Myotis!

Saturday night several of us (including the inimitable hello_mimi) went to see Sister Myotis' Church Retreat, which I understand is (at least) the third in a series that has been a Memphis staple for quite some time. Half drag show, half Minnie Pearl routine, with sizable nods to both The Daily Show and to whichever prop comic you like best, I was actually a little worried that it might be a rehash combination of the worst of Hee Haw coupled with the worst of gay standup, which, like Christian rock, is occasionally given a extra leeway to suck.

One friend summed up the show with the words "dildo fruit salad," which didn't ease my spirits any, as I don't find phallic objects in and of themselves funny, and whipping out a dildo onstage isn't automatically going to elicit a laugh from me. On the other hand, the Commerical Appeal called it "hilarious" and "brilliant," and while I don't necessarily agree with Chris Blank's reviews, he's not normally completely off-base--it would at least be genuinely funny. Or so I hoped.

My fears proved unfounded, fortunately, as the show (while borrowing stylistically from the aforementioned sources) is clever, original, and funny, and this is coming from someone who barely laughed during Avenue Q and didn't laugh during Spamalot, both of which are fine but give away their best moments on the cast albums (or in a 33-year old movie).

And--just to give you a feel for it, here's a clip from another show, mining a more traditional comedy subject: