The Peoples Improv Theater is dedicated to the instruction, performance and development of original comedy. Dickie in the House is described as the “possibly true, entirely fabricated, probably wrong story of Watergate as told by two girls who really don’t know what happened but gave it the old college try.” The piece is clearly a distant cousin to the often riotous Drunk History television series.
Olivia Atwood and Maggie Seymour wrote, perform and directed this assortment of loosely written sketches and musical numbers. I did laugh at some of the antics particularly those of Ms. Atwood who reminded me of a young, underdeveloped, mildly feral Carol Burnett. Her face has the same ability to morph.
Mashing up the President Richard Nixon scandal is a fairly ripe opportunity to mine some serious laughs in today’s political, autocratic environment. Leaders who believe themselves above the law. In Dickie in the House, Mrs. Nixon even wants him dead. The general problem with this material is that is doesn’t come close enough to skewering its source material and wanders all over the place. Long stretches are silly but not funny enough to sustain the audience’s visibly waning interest.
When President Nixon resigned, he left the White House in disgrace. When this play ended, I left the PIT a bit befuddled. The intended target was HUUUGE but the zingers sailed past without a scratch.