Yo, is this The Wizard of Oz?

Players while drunk isn’t original, but it’s fun

Image by: Tyler Ball

Most people who know me are blatantly aware that I love to complain. There’s nothing I love more than a well-timed jab at others expense or bringing someone down a peg. That being said, I wish I could continue this article by filling it with the occasional pun or hilarious critique about how the liquor was the best part of my evening with at the Queen’s Players show Miley…why so Cyrus??—but I can’t. I liked all of it. I would even go as far as to say I loved it. I was enthralled from the very first minute.

The scene is set by a slideshow montage of drinking, footie dinosaur pajamas, an electric yellow wig and many dance parties, all of which is backed by a surprisingly good live band with an adorable saxophone player. To quote my notes, “The band is bitchin’—sax is CUTE!” The atmosphere of drunken camaraderie is undeniable and as soon as the audience settles, the lights dim and the rules are read—the audience is asked “Who’s ready to get fucked up?” The answer? Me. Let’s get this party started.

Just so we’re clear, I can’t read my notes past the first 30 minutes of the show. It’s literally a lot of words written in all caps. Every sentence ends in at least five exclamation points and the words “Love it” and “Check” are written over and over again. In fact, there’s a page that only has the word “YES” written on it in giant letters. That’s how The Queen’s Players are serious when they tell the audience drinks are meant for chugging.

It needs to be said that this show isn’t for you if you don’t love Top-40 music. Surprisingly enough the show blends the songs you loved in Grade 8, the songs that you can’t help but scream along to when they come on the radio and the songs everyone seems to have on their iTunes. It takes such random shots at pop culture icons and makes obscure references to television shows, people and songs that when you catch on to them you can’t help but feel like you’re part of the in-crowd. I clearly remember being strangely proud of myself for catching on to a joke about Chris Hansen’s To Catch A Predator.

The plot line isn’t important, because no one came to watch a play comparable to Brecht or Shakespeare. Everyone came to yell, to drink and most importantly to laugh, all of which was accomplished.

People like Alice in Wonderland, Ashton Kutcher, Tinkerbell and—tugging on my 14-year-old heartstrings—Clay Aiken are featured. Some of the best parts of this show are the little things—certain dance moves and facial expressions really took it to a whole other level. That and the sheer mention of The Lonely Island, Warrant’s Cherry Pie and cougar romping, hooked me.

I think the reason I liked this show so much aside from the obvious hilarity of it all was that you can tell this cast genuinely likes each other. It’s adorable to watch them bump and grind on each other to songs like “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” and “Gangsta’s Paradise” after reading in their program that they regard each other as family.

It would be unrealistic to say that I loved every aspect of this show—Lady GaGa, Rihanna, that Misery for Business song and the really loud guy behind me are just a couple of grievances I had but—overall the good outweighed the bad. My incessant clapping, screaming and the fact that I was okay with not being able to hear for 30 minutes after the show are just a couple of signs of how much I liked it. If my notes, which contain phrases like,“EPIC Blowjob joke- CHECK! YAYYAYAY! Entertained- CHECK! LOVE IT!!!!” are any indication, I’ll surely be quoting the Queen’s Players show for days to come.

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