My overall impression
This was my first Hollywood Fringe show, and definitely won’t be my last! It was a creative adaptation of the ever-popular Ghostbusters film. From the start, the cast encourages the audience to participate in creating sound effects for the story. This was great in keeping everyone engaged (especially since she show began in the late evening @ 11:30pm). It was fun to create the sounds of the proton packs and scream when the Colossal Custard Man (Stay Puft) started to antagonize our heroes.
The jokes come quick and are very sharp. (it’s quick because they condensed a 105 minute movie into a 65 minute show) Hearing lines delivered in old English brought a whole new level of humor to the original Aykroyd/Ramis script. I found myself laughing more at how the lines were translated to Shakespearian-speak than anything else. It came across as very clever. To my detriment, I haven’t seen the 1984 Ghostbusters film in nearly 15 years, so while the dialogue was delivered in such a fluid, rapid pace, I found it challenging to catch all the jokes while trying to recall the specific scenes in the film. The reason I realize I missed several hilarious moments was because the audience began rolling in laughter in moments I was still trying to remember minute details of the plot. I wish I would have revisited the film prior to attending.
Some actors had double/triple/quadruple duty in the show. And I was amazed how they transformed into their different characters without the aid of costume changes. Libby Letlow and Patrick Wenk-Wolff excelled at doing this, sometimes even changing characters mid-scene or occasionally having conversations with/by themselves. Jordan Monsell, Alex Knox, Drew Doyle, and Dan White were brilliant and perfectly cast in their roles. They brought a fresh interpretation of their characters that was definitely entertaining.
I really can’t say enough good things about Ministers of Grace. I hope that this show gets the attention it deserves and I get to watch it again as a full staged production (costumes/sets/props/etc).
