Maestrosities

The Maestrosities took the stage on Sunday. A five-piece band began the show only to be interrupted by an angry fellow in a strait jacket. He growled at the audience, complained of falling asleep on the L train and escaped from the strait jacket. We came to understand that he was a member of the band, and that his rage could only be controlled by orders from the princess accordion player.

The band played original arrangements of an eclectic mix of songs, including “Material Girl,” “Turning Japanese, “ and “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles.”

The only trouble is that this band is a terribly dysfunctional family. The leader is a wimp, his clarinet player wife is humiliated that she has been reduced to playing with a bunch of boobies, the trumpet player is a helpless boy, and the tuba player says everything he thinks (and is a dim bulb at best). Add the furious spoon player and his princess handler, and you get a lot of chaos between songs. It all has the potential to be really funny! In fact it hit the mark several times.

However, often the chaos did not have a clear ending, they just all ran out of steam, and drifted back to their positions, strung out in a line across the stage. Clear lines of status and power would help this group immensely. The bandleader needs to really be in charge, so that he can put a stop to the hubbub. Right now he is just too nice. Or maybe it is his wife, the haughty opera singer/clarinetist/erudite historian, a naturally high status character, who should be the one to impose order when he fails. I cannot wait to see what would happen if the angry man was jealous every time his princess talked to a man, and she had to step up to control him.

Thanks to the Maestrosities for winding up the Festival with big energy and fun!