Dart-Mondo

Dart-Mondo on the Ave
posted by Zee Grega at 3:39 AM on June 17, 2007
Saturday night I went to the Historic University Theater on the Ave (5510 University Way NE) to see Dart-Mondo., a show which takes stand-up comedy and improv comedy and mashes them together. The show runs every Satrurday night/Sunday morning at 12:30 am for the next several weeks. Ticket price is a mere $8 and thw show is worth every penny.
The way the show works is this: A stand-up comedian takes the mic and performs a short routine and then the improv troupe performs a series of skits inspired by the comic's routine. To be honest, improv has never been a favorite art form of mine as I've seen too much of it that consists primarily of the performers mugging their way through endless go-nowhere vamping. Dart-Mondo's five actors-- Dartanion London, Jason Anfinsen, Ian Schempp, Mike Murphy, and Amanda Lee Williams--worked well together to create quick, mostly funny bits that actually made sense and hit their marks most of the time. There were a few instances of over-used schtick thst wasn't terribly funny (does anyone who isn't a 13 year old boy really find multiple repeititions of "ha ha, look at me pretending to be steretypically gay" all that amusing?) but by and large, the improv was as funny as the stand-up. All three comedians last night were entertaining; I particularly liked Scott Moran's method of saving money on buying bicycles (go to a hardware store and buy boltcutters) and while I could see Dan Moore's beatnikstyle delivery getting a little played out if it went on too long, for a short routine it added a great deal of extra humor to his jokes. Overall, a great show and which I highly recommend. - MetroBlog Seattle