There’s an amazing new type of theater in Oakland — Knockoff Broadway. It opened April 27, 2024, but I just heard about it and decided to see what it was all about.
Jed Levine and his very talented crew of musicians and actors devise a fully improvised Broadway-style musical based on the audience’s suggestion of a location twice a month in downtown Oakland.
Someone suggested a lobster farm in New England the night I saw the show.
Within minutes, the seven-member cast was singing about the joys and obstacles of being a fisherman in New England. Some cast members alternated between cleaning lobsters and being lobsters dancing backup to a solo singer or romantic duet. The lighthouse operator and his two daughters figured prominently in the comedic action.
Like with most improv, some jokes/situations worked better than others, but, overall, it was a very entertaining hoot. I particularly liked watching the two instrumentalists — music directors Jared Hauser (guitar) and Caeden Schlosser (piano) — begin a tune with the singers jumping in or vice versa. Being experienced performers, all seem to know when a romantic duet or an all-out, up-tempo dance number was most appropriate to the story.
“There’s kind of a constant feedback loop where the musicians read something that’s happening and amplify it, which is a gift to an improviser,” said director/founder Jed Levine. “They see something you might not even be aware you’re doing, and they underscore it and that goes into a song, and you have to find words that work with it.”
What attracted Levine to this genre was how it takes all the skills of improv and moves it to a higher level. On top of improvising the story, performers are also figuring out the rhythm to the song and trying to make words rhyme.
“It’s a high-wire act. It’s thrilling,” said Levine. “You’re responsible for the rhythm and bringing truthful lyrics that make sense to the moment and are grounded in what you’ve already established. While it can be terrifying, I haven’t found much else that is as rewarding as improvising a musical in real time.”
Levine got into improv in the first place because he hated memorizing lines. Living in Chicago at the time, he started classes at Second City in sketch writing.
“I was a writer and a huge musical nerd who always wanted to write a musical,” Levine said. “I started taking improv classes to make my writing better and fell in love with it. I saw a group improvise an entire Sondheim-style musical and it was unbelievable.”
Originally from the Bay Area, Levine moved back here in 2020 and started teaching improv and soon after Knockoff Broadway was born.
The group performs every second and fourth Saturday at 9 p.m. at Colleen Breen’s All Out Comedy Theater on 2550 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland. Nicely designed with several classrooms and a well-appointed black box theater, the new building also features a small bar.
Cast members include Kathy Groat, Jade Laity, Jeb (only one name), Jed Levine, Jessica Neighbor, Pat Pow-anpongkul and Adrian Vazquez. In addition to acting and singing, Vazquez provides some amazing percussion for many of the numbers.
Levine offers all kinds of opportunities for people to get involved in musical improv including walk-in jams where newbies are paired in teams with more experienced improvisers, “RiOt,” an improvised rock opera in the style of “Rent,” and an improvised fantasy farce inspired by Dungeons and Dragons.
For more information on Knockoff Broadway shows, knockoffbroadway.com.
Martinez: Onstage Repertory Theatre performs Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel” Thursday through Feb. 23 at the Campbell Theater on 636 Ward St. Originally scheduled to open Feb. 7, a cast change necessitated the week’s postponement.
Based on the life of Nottage’s great-grandmother, the play explores the effects of racism and classism as well as the bravery, hard work, friendship and love of people often forgotten by history.
It takes place in 1905 where Esther, a Black New York seamstress, lives in a boarding house and sews intimate apparel for clients ranging from wealthy white patrons to black prostitutes.
Directed by Carlene Coury, the show features Toniea Hawkins, Gwen Sampson Brown, Eddie Roberts, Safira McGrew, Ben Pierson and Maya Via.
“I fell in love with this play when I saw it about seven years ago and knew I wanted to direct it,” said Coury. “So, I just jumped at the opportunity to direct it for Onstage. There are so many different themes going on and colorful characters. There’s a socialite, a prostitute, a guy from the Panama Canal, a Jewish gentleman and our seamstress who can’t read or write but makes beautiful things.”
For tickets to this little gem, go to campbelltheater.com.
Reach Sally Hogarty at sallyhogarty@gmail.com, and read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.