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The Mostlies: Making fun of everyday events |
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Written by Andra Coberly, Fort Collins Now
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Friday, 03 August 2007 |
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 The Mostlies have a lot on their minds. From traffic, global warming and politics to missing socks and the influx of ecosexuals, there is always something for the members of the Fort Collins comedy troupe to ponder — and, thus, make fun of.
For every world event, city scandal and absurd happening, there is a corresponding song that will mock, satirize or parody. In fact, a Mostly’s job is never done. As the world turns and others fret over the drama, The Mostlies are always thinking, “This would make a great song.”
 “There has been so much news to make fun of this year,” said Mostlies long-timer Barbara Sherrod. “In fact, we’ve had an abundance of material.”
Once a year, the players of The Mostlies combine their creativity, humor and musical magic to produce a show that is honest, charming and funny. This year, the show’s theme is “An Inconvenient Spoof,” inspired by Al Gore’s cinematic tribute to global warming, but the songs in the production touch on a variety of topics. Traffic issues get a good once over — done to the sound of the Bee Gees. Tom Tancredo and Barack Obama are parodied in two of several political ditties. There’s a song about penguins and another about teenage boredom. The recent Larimer County Commissioner debacle (one commissioner resigned because of the behavior of another) even gets a mention, as does immigration and outsourcing.
“It’s the way we handle what’s going on in the world,” said director Betsy Kellogg. “It doesn’t change the world, but it gives you a chance to laugh at it. You can’t do anything about Iraq or global warming. If you can laugh at it, it works.”
And laugh they do. As much as loyal audiences make a point of seeing the annual Mostlies show, the players too keep coming back year after year because, well, it’s funny. Many of the current Mostlies were there in 1993 when the troupe started as The Mostly Not Ready for OpenStage Player. They have come back every year since.
They call what they do “insane sanity”—when the chaos of humor, inspiration and collaboration swirls into creative perfection.
“We’ve worked together so long, we just riff off each other. Everyone contributes,” Sherrod said. “My writing is something I do in isolation. So this feels very energetic and exciting and hilarious and high speed and intense and X-rated.”
Despite that last comment, The Mostlies do keep it clean. Troupe members said they are conscious of their audience, but they still expect to insult people.
“Everyone will be offended at least once,” Kellogg said.
While some of their songs touch on politics or scandals, others are simply about the absurdities of life: goose poop, thunder thighs, and Donald Trump’s rivalry with Rosie O’Donnell.
“Sometimes I think, ‘How stupid was that? There’s gotta be a song in that,’ ” Sherrod said. “It’s the absurd stuff that gets me.”
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GO TO THE SHOW
The Mostlies
7 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Aug. 3-5
Lincoln Center Mini Theater,
417 W. Magnolia, Fort Collins
221.6730
Tickets: $10 | Only registered users can write comments.
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