Zach Zucker — what a name. And what a revelation! The self-professed ingénue of the ‘Hollywood scene’ is as cute, funny, and weird as they come, and the show presents a totally insincere yet undeniable avalanche of talent.
The premise is simple: Zach wants to become a star by making us laugh and ultimately love him. And it works! Being from the States, he’s in a perfect position to dissect the cliches and agonies of trying to make it ‘in the biz’, and over the course of an hour takes us on a deeply absurd and frankly, hilarious journey to the very heart of what it takes to be… A super-sexy, triple-threat actor.
Boasting every comedy bone in the human body, Zach weaves dexterously through character bits, stupid voices, dance numbers, songs, improv, some LOVELY poetry, and powerful flirtation — to the point of directly propositioning the audience. (I wasn’t the only one in the audience gutted he didn’t ask me.)
A true improviser, he slips in and out of interactive moments with such fluidity it’s hard to tell what’s off a script and what’s off the cuff — a sign of his being totally present on stage. At one point he pulled me up with him — and I got down to the irresistible funk of Lucas Tamaren’s masterful and super-witty live score. The presence of this Thumpasaurus frontman next to Zach set the liveness of the performance alight even more with the slickest of timings and a joyfully theatrical range of sounds. One moment sees him stop to encourage Zach to be more vulnerable with the audience. Another instance of the show’s playful self-awareness, but you can feel how it really does inform the performance — Zach wears his heart on his sleeve and comes across as a genuinely lovely guy.
It’s hard to maintain critical distance in a review of this show, because I simply fell in love with it — and so did the audience, jumping up for a well-earned standing ovation. I’d mimic his request to get him on the telly, by whatever means necessary — if you are casting, we all need more of Zach in our lives!
His piece truly is a spectacular showcase: an hour of honest, unadulterated madness delivered with such confidence and the most excessive level of punnery this side of the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s a joy to experience, and I can think of no one else I’d rather have mocking our strange little island. Don’t miss him while he’s here!
{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}
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