'Captain Squishy': A Real Knee-Slapper

I couldn't sum up "Captain Squishy's Yee-Haw Jamboree" better than the guy sitting next to me during the show. Sometime after he started giggling but before the guffaws set in, he leaned over and whispered, "It's like 'Hee Haw' on acid."

"Captain Squishy's Yee-Haw Jamboree" revels in its own ridiculousness. (Capital Fringe Festival)

How else could you describe a country variety show featuring a once-frozen World War I German spy, an ode to bacon and a sketch titled "The Dead Kitten Tea Party"?

The production intersperses scenes from the television show with glimpses of what happens off-camera, and all of it is equally zany. A lot of the jokes are based on the fact that words like "Tarnation!" and oddball Southern aphorisms are inexplicably funny. But some of the easier jokes are bolstered by the entertaining physical comedy, impressive singing abilities of the cast and catchy musical numbers. Case in point: I haven't been able to get the song "I'm Going to Clog Till You Love Me (As Soon As I Learn How to Clog)" out of my head for days.

Nick Greek is especially memorable as Guy Texas, the aforementioned German spy with a penchant for poisoning cupcakes, but really everyone in the cast holds their own. My only gripe is that the show was a little longer than it needed to be. Even so, this is the type of show that will tickle you with its unabashed inanity and leave you as happy as a dead pig in sunshine.

-- Stephanie