Some friends and I went to see The Black Version, a troupe of improv players I've raved about before here. The working premise of their shows — and this is grounded in sad reality — is that there aren't enough decent roles for black actors in Hollywood. So what they do is take some movie suggested by the audience and improvise "The Black Version" of it. Last night, it was "What if Love, Actually had featured all black actors?" I can't tell you how funny it was.
Directing it all is Karen Maruyama, who is real good at setting up scenes, getting out of the actors' way and then knowing when to call for the blackout. The performers occasionally vary but last night, the cast consisted of (left to right in the above pic) Cedric Yarbrough, Phil LaMarr, Nyima Funk, Jordan Black, Gary Anthony Williams and Daniele Gaither. Usually in an improv company, you have a couple of stand-out performers and the rest work in support. Not with these folks. No one stood out because everyone stood out.
I already knew how brilliant Phil LaMarr was, having worked with him a few times, plus he often appears on the Cartoon Voices panels I host at conventions. And I'd seen Gary Anthony Williams, who has been on a lot of episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, where he's been indecently funny. Like all the folks on the stage last night, he's amazing when he takes whatever he's given — the briefest suggestion of a character, the slightest plot situation — and surprises the hell outta you with where he takes it.
And so fast. Most improv comedy doesn't stand up to retelling the next day because it's of the moment and it works in context. It's like I can tell you what a great magician did but if you weren't there to see him do it, you just plain won't be that impressed. The next performance of The Black Version in Los Angeles has not yet been scheduled but they'll be at Sketchfest in San Francisco on January 21, plus some of the players will be in other shows there. You can find out about that and read bios of all these funny thespians here.
I'll let you know when they're up in L.A. again because if you're close enough to see them, you really oughta see them. I think they're kinda good.