There is an air of revolt surrounding “An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein,” but it’s filled more with pitchforks and torches than tear gas and tanks.
The anthology of poems, skits and short plays by the humorist best known for children’s books “The Giving Tree” and “Where the Sidewalk Ends” has a laid-back and unplugged feel. And yet it is just strange enough to be intriguing despite being soaked in late ’60s and early ’70s radicalism. Think of it as theater of the absurd for realists. Silly, yes, but not willy-nilly silly.
The comedy is playing through April 9 at Fort Lauderdale’s Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts, where it opens the Vanguard’s 2016 Comedy Lineup. The series will continue June 16-28 with “Parallel Lives” by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy and Dec. 1-12 with a collection of short plays by local writers titled “Mixed Nuts.”
“An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” is eight short pieces, one of which runs like a loose thread throughout the performance. The playlets range from a riff on Dr. Seuss in which Thing 1 and Thing 2 are prostitutes to the prosecution of a slogan writer on trial for creating catchphrases such as “far out” and “right on.”
Silverstein is all about language, and this cast is in tune with that, grasping the rhythms and twisty-turny nature of the author’s writing. Equally important, they listen (as opposed to wait) and react as if they were hearing it all for the first time. That small thing is a big help in delivering the material and pinning it to the here and now. Without those skills and stagecraft, the show could easily come off as vintage theater.
“An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein” will run through April 9 at the Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts, 1501 S. Andrews Ave., in Fort Lauderdale. Showtimes are 8 p.m. April 2, 7 and 8; 5 p.m. April 3; and 4 p.m. April 9. Tickets cost $35 ($90 for a three-show comedy pass). To order, call 754-206-4568 or go to VanguardArts.org.
