The Liar Show

The Liar Show
Created and directed by Andy Christie
The Triad
158 West 72nd St., NY NY
Reviewed April 15, 2009 by Larry Litt

Are there new and inventive uses for oral storytelling in this post-modern age of ubiquitous digital images and incessant electronic metaphor? To that end The Liar Show, as developed by Andy Christie, is presenting a rethinking of the art of the autobiographical monologue. Introducing the event on stage Christie tells the audience that four storytellers will beguile them with tales of wondrous personal experiences. Only hitch is that one of the stories is a bald faced lie. After the four tellers are finished canting, the audience will vote to reveal which one they think is the liar. It is an exercise in civilized deception, one that we must all learn in order to survive in the high powered distracting worlds of mass media and endless marketing. Deceptive selling is as common as well, lies.

However The Liar Show is not about selling as much as it’s a form of adult intellectual entertainment. On the night I attended tales were individually told by “aw shucks” comedian Tom Shillue, political humor speechwriter Mark Katz, ex-policeman turned comedian Steve Osborne and fallen Texas debutante Faye Lane. Christie was a witty and ironic emcee whooping the audience into careful listening for libelous clues. Take my word for it, ferreting out the liar is not for the attention deficit set. It requires an inspiring hour of rapt attention and continuous laughter. When the time came for clarification and debate Christie rousted us into believing the tall tale was obvious. But alas not so. Hard as I debated with myself, I got it wrong. Proves I can still be fooled by a pretty face every time. I must return to try catching the deceiver again. This time I’ll listen much more carefully. I’ll avoid the beauty trap. And I’ll have to overcome my uncontrollable laughter. If that’s possible.

Peace and Pleasure,
Larry Litt
Meat eating Republicans have a death wish
Only Vegans Can Save The World

var addthis_pub = "jslaff";

Larry Litt

The Liar Show