Have you been thinking "Gee, I'd like to see a play by Matt Lyle, but he's in Chicago and I don't want to pay for it"?

Well, this will be right up your alley!

Pegasus Theater is doing one of my one acts this weekend as part of the Theatre Communications Group's "Free Night of Theatre" event.
Go see it! Here's the info:

Pegasus Theater
presents
KNOW-NO
Saturday, September 27, 2008

Know-No explores the slightly off-kilter world of Ms. Smith and her boss Mr. Jones who has recently disclosed a secret love for his employee, a revelation that throws their perfectly routine existence into turmoil. The play asks each character to answer the question: How much do I NEED to know about the person I love? Know-No is funny, intense, sweet, frightening, and ultimately hopeful...maybe.

Know-No is appropriate for "Young Adults" and up.


Where: Dallas West Library, 2332 Singleton Blvd
When: 2:00 PM
Admission: FREE
Seating is First Come, First Served

Sponsored by: Office of Cultural Affairs
Contact Name: Greg MacPherson
Contact Phone: 214-671-0971

So Kim and I (Matt) are moving to Chicago this week and we're kidnapping Bootstraps and taking it with us. Dallas has been great to us. Let's hope Chicago is even better. Thank you all for your awesomeness.

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..> ..> The list of Column Awards is below, but we wanted to share with you one interesting piece of trivia from the Bootstraps 2007 season... There was only one "Poo" joke. By our calculations, that's a record! Remarkably, the lack of "Poo" jokes left a lot more room for "Balls" jokes and the awards just started rolling in! Let that be a lesson to you: Poo=Sophomoric, Grody; Balls=Award Winning, Classy Thank you so much to all who supported us this year and to all who voted for little ol' Bootstraps for the Column Awards. It's been a wonderful year and we've had a really wonderful time. Sincerely, .. ..> ..> BOOTSTRAPS (nearly) SWEEPS COLUMN AWARDS In a spectacular awards show event on a snowy March night in Texas, the Column Awards were presented. Bootstraps took home the following awards: BEST PLAY OF THE YEAR (Non-Equity) THE BOXER .. OUTSTANDING NEW WORK BY A LOCAL PLAYWRIGHT & BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY (Non-Equity) Matt Lyle-THE BOXER .. BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY (Non-Equity) Jeff Swearingen-THE BOXER .. BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY (Non-Equity) Arianna Movassagh-THE BOOK OF LIZ .. BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY (Non Equity) Jennifer Youle-THE BOXER .. BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY (Non-Equity) Joyous Israel-THE BOXER .. BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY (Non-Equity) Kim Lyle-THE BOXER   ..> ..> IN RELATED NEWS... Bootstraps' own Kim Lyle wins for DCT show! BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY (Equity) Kim Lyle - TALES OF A 4TH GRADE NOTHING ..

Bootstraps is proud to announce that we've added a special encore performance of THE BOXER. It's good. If you haven't seen it, or saw it and you have to see it again to catch all the funny stuff you missed, then please come see it this Tuesday @ 8PM. It's your last chance.

Here's the info:

Tuesday 8pm at The Rosewood Center, 5938 Skillman St. 75231

www.bootstrapscomedy.com

214-642-4253 for reservations

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Park Cities Review of THE BOXER

Summary---- "...it's a small classic not to be missed." so don't miss it. Call 214-642-4253 for reservations! Theater Review: The Boxer A little guy squares off against the Bavarian Beast By Glenn Arbery Senior Editor Hilarious as it is, The Boxer at Bootstraps Comedy Theater gets better the more you think about it. Matt Lyle's silent play about a girl named Velma (Kim Lyle), who has to dress as a man to get work (and keep her virtue) during the Depression, has more going on amid the slapstick than you'd think. An homage to the silent films of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton (among others), The Boxer picks up two ponderous themes, poverty and tyranny, and handles them with the kind of dexterity that reveals what comedy can do for us in hard times. More than one person has said the Germans could have handled Hitler best by mocking him as Chaplin does in The Great Dictator or as Lyle does here with the proto-Nazi Nietzsche admired: "the blond beast splendidly roaming around in its lust for loot and victory." I'm not sure Nietzsche had this Bavarian Beast (Ben Bryant) in mind, this stomper and roarer who tears off an arm and sticks his straw in the bloody part to suck out the marrow, but it's one of the funniest thing I've seen onstage in Dallas. Fired for being a pansy — she can't make herself pinch the enticingly proffered bottom of the waitress (Jennifer Youle) — Velma mopes about until she meets the boxer in training (Jeff Swearingen), inadvertently knocks his trainer silly, and takes over the job herself. Hiding her gender but falling in love at the same time, she visits the boxer's tiny apartment, hears about the poor mother (hilariously sentimental film clip) he has to support by defeating the Bavarian Beast, and tries to get the boy ready to fight. Karl Schaeffer's two filmed sequences of "training montage" are perfect bookends for the pre-fight preparations. If you can keep a smile off your face while Jeff Swearingen snatches flies from the air behind his back with chopsticks, you must be made of sterner stuff than Ebenezer Scrooge. The girl-as-boy, pulled off with aplomb by Kim Lyle, draws on all kinds of comic traditions, including many of Shakespeare's comedies, and it makes for a very funny "discovery" scene here and a backhanded feminist point. But it's not just the large comic elements that make it so much fun — it's the way B. Wolf and Johnny Sequenzia use their music for perfectly timed comic effects. It's a host of little touches from beginning to end. This hour-long play deserves big audiences. It's hurt a little by being outside its original context in the Festival of Independent Theatres last summer, simply because it has the feel of a play that ought to be encountered in the middle of activity, not one that ought to stand alone way out at the Rosewood Center. But it's a small classic not to be missed. THE BOXER Bootstraps Comedy Theater Studio Theater/Rosewood Center 5938 Skillman, Dallas Through Dec. 2 214-642-4253

THE BOXER is closing this weekend so I suggest you make your reservations or you'll regret it forever.

THE BOXER
by Matt Lyle
PERFORMANCE DATES:
NOVEMBER 15 through DECEMBER 2
(TBA DEC. 6, 7, AND 8)
*No Shows on Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23

Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday at 2:00 p.m.

LOCATION:
Studio Theater
Rosewood Center for Family Arts
5938 Skillman
Dallas, TX 75231


You may reserve tickets by calling 214-642-4253

$15 for Adults, $12 for Students and Seniors

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2007-11-22/culture/knockout/

It's a REALLY good review. Go to their website to read it all.

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2007/nov/19/theater-review-boxer/

Stop what you are doing right now and order your tickets to go see The Boxer.

Okay, you can now continue reading this review.

The Boxer currently presented by Bootstraps Comedy Theater and playing at the Rosewood Center for Family Arts is one of the freshest most original plays I've seen. The premise is so simply absurd it's brilliant: do a piece of theatre as if it were a silent film. No dialogue, just a few projected words on a screen, and some delicious silent film style acting on stage. Matt Lyle, the genius behind this production, has created a piece of theatrical confection that delights, amuses, and entertains. Mr. Lyle is very smart in keeping the show to its 60 minute length; any longer the joke might have worn out. By keeping it short he is able pack it full of quality making the show well worth the price of admission.

The Boxer could be a Mack Sennett "three reeler" film. Mr. Lyle has done his research and captured some of the comedic gesticulation from this mostly forgotten era of film and brought it back to life. It helps that the entire troupe of is competent and talented. They are able to perfectly tell the story with its simple plot and complicated sight gags. Every joke lands and the timing is beautiful.

Kim Lyle is Velma, the hapless lead. Velma finds herself having to pass as a man and later becomes the trainer for an equally hapless boxer played by Jeff Swearingen. She can roll her eyes better then just about any other actor I've seen. Her face paints a myriad of expressions, and one wonders if her face muscles ever get tired. Jeff Swearingen can do pratfalls on a par with Chaplin or Buster Keaton. To say he throws his whole body into his acting is an understatement. Brilliant on his own, when he pairs up with Ms. Lyle, it is comic nirvana.

Joel McDonald, Ben Bryant, Steve Jones, Kineta Massey, Jennifer Youle, Tara Christensen, and Laurie Williamson round out the cast. Each gets their own moment to shine and they do it well. The Fairy sequence choreographed by Nancy Schaeffer was as light as a whipped cream, and as funny as a pie in the face. Ms. Schaeffer and the "dancers" certainly captured the feel of the era. This said, every now and then there is a modern day wink and a nod acknowledging the absurdity of it all. This balance of genuine performance and tongue in cheek is most difficult to pull off; all involved succeed.

Adding to the zany mix of talent are the two gifted musicians B. Wolf and Johnny Sequenzia. This duo plays the musical score and the sound effects. Part of the pleasure is listening to irreverent musical moments that emphasize the comedy on stage. I wish not to spoil it so I won't give the exact details, but there is a musical moment that pays homage to "My Fair Lady" that made me bust out loud laughing. It was a bit of a more obscure reference for I was the only one in the audience that seemed to have caught it, but that is what makes this show so delightful: it appeals to those who are theatre buffs, and those who are less "in the know."

The costumes by Aaron Turner, the lighting by Joyous Israel, and the scenic design by Ms. Lyle, were wonderfully executed. They also hit the right balance between period authenticity and cheesy. The silent era film clips and film done by Karl Schaeffer added an additional fun dimension to the show. The blooper at the end of the performance caused the biggest laugh of the night and was the perfect way to end the evening.

This entire production is so well conceived that if pressed I couldn't find a flaw. Well yes, there is one: I wanted a souvenir, and there were none to be had. Seldom do I see a show that would make me want to buy a souvenir to remember the show by. I'd have gladly forked out fifteen or twenty bucks for a t shirt or a mug. Even the show's artwork by Mark Oristano is great!

So please, catch this show. You will be deliriously glad you did!

The Boxer plays though December 2, 2007. Tickets and more information are available online or by calling 214-642-4253.

 

Bootstraps' 'The Boxer' packs a winning hook

THEATER REVIEW: Play pays homage to silent film comedies

12:00 AM CST on Monday, November 19, 2007

By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News
ltaitte@dallasnews.com

A love story between a boxer and his trainer? It's not weird, as you might expect – it's as charming as a frilly valentine.

--> image1 starts here -->

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BRANDON THIBODEAUX/Special Contributor

Ben Bryant and Kim Lyle perform in the revival of Dallas playwright Matt Lyle's comedy The Boxer.

--> image1 ends here -->Bootstraps Comedy Theater revived its original play The Boxer at Dallas Children's Theater's Rosewood Center for Family Arts this weekend. The show, which lasts only an hour, was the hit of this summer's Festival of Independent Theatres and already has won three Dallas Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum awards.

Bootstraps artistic director Matt Lyle wrote and directed The Boxer, which stars his wife, Kim Lyle. She plays Velma, a Depression-era woman who has to dress as a man to earn a living respectably. After getting fired from a construction job because her fellow workers think she's not macho enough, she stumbles across a fighter (Jeff Swearingen) who has just lost his trainer. So she signs on for the assignment.

Eventually the two conquer the hideous Bavarian Beast (Ben Bryant) and win the money they need. The boxer finally realizes that Velma is a woman – a woman who has always loved him – and the pair lives happily ever after.

Mr. Lyle's gimmick is that the entire play takes place without a word being uttered. The Boxer pays homage to the great silent film comedies. Ms. Lyle's character owes much to Charlie Chaplin's Tramp, though she doesn't just imitate the original. Mr. Swearingen's performance is entirely in the tradition of Buster Keaton's stone-faced physical comedy.

The actors are silent, but the play isn't. Pianist B. Wolf performs an improvised score that uses themes borrowed from everybody from Richard Wagner to Frederick Loewe.

Johnny Sequenzia adds some plucked notes and a lot of sound effects. He gets as many laughs by banging on pot lids as the actors do with their pratfalls and double takes.

Mr. Swearingen, one of Dallas' funniest actors, displays admirable restraint in his deadpan antics here. His character, if you step back to consider it, is remarkably ineffectual. But Mr. Swearingen emanates a cool charisma that makes Velma's loyal affection entirely believable.

Ms. Lyle is so feminine, even when dressed as a man, that the play's premise sometimes feels strained. But the script gives her several opportunities to let her hair down, quite literally, in dream sequences and such. That's when The Boxer really captivates us.

It's a good old boy-girl romance, after all, and Ms. Lyle puts us in the mood for hearts and flowers – despite wearing a guy's suit during most of the show.

• Through Dec. 2 at Rosewood Center for Family Arts, 5938 Skillman. Runs 60 mins. $15, discounts. 214-642-4253 or www.bootstrapscomedy.com.

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$5 Myspace Friend Discount for THE BOXER

For you, our Myspace Friends, we are offering a $5 discount for OPENING WEEKEND of THE BOXER; Thurs. Nov. 15 Through Sat. Nov.17 @ 8pm. So adults get to see the show for only $10. Students $7. I don't know if you know this but those are really good prices for a multiple award winning production. Call 214-642-4253 and tell us you are our Myspace friend and you get the discount. THE BOXER by Matt Lyle PERFORMANCE DATES: NOVEMBER 15 through DECEMBER 2 (TBA DEC. 6, 7, AND 8) *No Shows on Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23 Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Sunday at 2:00 p.m. LOCATION: Studio Theater Rosewood Center for Family Arts 5938 Skillman Dallas, TX 75231 214-642-4253 If you still need more convincing here are snippets from the Reviews for THE BOXER. By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News "Mr. Lyle has come up with an endless fountain of visual jokes – sexy barmaids, elaborate cinematic montages, an actor in a monkey suit, chases by land and by water, and (perhaps best of all) a dream ballet that sets Rodgers and Hammerstein back 40 years. His performers execute the moves with the same sort of grace you find in the best silent films, and Ms. Wolf's musical commentary (which doesn't hesitate to borrow from sources more recent than 1929) consistently adds to the pleasure." A comedy knockout from The Boxer at FIT By ELAINE LINER / The Dallas Observer "The less said, the better The Boxer is. The new play by Dallas writer and Bootstraps Comedy Theater founder Matt Lyle, who also directs this production, is a clear audience favorite..." "Its brilliance lies in how it manages to say things worth saying about the delicate use of low comedy to make high art and how to graft pathos onto humor—and it says it all without any actor uttering a word." "The beauty of The Boxer is in the actors' execution of scores of visual gags, each choreographed with split-second timing and leading to surprising pay-offs." "Watching each carefully worked out bit build into and on top of the next one, the audience reaction grows from snickers to guffaws to full-out belly-hugging laughs. We instantly accept Kim Lyle as a shoulder-shrugging, bowler-wearing Little Tramp character, and we root for her to win both her man and the championship fight. And stone-faced Swearingen, hopping around like Looney Tunes' Banty Rooster in his baggy red satin shorts, is her perfectly Keatonesque comic foil. None of this would be half so funny without the onstage keyboard accompaniment of B. Wolf, who created the silent film score, jam-packed with jokey musical references to movies about prizefighters, spunky gals and other cartoon heroes. Next to her stage right is Johnny Sequenzia, playing stringed instruments and hitting funny sound effects right on cue. Karl Schaeffer made the film bits projected, along with old-timey "title cards," on an upstage screen. This one's such a charmer it's almost a shame Lyle wrote it as a one-act. Unlike most new plays, The Boxer feels too brief." August 4, 2007 MARK LOWRY/Fort Worth Star-Telegram "Bootstraps Comedy Theater: The Boxer by Matt Lyle. The local playwright (who also directed) ingeniously crafted an original silent film for the stage, about a Depression-era woman (Kim Lyle) who has to dress as a man to find work, and then falls in love with a scrawny boxer (Jeff Swearingen). She also trains him to fight the "Bavarian Beast" (Ben Bryant). The script is good, but here it's all about the performances, which demand (and get) perfect timing by the actors who lip the dialogue projected on old-fashioned title cards on an upstage screen. Lots of physical comic gags and a clever onstage original score (played ..boards by B. Wolf, with strings and sound effects performed by Johnny Sequenzia) made this show an audience pleaser. Let's hope Bootstraps puts this knockout in the ring again some day."