SALT LAKE CITY — Having seen clown shows before, I was amazed at how well Madazon Can-Can performed. The silent gestures and expressions were so funny, and mixing the clown show with burlesque was something I hadn’t seen before. Genit-Hell Yeah! (sounded out: Genitalia) is obviously an adult show; I signed a waiver before the show began, and the doors were locked at start time.
The show shared not only some playful silliness about genitals and how our bodies are made, but it also had some portions (read by volunteer audience members who were gestured by Can-Can to stand on a box labeled “soap” and read the speech) that touched on major issues facing society today about how sexuality is thought of and what fits into the culture and what doesn’t. It was relieving to hear someone share the idea that though the bodies may reflect either boy or girl, what is going on inside the body with hormones and desires is often somewhere in-between, which Can-Can referred to as the purple space. Conveniently, someone in the audience had worn a purple suit and volunteered as the “listener” to the soap box speech on the color purple. It drove the point home.
The costumes changed between silly clown, like the poofy short-legged outfit she wore near the beginning, and glamorous, like when she came out in a sparkly, sequined purple dress with all sorts of additions. I loved the set with the ragged quilt-like backdrop. I also thought the puppets were well-made and hilarious. Can-Can lip-synced to Chicago‘s “You’re the Inspiration,” using her two genitalia puppets that would sing the harmonies and backup parts while she took the main part. Her talent with coordinating her puppets at the same time she was pantomiming was phenomenal.
The only part of this show that didn’t work for me was when she had two audience members volunteer at the beginning to be a part of the show. When the focus came to the volunteers, they were each given a song to sing, and though the songs were fun, the entire song played each time. It took up time that could have been better used in moving the story along. However, this indulgence was possibly part of the idea to celebrate the fun of life, which it did well.
I would definitely recommend this show for adult audiences. I am gratefully surprised that the Fringe was able to have a show like this on their roster. I don’t know the specifics on Utah law, but it sounds like this was a difficult one for Can-Can to get approved. I hope she is able to have more success in future.