FACT! The dudes in the 3rd Floor are probably the funniest people in
Portland. ANOTHER FACT! Their latest show, The 3rd Floor XXVI,
is one of their best in recent memory—hilarious and weird and
amazing and inventive and clever. ONE MORE FACT! If you miss
XXVI, your life from here on out will likely be joyless and
sexless, and will stretch on for countless dark and lonely years.
Less plot dependent than the 3rd Floor’s previous productions, the
scattershot XXVI features sketches about everything from a
time-traveling pharmacist to panty-stealing ninjas. Also included: the
funniest sketch about pancakes that’s ever been performed, and the best
use of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding out for a Hero” since Kevin Bacon showed
those dipshit hicks what was what in Footloose.
While the 3rd Floor’s female members are missed in this all-male
show, the shrunk-down ensemble is still in fine form. (And don’t worry,
ladies, the overall estrogen balance is maintained—the 3rd
Floor’s show is followed by a performance by Portland’s only female
sketch comedy group Eastland Academy.) New addition Melik
Malkasian—better known as the star of local films Film
Geek and The Auteur—proves a fantastic addition to the
cast, which also features the always-excellent Andrew Harris, as well
as Jason Rouse (who, after several shows of being a supporting cast
member, thankfully gets more to do here).
If there’s one disappointing aspect to XXVI, it’s that there
aren’t any video segments. In previous shows, the 3rd Floor have
utilized short films throughout, proving themselves not only some of
Portland’s best stage performers but also some of its best filmmakers.
But while it’s lame to not have any video pieces this time, it’s hard
to complain when the rest of the show is this goddamn great.
