Many may have moved away from Vaudeville but not Happenstance Theatre! Fresh off their whirlwind-tour of New York City’s off-Broadway, they have returned to Charm City in true Happenstance fashion bringing with them a jubilant and bubbly new show— Pocket Moxie. As ever, the performance is collaboratively devised by the ensemble— Gwen Grastorf, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Sarah Olmsted Thomas, Alex Vernon— and it brings the delights of a bygone era to vivacious and zany life for everyone at Baltimore Theatre Project to enjoy.
From the moment the performing ensemble arrives on the stage— via pantomime locomotive— singing and welcoming the audience to this truly unique experience, to the moment they depart on that same train— singing a different song, of course— there is awe, wonder, humor, and sheer happiness to be had. Happenstance Theatre’s performing ensemble possesses a refined finesse when it comes creating comedy, particularly physical and body-language heavy, on stage in these vignette-style shows. Much like a true Vaudeville act, there’s a little bit of something for everyone— singing, dancing, instruments, magic, silliness, shenanigans, and of course a whole lotta Moxie!
Appropriately called Pocket Moxie, because the show is a travel-size adaptation of their original show Moxie, the amount of chutzpah and— yes, Moxie— that this quintet brings to the stage couldn’t fit inside the world’s largest steamer trunk, let alone the two that are carefully hidden just behind painted wooden screens. (This is the place where all the fantastical props, puppets, and costume accessories live, enhancing the excitement all throughout the show!) It’s a truly joyous experience that invites you to switch off your daily worries, tune into yesteryore, and giggle with glee— or in some cases, groan with just how punny the puns are— brightening up your afternoon or evening.
Gwen Grastorf gets the chance to showcase her beautiful belting vocals as she attempts to yodel her way through a recurring character sketch. The yodeler’s name changes, but the Heidi-esque mountain girl costume does not. Hilarity ensues when the oversized sheep’s crook comes into the equation. Grastorf is almost a master, like all of the performing ensemble, with her hyper actively animated facial expressions. This comes into play frequently but is most hilarious during the “Italian Restaurant” sketch where she gets to exercise her physical comedy skills as well. One of the most remarkable additions to this show is Dotty & Dolores (performed/puppeted by Grastorf and Sarah Olmsted Thomas), the ‘baby sisters’ who sing the “The Baby Sister Blues.” (Humanette Dolls crafted by Nancy Mendez.) Grastorf has a field day with all of the dancing— there’s even some jazz-hands and a nod to a kick line— with this puppet and its one of the sketches that gets the most applause from the audience.
Speaking of recurring sketches, the company takes turns rotating through the roles of Mr. Short & Mr. Wisenheimer— a pair of old Vaudeville yucksters who are dishing out the hotel puns and boy are they roomy! This skit gets several callbacks and at some point or other, everyone dons the big bowler hat and mustache and plays one of the two. Each of the ensemble also take turns over at the percussive-instrumental space— donning the Conductor’s Cap whenever they are in-charge of the musical element. This is true whether it’s Sarah Olmsted Thomas on squeezebox or literally everyone adding some drum and horn to the show.
Thomas is one half of the adorable “Shine On Harvest Moon” scene (which features everyone singing), where she is a lovestruck lady mooning over her man, who this time around is ‘Handi-quin’ (Hand-mannequin style puppet crafted with exacting detail by Alex Vernon) called Pierrot. This little moment between Thomas and Pierrot, with everyone in melodic harmony, will sweep you off your feet with sentimentality; heck, it’ll send you straight to the moon. Thomas gets to express her more physically comedic side, again in a scene with Vernon, where he plays The Hypnotizing Man, and he hypnotizes here to become different animals at the snap of his fingers. Thomas’ expressive physicality and added animalistic vocalizations make for utter hilarity as the sketch progresses. A woman of many talents, whether it’s dancing Flamenco, soaking songs out of the squeezebox, or simply singing with her siren’s voice, Sarah Olmsted Thomas is the perfect fifth of this quintet for Pocket Moxie.
Alex Vernon will have you in splinters of laughter all throughout the show. Whether it’s his naïve and cutely simplistic waiter during the “Italian Restaurant” sketch, who can spin plates, juggle, and whip table-cloths like a circus pro, or his Mountain Climbing antics with Mark Jaster, Vernon is a delight to watch. Of course, it’s Woody (Woooodyyyy!) that everyone’s really coming to see! He got his own ovation, after all. Symbiotically functional, Vernon and Woody get along like a two sticks in a tree— though Woody is definitely going places; hope he doesn’t leaf Alex Vernon behind! Vernon, like all of the ensemble, possesses this intrinsic understanding of how to take a simple gesture or movement and transform it into high-comedy of the most laughable variety and this is true whether he’s delivering lines, miming around, or just working with Woody.
Mark Jaster and Sabrina Mandell are the true glue of the ensemble, bringing everyone together with their seasoned experience. Jaster has the most expressive facial features and keeps the audience laughing and delighting in all of his antics from start to finish. He delivers an entire routine fiddling around with a chair, a cane, and his instrument case— which becomes a huge comedic lead-up to the actual performance of his astonishing musical talents. (You can’t say you saw that one coming!) He and Mandell share a comic duo— circus performers from old country— and it is wondrous display of how well they work together, how keenly they can read one another’s body language and comic timing, and how in-sync with one another they are when it comes to comic delivery. Mandell, who is also the show’s chief costume designer (creating resplendent sartorial selections that fit the era for every single Happenstance show that’s ever existed— including this one), is hilarious whether she’s performing in a scene with others or on her own. Watch her fiddling about during “Pussy Cat Rag” (which is sung and instrumented by Grastorf and Thomas) or laugh your meatballs off watching her grumble about in the “Italian Restaurant” sketch.
There truly aren’t enough words or even really the right ones to describe the wonder and magic that these folks present every time they bring one of their pieces live to a stage. It may be an era and performance style forgotten by time but Happenstance Theatre has not forgotten it and ensures that you never will either. They’ll make you laugh, they’ll bring you joy, and we need all the joy we can get right now. So let there be no delay; make the most of it while you may— be sure to get your tickets today— to see Pocket Moxie a Happenstance Vaudeville Touring Show!
Running Time: Approximately 80 minutes with no intermission
Pocket Moxie, a Happenstance Theatre production, plays through April 3, 2022 at Baltimore Theatre Project— 45 W. Preston Street in Baltimore, MD. For tickets call the box office at (410) 752-8558 or purchase them online.
