Hoop and Hat: Vaudeville Showdown

Hoop and Hat—John Hirsch Mainstage

As a Jenny reviewer, I see lots of shows and often, I don’t get a chance to review what I’m about to see. Today, when I walked into this theatre, I did not read the write-up and had no clue what to expect.

To compound it, I only had a faint idea what vaudeville is, and from my exposure, it’s old-timey gag acts. The only time I ever saw any was on black-and-white TV, backdropped with (very) oldies music.

Fifteen minutes after the actors entered the stage, I thought to myself: this is very much like a clown or circus act! Well duh, it’s right in the write-up! It starts a bit slow, with simple gags, simple acts, and simple juggling. However, as the show progresses, the acts get better and more fun to watch.

Without reading the programme, I had no idea about the final act that was going to come, and it was an amazing, surprise finale. It was by far the highlight of the show but there were a lot of other good, fun bits too. I still don’t get the obsession with the old game by the Parker Brothers but whatever. It’s all good.

Ray Yuen