Early in the set, The Unlikely Candidates play “Someone To Remind Me” from their 2022 album, Panther Island. This is an excellent pop rock song and showcases the vocals of lead singer, Kyle Morris. 

Soon afterwards, they play “High Low”. It’s about losing touch with friends over time. “Sometimes I get so high, so low / Where did all my good friends go? / I keep on looking for somebody like me.” It’s another great alternative rock song.

Late in the night, they play “Oh My Dear Lord”, a 2018 single. The guitars on this one sound absolutely fantastic. It has an anthemic rock sound similar to Welshly Arms. 

They end the night with their biggest hit, “Novocaine”. It has over 66 million streams on Spotify. This is my ex-girlfriend’s favorite song, says Morris. Midway into the song, he comes down into the audience to jump around and sing. “I can’t change / Guess you could blame it on my left side brain / I should know better but you know I know, I know / I ain’t ever gonna change”! This is a fantastic rocker and the perfect choice to end their set with. 

See a recent setlist here. 

Cost of a ticket: $27

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It 

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Quinn Delaney

Often when a lead singer of a popular band tours solo, they play unknown solo material or deep cuts from the band’s catolog. This is not the case for Marc Roberge of O.A.R. He plays a lot of the hits. 

Early on he plays “Shattered (Turn The Car Around)”, which is O.A.R.’s most popular song on Spotify with over 73 million streams from their 2008 album All Sides. “How many times can I break ’til I shatter? Over the line can’t define what I’m after. I always turn the car around.” This song is truly a crowd favorite. He says he wrote this while sitting on his front porch writing about the people who walked by. 

Soon afterwards, he plays “Love and Memories” from their 2005 album, Stories Of A Stranger. “Love me (faster than the devil) / Run me (straight into the ground), yeah / Drownin’ (deep inside your water) / Drown in love and memories.” This is a great love rock song that puts a smile on everyone’s face.

In between songs, he talks about how the band started playing together in 8th grade. They have been touring relentlessly ever since.

As a request, he plays “Hey Girl”, which was their first single. It is on their 2003 album, In Between Now and Then. They made the music video on a budget of $17.

He ends the night with “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker” from their 1997 album, The Wanderer. “I had three Jacks and a pair of nines / My mind is turning, just two shots more / There’s not much left to play.” At a length of 8 minutes and 42 seconds, it is quite long for a hit song. It’s a fantastic jam that has everyone singing along louder than him for a great finale to his excellent set.

Cost of a ticket: $93

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Quinn Delaney

“Line”

Five people are waiting in line. They are all doing various tricks to get the others to step out of line and take their place. Their ideas are simple at first, but they eventually get quite ridiculous. 

Israel Horovitz has written a funny and absurd play about waiting in line. On the negative side, the way the men treat the woman is pretty terrible and has not aged well. 

Derek Preston Ray is hilarious as the man who spent the night at the line in order to be first. Annalie Ciolino is great as the women who takes a lot of heat from the men, but also dishes it back. Jason Pavlovich is solid as her husband, though it’s clear they have an usual relationship. Caleb Petre is great as the guy who first starts to take someone else’s spot in line. Grayson Kennedy plays a man who has the most out of the box tricks. 

“The Dumb Waiter”

Two assasins are waiting for their next assignment. Through the dumb waiter, they receive orders for food. This thoroughly confuses them as they try to figure out how to respond. 

Harold Pinter has written a comedic play that has a great twist. Caleb Petre is great as the more seasoned hitman, who bosses around the other. Kason Chesky is solid as the one who is the most concerned about the food orders. 

Cost of a ticket: $45 (3-play pass)

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Get tickets now for Theatre of the Absurd through May 25th.

Quinn Delaney

The Antiquities is a series of exhibits about humans created by AI beings. It ranges from the 1860s to the 2070s. It captures key moments in the creation of AI such as the first machines, the first robots, the early internet, Alexa-like devices, and more. 

Jordan Harrison has written a very thought-provoking play about the evolution of humans and AI. It has some very funny moments along with a very strong warning about the dangers of AI. 

At 100 minutes, it is quite long to not have an intermission. There is even a perfect time for one, right after the “central exhibit” scene. Or, even better, would be to have this exhibit displayed for the audience to come and look at closely during an intermission. Join the Pro-Intermission movement here.   

This play joins a great list of other stories on this topic including A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Companion.

The entire cast is great, especially the performance by Kristen Sieh.

Cost of a ticket: $50

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Get tickets now for The Antiquities through June 1st! 

Quinn Delaney

A man has just been fired, so he gathers his things. “Seperate Ways” by Journey starts to play. Then, he rips an apron off one of his coworkers. Then, he grabs a wig off another. “Hey, that’s my real hair” he exclaims! Next, he pulls off a black shirt from another coworker, who is wearing an identical shirt right under it. This scene continues in an epic slow-motion montage which has the audience roaring with laughter. 

This Too Shall Slap is full of hilarious scenes likes this one. Also, there is very little mention of politics, which is a nice break. 

Jordan Stafford is hilarious as the grandma calling all the numbers she has written down (without names next to them) to wish Darlene a Happy Birthday.  Adonis Holmes is outstanding as the kid who goes absolutely nuts after being eliminated from a game of musical chairs.  Hannah Ingle is so funny as the daughter of two black men, who needs to be introduced to white culture.  

Adisa Williams cracks everyone up as the kid who is so embarrassed by her father interrupting play time.  Bill Letz is absolutely hilarious as a father more focused on his X-rated crossword than on his three daughters picking out a wedding dress for one of them.  Leila Gorstein is outrageous as the body builder going through a tough workout. 

Cost of a ticket: $75 (General Admission)

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Get tickets now for This Too Shall Slap on the mainstage! 

Quinn Delaney

Five women are upstairs in a bedroom avoiding the wedding reception downstairs. It’s the room of the bride’s sister. They all have different reasons for taking a break from the festivities taking place below. It mostly has to do with the men in attendance. 

Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) has written a hilarious play that dives in the lives of the bridal party at the reception in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s mostly nonstop laughs with just a touch of drama in the second half. 

Kayla Erpenbeck is hilarious as the 21-year old virgin who is saving herself for her husband. All the others roll their eyes every times she says she’s a Christian or mentions Jesus. Claire Rutkowski (Boeing-Boeing, The Shady Lady) is superb as the friend who has a history with the groom. Hannah Green is so funny as the bride’s sister. Laura Peterson is great as the groom’s sister, who is so full of sass and charm. Alexandra T. Cross (Barefoot in the Park) is solid as the friend who is the most cynical about love of the group, but who seems to hit it off with one of the other guests, played by Trey Sorensen. 

Cost of a ticket: $35

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Get tickets now for Five Women Wearing the Same Dress through May 18th! 

Quinn Delaney

Hermia is in love with Lysander, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius. So, she runs away to marry Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius, but he loves Hermia. This is a musical retelling of Shakepeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

Dominick Alesia has written a funny and modern take on this Shakespeare classic. This production is very well done with great singing and excellent costumes. It’s also a lengthy one, coming in at just over 3 hours with an intermission.  

The only issue is with the in the round seating, which results in the actors facing directly away from you at times. If they just removed one of the four sides, this issue would be fixed. As it is now, the best seats are the ones directly across the room from the piano. 

Cost of a ticket: $26

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Get tickets now for Helena & Hermia in the Enamored Odyssey through May 10th! 

Also, check out their next production, Footholds Vol. 6, which runs from June 6th to June 21st!

Quinn Delaney

Gil and Benny meet at a funeral. Gil is grieving the loss of his father. Benny has something important to tell him. His mother just told him that his father is the man in the casket. The two men go on to form a strong bond, a brotherhood that gets them through good times and bad. 

Lolita Chakrabarti has written a very powerful play about brotherhood, which can even begin in middle age. Also, the ending of the story is quite unexpected. 

James Vincent Meredith (Noises Off, Describe the Night) is great as Gil, who really enjoyed running a business with father and now wants to share this experience with his brother. Chike Johnson is superb as Benny, who is so happy to have discovered the other half of his family. 

Cost of a ticket: $70

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

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Get tickets now for Hymn through May 25th. 

Quinn Delaney

Serge invites his friend Marc over to see the painting that he just bought. Marc describes the painting as some white lines on a white background. He can’t believe that Serge spent 200,000 francs on it (the equivalent of approximately $70,000 USD today). Yvan, the third friend, says he likes the painting, at first. Eventually, Marc reveals the other reasons for his anger and what he thinks this purchase really means. 

Yasmina Reza has written a hilarious play about modern art and male friendship. The characters joke and laugh with each other but then really open up. At 90 minutes, it would still be nice to have an intermission. Join the Pro-Intermission movement here.

Chad Bay is great as Serge, who truly wants to share the grandeur of the painting with the others. Justin Albinder (The Lord of the Rings) is hilarious as Marc, who is shocked and amazed by the purchase. Eduardo Curley is suberb as Yvan, who finds himself in the middle trying to please both of them in a George Constanza style. 

Cost of a ticket: $36

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Worth It +

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Get tickets now for ‘Art’ – A Comedy through June 1st! 

Quinn Delaney

A young intern is tasked with fact checking an essay over the weekend by his boss, the editor-in-chief. He sees this as a big opportunity for his career,  and he takes it very seriously. He quickly discovers that many of the facts are incorrect. When he brings this up to the author, he says that he slightly changed the numbers to make them sound better and to make them fit better into his essay. Eventually, the boss has to come and sort out all the discrepancies.

The playwrights (Jeremy Kareken & David Murrell and Gordon Farrell [based on the book by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal]) have written a very fast paced, funny, and invigorating story that has the audience at the edge of their seats. What are the true facts of the story? Will the boss publish half truths?

This story calls to mind the scandal surrounding Hasan Minaj. It was revealed that he bent the truth in his stand-up special. The key to the issue is realizing the context. If he were bending the truth on his news show, The Patriot Act, that would be out of line. But to alter the story for a stand-up routine is perfectly fair. Who expects a comedian to only be telling true stories? Thus, the key to this play is the context of the magazine. Is it a factual news outlet, or is it one that allows some flexibility for dramatic storytelling?

Thomas Neumann is great as the enthusiastic and idealist intern. Jamie Ewing is fantastic as the author with artistic integrity and a skill for truth bending dramatic writing. Lori Rohr is superb as the editor who struggles to find a compromise between the two.

Cost of a ticket: $39

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Get tickets now for The Lifespan of a Fact through May 4th!

Quinn Delaney