Review: Bodyslam! The Rise and Fall of CAWC/Annoyance Theatre

Macho Man Randy Savage and Andre the Giant do not show up in Annoyance Theatre’s “Bodyslam! The Rise and Fall of CAWC,” but their low-budget, high-camp doppelgangers do. This often laboriously drawn-out show spoofs the world of professional wrestling as it chronicles the life-span of the Continental-American Wrestling Confederation (CAWC, pronounced “cock”…and you will hear the joke over and over). The cartoon-sized characters that inhabit this world go by names like The Billion Dollar Sex Addict and Miami Gold but few of the performers truly commit to the broadness the script demands. Most of the show feels like the cast is improvising instead of bringing clean physical performances. Jokes are delivered instead of lines. The small-scale replica of a real wrestling ring is great, but staged matches therein start funny and become obnoxious with too much crazy and too little choreography. This show is disappointing. The concept is ripe for nostalgic fantasy. Reality just is not that exciting. (William Scott)

At the Annoyance Theatre, 4840 W. Broadway, (773)567-4665. This production is now closed.

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