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TeleMongol review by The Mercury News, San Jose, Feb. 15, 2007
* Note: OPM member Charles Kim wrote 3 of the sketches that are highlighted herein: "Appa Knows Best," about the Korean mom and daughter; "Chino State Pen," a promo about the Asian-American prison drama; and "Late Night With Kim Jong-Il," which, uh, speaks for itself... :)
Fast, furious humor in `TeleMongol'
SKEWERING POP CULTURE OF ASIAN-AMERICANS
By Karen D'Souza
Mercury News
Shane Sato
The cast of "TeleMongol" at Theatre on San Pedro Square includes, from left, Ewan Chung, Corinne Chooey and Michael Palma.
Kim Jong Il gets all up in Condi Rice's grill. Chinese immigrants go ``Brokeback'' during the Gold Rush. Asian hip-hop artists bling it on down under.
Welcome to ``TeleMongol,'' a cheesy, breezy evening of sketch comedy lampooning Asian-American pop culture. You know that whole model minority stereotype? Well, it gets slapped upside the head here. This is guerrilla theater that leaves no cliche unturned and never met a double entendre it didn't like.
Created by the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, Cold Tofu, OPM Comedy and 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors, this rowdy and raw 75-minute skit-o-rama runs through Sunday at the Theatre on San Pedro Square.
Narrative junkies need not apply. This is hard and fast satire for the ADD-generation. The framing device, involving an Asian cable TV station with an acronym that can't be printed in a family newspaper, is really just for kicks. The funniest bits in this uneven but amusing camp-fest, an Asian American Theatre Company and Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene collaboration, come straight out of left field.
Consider the pious Korean mother who refuses to let her daughter date a Mexican. But he's Filipino, complains the daughter. Same thing, explains the close-minded mom. Asian-on-Asian racism is just one of the cultural taboos that this satire skewers.
Then there's the hardbitten Korean youth who gets sent up the river for killing his parents. How? Didn't get into Harvard. The monster! If that strikes you as a spit-up-funny punch line, then a) I feel for you, my fellow second-generationer, and b) you probably already know not to take your parents to this show. (Also no kiddies, please.)
Indeed, there are times when the humor is so fresh it's raw, so raunchy it makes you cringe. Consider the truly tasteless Asian reality show sequence with its gratuitous William Shatner bashing and oh-my-gosh-George-Takei-is-gay gags.
Be forewarned that some of the vignettes here are more outrageous than funny. The yuks definitely can be hit and miss. The TV network stuff falls flat, and the ``Desperate Housewives'' parody kind of punks out. A few nips and tucks would give the production greater comic punch.
But it's never long before the next giggle. Just try to keep a straight face as Condi Rice puts the smackdown on Kim Jong Il on late-night TV. And after that they bust out with a little vigorous junk-shaking in a blissfully-out-of-context ``Dreamgirls''-style big finish. The axis of evil brings down the house, yo.
`TeleMongol'
By Robert Covarrubias,
Michael Chih Ming Hornbuckle,
Charles Kim, Aaron Takahashi,
Wanru Tseng and Peter J. Wong
The upshot: Asian-American pop culture gets skewered in this fun but uneven sketch comedy free-for-all.
Where: Theatre on San Pedro Square, 29 N. San Pedro Square, San Jose
When: 7 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Running time: 75 minutes (no intermission)
Tickets: $7.50-$10; (408) 460-1696, www.tosps.com
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