Head over Heels

THEATER REVIEW: Let's Pretend We're Married

by Mark Cofta

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Published: Jun 9, 2009

[ theater review ]

John Flak Jennifer Childs and Tony Braithwaite (CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Jennifer Childs and Tony Braithwaite's fluffy cabaret Let's Pretend We're Married logically extends their years of shtick for 1812 Productions, Philadelphia's comedy specialists. Quick-witted, adorable ad-libbers, they long ago aced the never-a-dull-moment pacing that makes this crowd-pleasing celebration of marriage feel effortless.

Balancing charm and smarm, this 70-minute survey of "the ties that bind — and gag" feels fresh even though most of their material is affectionately lifted from classic comedy duos and television pairings. The pretend couple (Childs is married to actor Scott Greer; Braithwaite is single) reprise their ever-popular George Burns and Gracie Allen routine and revive a hilarious Bickersons bedroom argument, tweaking dusty memories for audiences of a certain age.

Medleys zip through a comedic treasure trove. Standups referenced include Woody Allen, Roseanne Barr, Johnny Carson, Rita Rudner, Rodney Dangerfield, Phyllis Diller, Henny Youngman and others, all well-impersonated doing their best bits about the warring sexes. "A tuxedo is a wedding safety device," says Braithwaite as Jerry Seinfeld. "If the groom chickens out, everyone takes a step over." A song medley launched by cruise ship lounge singers "T.B. and Jenny" — a creaky bit, retired even by the comedy regurgitators at Saturday Night Live, that Childs and Braithwaite manage to make new — mixes TV themes with inappropriate love songs in musical director and pianist Owen Robbins' droll arrangement.

Childs and Braithwaite work audiences like no one else, dragging couples onstage for another TV flashback, The Newlywed Game, where partners are separated and asked questions about each other, hoping to match answers and failing hilariously. A couple renews their vows during each performance, thanks to Braithwaite's online ordainment by the Universal Life Church. The happy couple even chooses a wedding style: traditional, Hawaiian or Elvis.

Spouses leave holding hands, laughing at their bad times, crying over their good. What's not to love?

Let's Pretend We're Married | Through June 14, $20-$32, 1812 Productions, Independence Foundation Black Box at Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-592-9560, 1812productions.org

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