Focusing somewhat on the classic early eighties comedy film, Caddyshack and Other Dangerfields was a fabulous biography of the American comedian Rodney Dangerfield including plenty examples of his work.
The story of Rodney’s life was told in short chapters that were introduced with neat excerpts of various songs. These songs were not in keeping with the time periods covered in the show, instead they were linked lyrically to the topic at hand. It was an effective way to keep the show from being a continuous monologue and kept the tale rolling along at a decent pace.
The fascinating story of Rodney was told in first person with plenty of his one liners thrown in that was in keeping with the self deprecative material. Moments of seriousness were usually followed with a hilarious quip so the tone rarely strayed from lightheartedness. Being one of the main attractions, Dangerfield’s classic material garnered the largest laughs of the night but there was also some clever self referential lines that fitted in well with the rest of the show.
We were led into the intermission with a complete rendition of “Rappin’ Rodney” where he encouraged us to join in on the “No respect” chant. The only problem was that with the song full of quick jokes that were a little difficult to catch and laugh at when you were preparing for your next cue.
The second half began in an interesting way with an extremely condensed version of Caddyshack. It was essentially the performance of Rodney’s lines that were completely out of context with the film’s plot. While many were Dangerfield one liners that worked in isolation, many would only appeal to obsessive fans of the film who could chuckle at their favorite lines. Those not familiar with the movie could find it quite confusing given the lack of set up that this sequence was given.
Matt Byrne put in a wonderful portrayal of the legendary comedian. He successfully adopted many of Rodney’s mannerisms although his accent was a little shaky at times. I was particularly impressed with the way he adopted many of the big man’s quips to interact with the audience. It showed that he had spent such a long time with this material that he was able to instantly select the appropriate line.
He ended the show with a rendition of “Twist and Shout” taken from the film “Back to School”. It was a fun way to end the story but it was not as spirited as Rodney’s version in the film and didn’t quite capture the wacky spirit of the song it was replicating.
The old school comedy stylings of Rodney Dangerfield attracted an older audience to this show. This performance was such an informative and entertaining experience that people of all ages could enjoy it.
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