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Sandy Takes a Break

nytheatre.com review by Richard Hinojosa
August 15, 2005

Sketch comedy is always a mixed bag. One person’s belly laugh may be another’s blank stare. Watching Sandy Takes a Break, I experienced a little of both. I think what I liked most about this show is its commentary on the media, the war, and, to lesser extent, relationships. However, taken as a whole, the show does not live up to its potential.The opening sketch is about a heckler in a criminal court. It is funny but I had the feeling like I’d seen it before. The next sketch is where the show gets its name. It’s about a correspondent named Sandy Vancour whose reporting style is to string together colorful aphorisms and pithy expressions. This scene had me laughing and is an example of the sort of commentary that I found so appealing in this show. We revisit this character and his daughter later in the show.Next we see a young man who is being driven home by the enigmatic and effeminate father of his girlfriend. This sketch is hilarious and has the most interesting character dynamic.Skipping past some scenes that I just didn’t get, we have a sketch that is most brilliant in its concept—a marine liieutenant is giving notes to his troops as if they are an acting troupe and he is their director. This scene is funny, poignant, and at times made me feel like maybe I shouldn't be laughing at it. For me, that’s what defines the best in sketch.My problem with Sandy Takes a Break is that it is very uneven. The performer/writers, Ben Seeder and Chris Lee, are at very different levels in the development of their talents. There are moments and entire sketches that have the makings to be a lot funnier if they were put in the hands of other performers. The writing is not all as funny and/or poignant as it could be. It has a lot of good hooks but (for the most part) no punch. Also, there are no good buttons on the end of scenes. However, as I’ve mentioned the show has some truly hilarious moments and has the potential to be very entertaining.Perhaps the creators of this show should consider constructing something that ties these sketches together. It was interesting when Sandy would reappear in another scene. He is a very funny character and could work as a focal point (the title of the show already implies that he is).I can’t say that I completely recommend Sandy Takes a Break but I do hope to see these guys back here next year with something new and better.