Gutenberg! The Musical!

The famously funny improv and sketch comedy troupe, The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, created and performed Gutenberg! The Musical!, a silly comedy about two writers who dream up what they believe to be the best musical ever written in history. The show has gone on to win dozens of awards and has been performed off-Broadway for years. The musical comedy is now making waves in San Diego. Produced by the Backyard Renaissance Theater Company, a group whose motto is “art to the gut,” Gutenberg! The Musical! certainly provides that feeling to audiences.

The premise of the play is simple, Bud (Tom Zohar) and Doug (Anthony Methvin) are two aspiring playwrights, who have decided to write and produce their own musical in hopes that they can have it made into a huge Broadway production. In order to explain the whole play, Bud and Doug perform the whole musical, they play every character in the story (Helvetica, the rats, a monk, a beef fat trimmer) and sing every song. They pretty much have it all figured out. The play is about Germany’s Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press and all the zaniness and craziness that went along with coming up with that invention. Yeah, it sounds preposterous and odd but Bud and Doug have it all figured out and are really excited for the world to see it.

What made the play so fun to watch was that for one it is just plain funny, I found myself laughing from beginning to end. Zohar and Methvin bring their funny nature to the play and their beautiful voices. Despite the preposterous plot, the music that they injected into it was wonderfully done with melody and wit. The play was well put together and the actors delivered in each act. 

If you have a chance, go check it out and support this play. The show deserves to be seen and remember, do not take it too seriously as it’s meant to be ridiculously outlandish. Gutenberg! The Musical! is currently playing at the Divisionary Theater through September 4^th.

Tickets and showtimes: http://backyardrenaissance.com/tickets/gutenberg/