Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

It is said that comedy is the most serious of dramas. It is an art form that demands discipline,  a rigorous commitment to character and a flawless execution of timing rarely recognized by an audience too busy laughing. Accolades and awards often and unfairly go to the tragedians, regardless of the fact that comedy is much harder to pull off successfully.  This is the tough lesson still being learned by the young sketch comedy troupe the Burkinis whose show, Great Moments in Feminist...Eh...Blah, Blah, Blah...Burp!, is playing at the Abingdon thru August 28th. Despite their spirited enthusiasm and commendable ambition, the Burkinis are mostly unable to construct scenes that develop beyond an initial idea. Endings to most of the sketches come abruptly, without a punch line, leaving the audience struggling to understand the point.  

 The brightest moments of this two hour set come from energetic performances by Desi Domo, Annie Chang and Melissa Pinsley who manage to create characters out of thin air. But mostly, the ensemble struggles to manufacture humor with out-of-place accents and broadly drawn stereotypes that do little more than affirm over used clichés of race and gender. The Burkinis attempt to tackle weighty issues like Islamaphobia and Arizona's new immigration laws, but do so clumsily, with the precision of a sledge hammer, offering little satiric insight.  The young comedians finally find their rhythm with a skit about an unexpected relationship that emerges from a D&D role play, demonstrating that the Burkinis can create a well-timed comic reversal, even though these skills are still mostly submerged. If given the right time to develop, the Burkinis might find the comic dexterity needed to handle the big issues. Then, we would be too busy laughing to notice their handiwork.