Debbie Loves Bumblebee

Sour Candy Comedy—RRC Polytech

Bob Banks warns that the show only runs 34 minutes and today, it ticked in at 29 minutes. He provides an explanation:

1. He was only offered the spot two months ago because another show dropped out.

2. He just had a baby.

Banks told MTC that he already had a show in development and that he’d be ready to go.

He wasn’t.

Removing the explanation and the prelude, the actual storytelling perhaps ran 15 minutes. That’s not fair. I’m not talking about it not being fair for the patrons paying for a 60-minute show and only getting 29 minutes; I’m talking about the treatment to the story itself.

This is an important story and one that is very close to Banks’s heart. At 15 minutes, he does the story no justice. He cites his father as a bad person often, but there’s no insight into why or what he did. The material about his mother? It needs much more background and development. It felt like using cheat notes instead of reading the actual book. We have an intro but then suddenly jump to the denouement. There’s no body, no real conclusion and no closure. This should be the kind of story that grabs your attention through the entire run, then reaches into your chest and yanks your heart out at the end. There just wasn’t enough time to engage. Done properly, Cody, I would have taken you up on your offer for a hug.

Banks: When The Fringe offered you the slot, I think you should have declined. Take the time to develop your show properly, and take time for your new baby.

Ray Yuen