With much of Loyola caught up with the anti-war movement, the struggling economy, or reality TV series like “Survivor,” a unique band of students, fed up with all the brouhaha, decided to do something productive about it.
With a plethora of recent material to work with, members of Boxaganga, morphed their frustrations into a performance appropriately titled “American Idolatry” Jan. 29 at Le Chat Noir Cabaret.
Boxaganga is a comedy troupe that colorfully blends the elements of sketch comedy, improv and original music.
The troupe was formed by a group of Loyola drama students nearly four years ago.
Members of the group include James Asmus, Tiffany Terrell, Tom Mackey, Jen Carriere, Rick Malphrus, Matt McMullen, Zack Taylor and Alejandra Cejudo.
It was formed to fill the void of outlets for comedy groups on campus.
The hilarious “American Idolatry” satire aimed to poke fun at all those little idiosyncrasies that make America, well, America.
“All of our shows have something to do with America, and we chose ‘American Idol’ because it is the number one rated show right now,” drama senior Tiffany Terrell said.
Among the laid back yet ritzy atmosphere of Le Chat Noir was a crowd of mostly Loyola upperclassmen enjoying one of the funniest and most controversial Boxaganga performances to date.
“This was our most pointed show yet,” said drama senior Tom Mackey. “It’s basically a thematic show of all of America’s social and political values, morals and problems.”
Beginning with the first sketch, the troupe touched on perhaps the most recognizable images of American pop culture, the reality series “American Idol.”
The main sketch was a spin-off of “American Idol” with the panel of judges consisting of Yahweh (Terrell), Elvis Presley (Malphrus), and the loveable real life “American Idol” judge, Simon Cowell (Taylor).
The contestants were a slew of gods from different religions, including Buddha, Shiva and Thor, all competing for America’s vote as the perfect god.
“Well we sat around one night and thought what if God was on ‘American Idol’?” Terrell said. “Most of our ideas tying George Bush, giant corporate mergers and corporate advertising evolved around that concept.”
Tied into the skit was a cleverly conceived plan by President George W. Bush (Asmus) and Dick Cheney (McMullen) to submit their own created God, “Winky the Clown,” to the show in hopes that they could persuade the American public to support the administration’s current foreign and domestic policies.
While most of the show touched on the goofiness of Bush and the ridiculousness of “American Idol,” the troupe found plenty of time to poke fun at some issues that have spun out of control as of late in American society.
Dressing up as a pair of bald eagles, drama junior Cejudo and Malphrus addressed a mock congress demanding that the term “bald eagle” be removed because it was “misleading” and “offensive” and they should be referred to as “Eagle American.”
The eagles claimed they would have chosen the name “American Eagle,” but did not want to be sued by the popular clothing company.
The skit was an obvious jab at the nation going overboard with political correctness.
In the wake of giant corporate mergers bent on greed, one sketch featured James Asmus, drama senior, and Mackey playing businessmen, who instead of merging their companies, got married.
They replaced the wedding ring with a money-laden briefcase and an e-board took the place of parents giving away the bride.
Not all the skits were aimed at American idiosyncrasies.
For example, Mackey, Asmus, Malphrus, and McMullen draped a sheet over their heads and impersonated the presidents of Mount Rushmore as if they were roommates.
“The Rushmore skit came together when we asked ourselves what would it be like if those four presidents actually lived in a house together and had a group meeting,” Mackey said.
The enthusiastic audience response indicated “American Idolatry” was successful at using humor as a statement.
“What I saw tonight was smart humor,” said communications junior Keith Ferguson. “James Asmus is a genius, and Alejandra is beautiful.”
When it was all said and done, Boxaganga members claimed they didn’t have any clear message to offer their audience.
“We, as a comedy troupe, are so diverse,” Terrell said. “It is hard for Boxaganga to make a stance, but as a trade-off that is where most of the comedy comes from.”
However, the lack of a message seemed to appeal to the audience.
“It was nice comic relief, and we need that sometimes for the balance,” said visual arts sophomore Shannan Hayes.
If you missed last week’s performance, Boxaganga announced they will put on an encore presentation of “American Idolatry” on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. at Le Chat Noir.
For tickets and directions call Le Chat Noir at 504-581-5812, or visit Boxaganga’s website at www.boxaganga.com.
Dressed as a pair of bald eagles, Alejandra Cejudo (left) and Rick Malphrus address a mock congress, demanding that the term “bald eagle” be changed to “Eagle American.” (Ann Hermes)
