FringeNYC 2013: The TomKat Project
Hailed as Genius! by Chicago Tribune, this critically acclaimed supercouple chronicle features over 50 celebrity characters in a mind altering juggernaut of tabloid storytelling that is seriously funny, but never a joke.
Official production websiteShow details/ticketing at FringeNYC
Review by Bob Stewart · August 20, 2013
The TomKat Project by writer Brandon Ogborn is a great example, (by this reviewer) of a perfect FringeNYC Show. It has 7 players, (including the playwright as narrator) 7 chairs, a few props, and 6 really versatile, comic actors. This is a fun, sometimes comically disturbing take on the courtship, marriage & divorce of Tom Cruise’s 3rd marriage to Katie Holmes—complete with a Scientology subplot that oozes with camp and creepy espionage.
This comedy is a cautionary tale about Big Money/Hollywood excess. It is also about the loneliness when a superstar re-writes his life story and will only believe and live in “the inspiring parts of it.”
Writer/Narrator Ogborn has created what I call a “Hipster-Play;” using actual dialogue from interviews and articles but adding a whole lot of fiction too. This creates a fun, effortless, evening. The entire ensemble is great. Brianna Baker, Julie Dahlinger, Walt Delaney, Kevin Knickerbocker, Brandon Ogborn, Micah Sterenberg, & Allison Yolo rip up the stage with quick, tight performances. None of them do spot-on impersonations of the celebrities they play. They seem to play more of their “essences.” A smart choice by director Elly Green, who keeps the evening moving along at a perfect light tone & speed.
A wonderful comic bit in the show is whenever we’re hearing actual things the celebrities have said, the audience is notified with a sign that reads: THIS IS VERBATUM DIALOGUE. What’s hilarious and spooky is that those scenes can seem more audacious than the actual fiction Ogborn has written. Which is saying a lot because Ogborn has written some funny stuff. This delicious ½ journalism, ½ speculation, documentary writing style is currently very popular and sometimes overused in theater these days but feels totally appropriate for this unique subject.
Scientology is the "3rd wheel” in this take on the Cruise/Holmes marriage. Ogborn sees the humor and eccentricities of this religion. It makes me want to see his take on other religions & beliefs. I wonder if he’d be able to do such a comic evisceration that he does here. Then again other religions don’t have the celebrity superstars status that our modern culture craves. I feel that Ogborn is asking, “In the Age Of Information, if there is no Glitterati, glamour, or indulgent way to put our Insta-Gram-Self Pix into the action, then why do it?”
The TomKat Project is fun, fast, and totally accessible. My only real criticism is I felt the show would have been better served as a 90-minute intermission-less evening. Its 2-hour running time seems a tad overstuffed. Though still, The TomKat Project is a great, romp! Lightweight fare, reasonably priced, and a whole lot of fun! It only plays to the end of the week. So Go!!!!
Preview: Interviews with Artists from The TomKat Project
We're asking artists from each show to answer questions about themselves and their work to help our readers get a detailed advance picture of the festival:
The Folks Back Home · Micah Sterenberg (Designer)
- Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
I was born and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago. I attended a small school called Timothy Christian for K-12. My graduating class was just over 100 students. Then graduated from Calvin College. It's a Christian liberal arts school of about 4,000 students in Grand Rapids, MI. - Who are your role models as an artist?
Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Dana Carvey, Lucille Ball, Steve Carrell, Chris Rock, Louie CK, and too many people in the Chicago improv community to name. (I'm not the designer, I'm an actor in the show) - Which word best describes how you think the folks back home would react to this show: SHOCKED, PROUD, THRILLED, DELIGHTED, ANNOYED. Why?
I think most people would be proud and delighted by the message of our show. However, we do use some vulgar language and graphic sexual descriptions in the show. Some people would be shocked and wouldn't be able to look past that, but most people will take them for what they are: funny. - Do you think the audience will talk about your show for 5 minutes, an hour, or way into the wee hours of the night?
This is a show that will get people talking. The story is one that lots of people think they know, but they'll leave with a different perspective. I hope our show makes people ask themselves questions about mass media, religion, celebrity worship, relationships, and the power of narrative. - Who would like your show the best: Mom, Dad, High School Teacher, College Roommate?
Anyone who loves celebrity gossip. Anyone who hates celebrity gossip. People who think Tom Cruise is crazy. People who love Tom Cruise. Scientologists. Dawson's Creek fans. Ex-Scientologists. People who read blogs. People who miss newspapers. And Tom Hanks.
The Five W's · Julie Dahlinger (Other)
- Who is more important in the theater: the actor, the playwright, or the director?
Yes... Haha! I really believe theater is a collaborative art form, and TomKat has been a truly collaborative experience. I felt like all hands were in the bedroom loving the weird little animal that is "TomKat" into being. - What do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
Our show is about challenging what you THINK you already know. It's about celebrity, it's about fantasy...I'm going to get real for a minute and say it's about Love, too. I think audiences will take away a mind full of encyclopedic tabloid fact, hopefully a sense of empathy for their fellow man, and a sore belly for laughing every two minutes ;-) - Where would be your ideal working environment: New York in 2013, Shakespeare’s Globe, the theater of Sophocles and Euripides, Stanislavski’s Moscow Art Theater?
The TomKat Project LIVES in New York 2013! The show is up close and personal with the current events of the giant, far-reaching, sphere that is Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes - this is intimate, like riding in the Scientology Security SUV's "allegedly" following Katie around the streets of Manhattan... - When did you know you wanted to work in the theater, and why?
I, personally, don't remember a time I've not wanted to work in theater. I believe I was born an artist, and I take that responsibility very seriously, I work diligently to give my best to the work. I'm also having a hell of a good time! - Why did you want to produce/act in/work on this show?
I wanted to act in TomKat because the first time I read the script, on the train home in Chicago, I was laughing out loud so hard the people in my traincar must have thought I was criminally insane. The script is funny, and smart and QUICK! kudos to Brandon Ogborn for spilling his magic onto the page for us to play with. I am also a giant fan of Dawson's Creek.
Theater Beats Movies · Walt Delaney (Actor)
- Why do you do theater (as opposed to film, or TV, or something not in the entertainment field)?
There is a vibrancy to it which other mediums do not possess. It is a living thing that only exists in the moment and can change on a dime in that moment. When working on camera, you really are not sure how it will turn out or be received. You just make a choice and hope for the best. In theater there is no running from the truth of the moment as it happens on stage. - What jazzes you about having a live audience to perform for?
It's a unique experience which only ever exist between the people on stage and those in the audience. In our show, The Tomkat Project, the audience is very much a character in the show. There are certain parts where we do our best to get a certain reaction from them in order to incorporate them into the experience. We have done the show for all types of audiences and have developed an internal language as a cast for what kind of audience is watching the show. We wont change the show based on an audience's response, but it is important to know who you are sharing that night with. - Do you prefer to read plays by yourself, read them aloud, or perform them?
I like to sit down and read plays by myself and really let my mind wander with the material, at least initially. I really value the discoveries that experience can provide me with when I am alone. Not to mention the fact that I fear cold reads like credit card debt. - What moment or section in this show do you really love to perform? Without giving away surprises, what happens in that moment and why do you love it?
There is a scene where we replay an infamously contemptuous interview between Matt Lauer, played by Brianna Baker, and Tom Cruise, played by myself. The reason I love it so much is that we take the dialogue verbatim from the interview and do not change much of the exchange on a tonal basis between the two men. As the scene plays out on stage, the audience cannot believe this actually happened and to be honest neither can I. - People who like which iconic film would like this show: THE SOUND OF MUSIC, STAR WARS, AIRPLANE, or FELLINI’s 8 1/2?
It reminds me a lot of the 2002 movie Adaptation written by Charlie Kaufman. Due to the fact that it attempts to look into the truth behind a story the public accepts as true. It also deals with the inner workings of Hollywood and our own brilliant and neurotic writer wrote himself into the play as the shows narrator.
Journey to FringeNYC · Elly Green (Director)
- Tell us about the process you used to achieve your vision of this play in this production.
The first part of the process, for me, was working with Brandon towards getting a rehearsal draft ready. That was a really exciting time, and then we had to work out how many people we needed to tell the story and how to cross cast the roles. It was a huge time commitment we asked from our actors - who are mostly from an improvisation background - and we were incredibly lucky to get such talented and hilarious people on board. It was a very collaborative rehearsal room: Brandon and I welcomed input from the cast on both the script and the storytelling, and the characters you meet in TomKat are really the result of that. We tried a lot of things out and had a lot of fun. Many ideas hit the cutting room floor. And many are part of the show we're bringing to fringe. - What are some of your previous theater credits? (Be specific! Name shows, etc.)
I recently directed the Chicago premiere of 'Rabbit' by Nina Raine for Stage Left Theatre. Before that most of my credits are in the UK, mainly on the London Fringe. I've directed new writing as well as contemporary classics, such as Michael Frayn's 'Copenhagen' and David Hare's 'Skylight'. I was lucky enough to work as a staff director at the National Theatre on three shows: Her Naked Skin, Mrs Affleck and Oedipus. - If this is your first appearance in FringeNYC -- why did you want to be part of this festival? If you have appeared in FringeNYC before, tell us what show(s) you have done here previously. What about your prior experience led you back to this festival?
This is my first time in FringeNYC. I think it's a perfect forum for a production like 'The TomKat Project'. The show plays very differently to different audiences and I'm fascinated to see how it goes down in New York. - Why are theater festivals important?
There's a kind of carnival spirit that comes alive during theatre festivals, when people binge on theatre and get saturated with ideas and inspiration. I think it reminds us, in a totally non-competitive way, how much we need artists out there who are creating diverse and contradictory experiences. - What was the most memorable/funny/unusual thing that has happened during the development and rehearsal process for this show?
So many I want to tell you, but they'd be spoilers. I do remember, though, how hard it was to get Walt into a pair of tight jeans. And how, when we achieved this feat, we realised that he didn't have a bottom. Can I say bottom?
All About My Show · Brandon Ogborn (Writer)
- Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
Tom Cruise's attorney, also a character in the play, said he would see if it comes to New York. No joke. - What do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
Well look, its just a comedy show. But, audiences in Chicago latched onto TomKat because the play prods our perspective of celebrity and the narratives in tabloid magazines. - Why did you want to write this show?
Tom and Katie were both big figures from different parts of my childhood so when the story broke, I felt like my two best friends had divorced. There was so much mystery and rumors surrounding the story that I went from wanting to write something that would make my friends laugh to wanting to know where the hell the truth was in it all. - Who are some of the people who helped you create this show, and what were their important contributions to the finished product?
So there's a brilliant bunch of Chicago comedian/improvisors, folks who have auditioned for SNL and other big roles, that I thought would have fun impersonating celebrities and characters beyond a 3-5 minute showcase. Brianna Baker, Micah Sterenberg, Kevin Knickerbocker, etc.. They're gifted actors and great mimics. How the show evolved into something really substantial we owe to Elly Green, the director. She's not a comedy sketch show director. She's got legit experience with Shakespeare and other classic works in London. I lucked out when she came into the restaurant where I work and I pitched her the script. She read it and said, "You have to do this and I want to help." Without that chance meeting, I probably would have buried the idea. - Which character from a Shakespeare play would like your show the best: King Lear, Puck, Rosalind, or Lady Macbeth -- and why?
Puck would love it. I play the narrator, the guy who wrote and is presenting the piece. I set the story of the lovers in motion - Tom and Katie. Scientologists here are the fairies. I won't spoil it, but the ass gets placed on the head of who you least expect.
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