Nothing "old hat" about "Old hats"

There are times when there is nothing better than to be proven wrong. Pantomime and slapstick are two genres of comedy that have always left this reviewer unimpressed.

"Old Hats," at Signature Theatre's new Pershing Square Signature Center,  already extended through April 14th,  is a hilarious array of vignettes which tickled every funny bone in my body.

Photo by Gregory Costanzo. Bill Irwin and David  Shiner in "Old Hats," directed by Tina Landau
and featuring Nellie McKay.

David Shiner and Bill Irwin are the brilliant clowns and playwrights for this original theater piece. Nellie McKay contributes her skills as narrator, music director, composer, pianist, cellist and ukeleist to the entertainment. Nellie McKay sings and dances, to the able accompaniment of her band of merry men--
Alexi david on bass, Mike Dobson on percussions, Tivon Pennicott playing sax and flute, and Kenneth Salters on drums and assisting as the bartender in the "Cowboy Cinema" segment of "Old Hats."

There is foolishness a plenty, and audience participation, in the above mentioned "Cowboy Cinema" and in the marvellous "A Magic Act," for which Irwin gets to don a dress and show off his legs.

"Old Hats" will appeal to even the curmudgeons among us, as attested to by my delight in the program.

For more information about "Old Hats," please  visit www.signaturetheatre.org/