theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
17-22 & 24-29 Aug
(22.45)
The Sound Within with Eisenberg and Stern is the Fringe debut of New York-based comedy duo Kayla Eisenberg & Marguerite Stern, who have created a madcap slice of musical character comedy around two supposedly world-renowned vocal coaches, Carol Eisenberg & Julie Stern – self-proclaim’d “gurus of the throat”, determined to help us discover the miracle of our organic voices. What follows is essentially a gloriously bogus masterclass, as the pair parade a succession of musical clients – all play’d by themselves – thro’ original songs, vocal exercises & entertainment-industry bullshit – two performers who clearly understand the artistic world they’re taking the piss out of, turning its egos, pretensions & desperate pursuit of the perfect ‘voice’ into something absurd, affectionate & very American.
“Let’s sing it all together – red leather, yellow leather, vegan leather, Al Pacino.”
The central avatars are presented as bespectacl’d ladies of a certain age, possessing genuinely funny banter & an enduring obsession with a near-famous film they made in their youth – scenes from which we actually get to witness on the projector screen deep into the show. There’s something wonderfully ridiculous about the pair still dining out on this almost-brush with cinematic immortality. Of the several double acts that the ladies almost seamlessly transform into, we’re also treated to a musical turn from their two ‘husbands’ – play’d by the girls themselves, of course – a couple of old hippie guys who met at Woodstock.
We are all searching for the sound within, it seems, & our hostesses are quite certain they’re the women to help us find it.
What we’re getting, essentially, is character-sketch comedy in the form of musical comedy, a curious cross-pollination of the two forms which sometimes rises towards genius, & sometimes sinks a little into saccharinity. When Eisenberg & Stern hit the sweet spot, tho’, the combination is wonderfully effective – the songs aren’t simply interruptions to the sketches, but extensions of the characters themselves, allowing their peculiar personalities, histories & absurdities to blossom in increasingly unexpected directions.
“I’ve done far worse for much less!”
The ladies are wonderfully flamboyant performers, possessing an invigorating elasticity in their ever-ageing avatars; faces, voices & bodies bending themselves around the comedy. I particularly lov’d the three-quarter guitar work, whose rhythmic bounce gives the songs a propulsive, almost irresistible energy. There’s a real sense of the pair driving one another forward, musically & comically, feeding off the peculiar little universe they’ve created together.
The songs themselves are catchy enough without trying too hard to be songs first & jokes second, which is important. They allow the humour to breathe, the characters to remain centre-stage & the punchlines to arrive naturally. Beneath all the vocal gymnastics, wigs, memories & musical silliness, Eisenberg & Stern have created something rather sweet: two ridiculous women, utterly convinced of their own importance, inviting us into their world & somehow making us very happy to stay there.
