From: "TomK" <tkonkle@aol.com>

See short movies and live performances at http://www.daveandtom.com


REVIEW OF LATEST SHOW

Weekend Review: "Dave and Tom's: A Tribute to Dave and Tom" By Julianne Fylstra DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF

"Dave and Tom's: A Tribute to Dave and Tom"

Santa Monica Playhouse

Saturday, Oct. 14

David Beeler and Tom Konkle, best known as the British comedy team that brought
laughter to audiences all over the globe, died Saturday at 8 p.m.

Their deaths were confirmed in the play "Dave and Tom's: A Tribute to Dave and Tom," and they are survived by repeated performances at the Santa Monica Playhouse until Oct. 29.

The show, which is a tribute to these dearly departed souls, is made ghoulishly
gleeful in that the tribute is hosted by none other than Dave and Tom themselves.

The pair isn't actually British (try American), but apparently they have nine lives - or at least two, as they claim to have been deceased well in advance of
the tribute show's premiere.

But willing suspension of disbelief isn't too hard to do here, because these fictitious Brits run through sketch after sketch without losing any steam. The audience is thrown into a world where anything is possible and everything is gut-bustingly funny.

Beeler and Konkle's chemistry make "Dave and Tom's" a treat to watch.

They build off each other's wild gestures, energy and antics as if they've known each other all their lives, even though they met in 1999. The wide range of sketches require Beeler and Konkle to play characters who are polar opposites of each man's previous part, yet the duo pull it off with ease.

One of the best sketches is "Doctor Braintree," which happens early on in the show. Tom plays a doctor who has been having an affair with Dave's wife for years and just discovered test results that show that Dave is going to die in three months. The problem is, these results have been lost for three months, and today is Dave's date with the grim reaper.

The "Braintree" sketch seamlessly turns into the longest death scene ever - the
next sketch, "Thus Die I" - as Dave proceeds to die after being shot hundreds of times while Tom flashes cards that say "The Godfather," "The Godfather II," "Scarface," "Platoon," "The Terminator" and so on.

It may be the longest death sequence an audience has seen in ages, but it's also the best: Beeler's facial expressions are priceless, and the amount of positions he can contort himself into make Jenna Jameson pale in comparison.

Another excellent sketch is "The Publicist," which involves Konkle dressed as Dave and Tom's old, frumpy female publicist, complete with glasses and a wild hairdo to match. This is the best monologue in the entire show, as the publicist gets drunker and drunker, stumbling offstage and returning with dark stains all over her dress. She talks about how having ample parking outside a theater is the secret to a show's success, only to wonder aloud, "Why do I keep
getting dropped off in parking lots with strange men?"

Dave and Tom may be dead (kind of), but their tribute show is more lively and hoppin' than a grasshopper on speed. In other words, don't miss it, or you'll be gravely sorry.

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