum exhibit, yet here we we were on a Friday night, eager to chuckle at the very least and secretly hoping for major belly laughs if we were really lucky.

The Daily Mix, the clever group of improv comedians who'd had us in stitches with their Free Love Home sketch, were merely the warm-up for "Sounds Good To Me," an improvised piece of musical theater that had another, larger group making up and singing songs on the spot, while accompanied by two guitars, a drum box and a shaker.

The audience suggested the location of the sketch - a carnival - and they were off and running.

There were times Mac and I were laughing so hard we were doubled over and couldn't even watch what was unfolding onstage. I love to laugh anyway (on my recent sistertrip, one had commented that I laugh at everything, a slight exaggeration) so tonight was a golden opportunity to let it out after a busy, productive week.

The carnival sketch involved disgruntled clowns, an elephant living in knee-high poop, a greedy carnival owner and his capitalistic fairy godmother, carnival worker protests, imaginary red noses and corn dogs, lots and lots of trampled corn dogs.

Undoubtedly the high point was the Sexy Dance, which hysterically allowed everyone onstage to show off their good and bad dance moves (as Mac so profoundly put it, "We've all got them both") while the woman doing the Sexy Dance undulated in ways that were both reminiscent of the King of Pop and are now seared into my brain for eternity.

And while she was singing and dancing that improvised masterpiece, Mac and I were cracking up so hard we almost couldn't breathe. The kind of laughter where you don't even hear the next funny line because you're still laughing so hard.

But it's no surprise, really. These are the same people who, after the city mounted an Arts District sign on the new bus stop across from them, posted: "It's official. Guess we gotta start making art now."

News flash: they already are. As Robin Williams so succinctly said, "Comedy is acting out optimism."

How could someone like me not love a good evening of comedy? Have we met?