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March 12, 2005
only three performances of Love Machine left
So this post is complete, utter, total and shameless pimping of myself and the brilliant cast who crank up the ACME Love Machine to eleven.
If you're local to Los Angeles, and you haven't been out to see ACME Love Machine, tonight would be the best night of all for you to come and collect your share of the funny.
I'm in this show that will eventually air on VH-1, and as part of their profile on me, they're coming to the theatre tonight to tape our show. It would be awesome to give them a full house.
Please come see us tonight if you haven't, or even if you have already. Thanks!!
WHAT: ACME Love Machine
WHERE: Acme Comedy Theatre
135 N. La Brea
Hollywood, CA 90036
(323) 525-0202
WHEN: Tonight, 8 pm.
Backstage West's review is reprinted after the jump, for you fence-sitters. :)
Acme Love Machine
Reviewed By Jenelle Riley
BACKSTAGE WEST
JAN. 19, 2005Acme Love Machine
presented by and at the Acme Comedy Theatre, 135 N. La Brea Ave., L.A. Fri. 8 pm through Jan. 28, Sat. 8 pm through Feb. 26. $15. (323) 525-0202.When watching sketch comedy, most of us inevitably finds ourselves hoping the percentages work in our favor. In other words, there's probably bound to be a few groaners, but we hope there will be more good than bad. In the Acme Comedy Theatre's latest offering, it's a pleasant surprise to say the good far outweighs the bad. There's a tendency for a few strong segments to run a little too long, and we can count on standard sketch fallbacks--funny voices, some easy bathroom humor--but overall this production packs triple the laughs of a typical episode of Saturday Night Live in roughly the same amount of time.
Director Travis Oates confidently helms a flawless ensemble of eight talented and distinctive actors in sketches that run the gamut of humor both high- and low-brow. It's hard to miss with a great physical bit about three football fans (Kevin Small, Chris MacKenzie, and Greg Benson) shaking their groove with goofy choreography to hit songs, or the sight of a underwear inspector (MacKenzie) personally testing his product, but these bits are balanced with several moments of clever wordplay. In "Your Witness," an undeservedly confident attorney (Matt Knudsen) is prone to spewing hilarious misinformation. And in the witty "Word Up," the stellar Wil Wheaton plays a slow-witted suitor who manages to seduce a crisp and efficient accountant (Kimberly Lewis) with sweet talk provided by a thesaurus. Still, it's the nonverbal "Untitled Office Sketch #9"--in which the most mundane activities turn into a beautifully staged musical number--that achieves a sublime absurdity.
It's also worth mentioning the trio of female actors (Lewis, Kim Evey, and Jodi Miller) who prove that women don't have to be relegated to the background in comedy. Although the cast is uniformly excellent, standouts include MacKenzie and Small, who can garner huge laughs with the simplest delivery or expression. Lighting and sound by Mike Cernicky are outstanding, with a production value far higher than any sketch show I've seen. And musical director Jonathan Green and drummer Christian Malmin keep the energy high with live musical accompaniment.
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Whats next for you, when the show finishes? How is sketch doing by the way?
Posted by: Noel Burke![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.wilwheaton.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 12, 2005 10:28 AM
Looks like tonight's the night for me to finally get to the Acme. See you tonight! \m/
Posted by: lomara at March 12, 2005 11:01 AM
Break a leg, Wil! Have a kick ass show tonight.
Maybe work some of "Walter's" best lines into a skit??? -finders, keepers-
Posted by: EdwoodCA at March 12, 2005 11:16 AM
hey Wil,
I just called Acme and left a message... I sure hope they aren't sold out (yet!). I've really wanted to see this show, so maybe I'll see you tonight!
Peace,
Terry
p.s. As several others have asked: how is Sketch doing? You wrote a lot about him for a while, but I figure he's ok now?
Posted by: oboeterry at March 12, 2005 12:23 PM
Hey Wil,
I booked my reservations yesterday for tonites 8pm show. Can't wait to see the show!
Great work on CSI this week. Would love to see them work a recurring spot for 'Walter'. Maybe as Grissom's trusty sidekick. ;)
See you tonite!
-M
Posted by: matte at March 12, 2005 12:41 PM
What VH1 profile? Huh?
When?
What time?
How long?
Geeze.
Do you even get paid for shit like that?
at March 12, 2005 12:57 PM
Well Wil, if I was still living in L.A. that would be about a mile from my Apartment..
But Alas I'm stuck back in OHIO for now.. :(
Have a good show!!!!!!!
Keith
Posted by: Keith Xgaming at March 12, 2005 01:46 PM
An Egg Radio insider is going to be there recording bootlegs on her Treo650 for re-broadcast!
r0xx0rz!
Posted by: AJ at March 12, 2005 02:02 PM
You have to take this road on the show, we're dying to see you in Philly!
Posted by: drdrew at March 12, 2005 02:25 PM
My wife and I on for the 19th since I'm in town for training.
Posted by: jslicer at March 12, 2005 02:33 PM
Now see? This is an example of what I miss out on by living on the East Coast! Good luck, have a great time and I look forward to seeing you on VH1.
Posted by: warcrygirl at March 12, 2005 03:20 PM
Kick butt tonight.
I wanna hear more about this VH1 deal.
Posted by: Jsong at March 12, 2005 06:07 PM
Let's just say that I saw this show back in December and I still find myself humming Beyonce's "Crazy in Love"
Rock on Wil!
\m/
Posted by: Wendy May at March 12, 2005 07:51 PM
Can't be there, but I know you'll all be fantabulous. Have fun!
Posted by: MtDewAddict at March 12, 2005 07:54 PM
Any chance of that VH-1 taping making it to DVD?? Or if not...any chance of ACME taping it as well and selling the DVDs?? Most of Hubby's plays and things are taped by a local photographer, who then puts them on DVDs and sells them in the theater for those who missed the show. Your out-of-town posse members would snap them up, and you could raise some serious ducats for a charity of your choice, or the theater, or whatever, if any such thing might/could happen. Can you tell I'd really like it if it would?? I hope so! I'll go now....
Herself,
The Goddess of Justice and Vengeance
at March 12, 2005 08:07 PM
Come on people! This is a great show! It's also an opportunity to see Wil LIVE and in the flesh! What better way to spend a Saturday night??? I had a wonderful time when I saw it. I even had a chance to actually TALK to Wil after the show was over!
If you liked CSI, you'll love this more because Wil has so much more stage time than was allowed on CSI! Go before you regret it!!!
at March 12, 2005 08:50 PM
Wil,
To me, comedy is the hardest type of acting. The fact that you have done such a great job, at Acme, for so long speaks for itself. I know everything will go well.
FG
Posted by: FABIAN at March 12, 2005 10:02 PM
So, I've been reading your book Just a Geek, and I absolutely fucking LOVE IT!!! When you talked about the Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton in Las Vegas, I was like, I love that place! And I'm sorry if I sound like a retard right now, but it's really late in Michigan right now. Stupid three hour difference. And I loved you on CSI the other night! You were superbly FANTASTICAL! I love you, Wil Wheaton, and Wesley Crusher was the reason I watched Enterprise back in the day. Cause he was cool, and I didn't know what actors were at the time. I thought it was just awesome. And I love the feeling of nostalgia you get when you watch something you personally worked on in earlier parts of your life. I look at musicals I did in high school and wish I could do them all over again. Just because they were so much fun, and I loved everyone involved.
We are family.
Ruth.
PS: Can your gecko do the robot? bam, bam, bam, BAM!
Posted by: Ruth at March 13, 2005 12:17 AM
Just got home from seeing the show... wow! That is a really funny and talented group of people! What a pleasure it must be to call that work! :-) I met and spoke briefly with Ryan (while you were greeting your con fans); what a great kid (and a great handshake, too)! Also met and chatted with Chase Masterson (so cool that she made it to your show!) and found out that she is a jazz singer... so I told her about some great LA jazz hangs... and got to meet Loretta (watcher652?); what a great lady and faithful monkey! Anyways... thanks so much for the great show! I'll take your advice and skip the con talk tomorrow, and catch you sometime locally.
Take care,
Terry
at March 13, 2005 12:41 AM
What a great experience you had oboeterry!
Wil, I totally concur with what warcrygir said above. We East Coasters miss all your interesting stuff. Although you do not like to fly and want to stay close to home etc.,you need to bring some of your great talent to the East. :) It would also be great if the ACME show could be taped before it ends. I have wanted to catch it, but could not make it to CA. :(
Posted by: Quincey at March 13, 2005 08:30 AM
Wil,
I agree with other posts, come to the east coast... so many of us would love to see you and your show..... well i cant wait to see you on vh1... and awesome job as "walter"...
at March 13, 2005 09:14 AM
Hi Wil,
I've been reading you on the sly at the hospital (I'm a doc not a patient) for about a month now and thought I'd drop a line to say I have introduced 5 people to the site (all of whom love it)! I too am stuck in Ohio and can't enjoy Love Machine before it says bye, so I'm with the group who bet a bunch of your 10k + readers would want to buy a copy of the DVD...
at March 13, 2005 10:05 AM
Why do I live so far away?
Posted by: Madie at March 14, 2005 06:17 AM
i don't find myself saying it very often, but if only i wasn't in detroit...
now then. tell us more about this VH1 thing!
at March 14, 2005 08:27 AM
I was only able to see the first half of the show because I had to catch a flight back to NYC. I will never forget your frozen face in the Office sketch! Loved all your characterizations - every "O.C.!" was delivered uniquely and can't wait to play poker with you someday - getting rich is definetly better than being bored.
This show needs to run again; the writing quality is very high and I was especially impressed with the level of acting from everyone. This is major stuff. Even simple lines such as "Please don't talk to me." elicited howls of delight. Well-written, well-directed, well-acted. A Triumph!
Wish I lived nearby so I could visit more often (and congrats on CSI - yes, this should be a recurring character) and I read GEEK on the way home on the plane - made me laugh and made me cry.
Best to you always, talented Wil.
Posted by: MentorBob at March 14, 2005 09:03 AM
Sadly, I am an east coast girl, so no live shows for me. I would also like an update on Sketch and want to hear more about this VH1 thing! Keep us updated!!
Posted by: swl-mom2Bryn at March 14, 2005 10:24 AM
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