"Nightmares on Lincoln Ave." sets lofty goals, shooting for both horror and comedy — a combination perhaps not successfully executed since an Abbott and Costello "...meet the monster" flick — and not only fails with both, but fails unsympathetically. Usually, turkeys leave viewers pitying the actors/crew ("They're trying!"), but Corn Productions' "NC-17 horror-sketch show" leaves one angry at those responsible, stoked further by this awfulness being stretched for two hours.
"Nightmares" works better on the horror level, with some legitimate frights (sketches exploring a mother haunted by her baby's ghost, a psycho kidnapping skit), but humor's a virtual no-show. A few audience uproars emerged in the second half, but only scarce, lone, awkward laughs accompanied the first. It seems that Corn even attempted preemptive damage control, with press describing "Nightmares" as bearing "a decidedly non-comedy focus."
The actors - Richard Anderson, Kristin Danko, Andrea DeCamp, PK Doyle, Erin Johnson, Kristi Learoyd, Alex Moore, Allison Reinke, Jamie Smith, Jonathan Wilkholm and Audra Yokley — are competent, as are the costumers, choreographers, etc., with the exception of the sound person/team. (Thunder occurring at unlikely, but dramatic, points can work, and even be funny, sparingly — but not ceaselessly, as if a 12-year-old hijacked the effect.) Blame writers Robert Bouwman (artist director) and Todd Schaner for this disaster (although one sketch is a Stephen King adaptation and another's credited to "Jenn-anne"). Early dialogue was so bad that the unknowing might assume this to be improv and not written sketches.
The finale, a hillbilly cannibal song-and-dance, is entertaining, but wasted by placement, as most audience members will likely be itching to leave by this point. (At least one person snuck away during opening-night intermission.) Spectators braving this are advised that, if you think booze will help, the Cornservatory is BYOB.
Hmm. Perhaps Corn does pull-off legitimate "horror" here — just not in the way you’d expect.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
Map it