What I liked
It was hilarious seeing cast members doubling down on what Waleed made up during the performance and became recurring aspects of the backstory, jokes to come back to, and vital information to the murder mystery. I’ve been to past iterations of the show with different cast members and this cast seems to have had the best synergy to the point where they all seemed like they genuinely had fun. All the members of the cast, including Waleed, were very quick on their feet when it came to adapting to what’s at hand in a scene. There wasn’t a weak link in the cast and they all brought up each other in scenes, like a true ensemble cast, and speaks to their experience, synergy, and professionalism.
What I didn't like
Due to the nature of the format of this improv play and how unpredictable scenes can get, some jokes don’t land compared to others. However, it doesn’t bring down other parts of the show or slow down the cast members’ momentum. One thing that could be improved in future iterations of this show, which is more subjective per show and guest, is being better about guiding the guest audience member around situations that cause confusion or tangents away from the plot. These are all very minor points that don’t drag down the overall feat of the show.
My overall impression
SOAPS is a fantastic improv concept that fully relies on the ensemble cast’s synergy and ability to play off the audience guest member playing the lead. On the June 21st show, the cast and audience member, Waleed Mansour, played off each other so well. Having a show within a show brings a level of dynamic play to the table that the core cast keeps up with and even thrives off of. It’s refreshing seeing this take on improv and soap operas “gone wrong” and seeing the dynamic potential this concept has.
