The Game Show Show…and Stuff! at Mercury Theater | Theater review

There’s no skill required to play, but audience members are encouraged to consume copious amounts of alcohol from the bar next door before participating in the low-rent, adult Double Dare activities of The Game Show Show…and Stuff, now enjoying a commercial run after years of gestation. Featuring a house band with two enticing singers and a special guest every night, the hybrid game/variety show is an enjoyable piece of fluff tailor-made for parties and inebriated individuals. The theatrical equivalent of drunkorexia, TGSS leads to a fun night, but there’s not much substance behind the laughter.

After entering their names before the show, players are randomly selected for games ranging from dead-celebrity trivia to retrieving objects from a bowl of Jell-O using only their mouths. The contests give host Anderson Lawfer and his MC, Zoccoli (a.k.a. Jaz), an excuse to goof off onstage. They’re clearly enjoying themselves as they read aloud sexts received by audience members and watch people chug salsa for $20. Lawfer is an enthusiastic, charismatic host, yet he starts the show off on a bad note by telling the audience the game is so easy “a retarded person can win.” The scripted comedy bits fail to show off Lawfer and Jaz’s talent; the funniest moments come from the audience interactions, when the two men craft spontaneous jokes with ease.