Bloomers combines talent, wit

Bloomers members say that last year, The Daily Pennsylvanian portrayed them as anti-feminist. But with the variety of humor and satire they have this year, Bloomers will not have to worry about that in the least. A combination of good writing, talent and very quick costume changes makes Come On Baby, Light My Satire well worth seeing. Bloomers, the University's all-female comedy troupe, is blessed with many versatile perfomers who, for the most part, are used to their full potential. For example, College sophomore Sabrina Walheim is featured in a good number of the skits in roles including Sally Struthers, a boogieing banker, a sexy coed preparing to "get some play" and an evil croissant stealer and is very amusing in all of them. Also the writing and acting talents of College junior Deb Brown and College sophomore Allison Greenspan are put to good use. Director Carrie Kitchen, a senior in the College, does an excellent job in her many performances throughout the show and has done well in her directing. However in some cases, ability went unused, as in the case of College senior Lisa Friedman. Featured as a Whartonite in love with a College student and part of a trio offering non-sexual ways of "having a good time," she should have been given more to sing. One thing Bloomers might want to work on is their facial expressions. College freshman Carineh Martin, while very good as a ditsy coed battling with Walheim for guys, kept the same open-mouthed, moronic expression throughout the show, whether she was a cop, a mother, or a singer. And Kitchen has an upturned lip that's always present, even when she's tap dancing. The tap dancing skit was a superb example of the display of talent in this show. Only one cast member knew how to tap dance when rehearsals for the show began, but it is impossible to figure out which one that was. Although the show was excellent all around, there were some skits that stole the show: a social etiquette class for exchange students, an advertisement collage, and what is called in the program, "White Man's Overbite." However, cuts and changes in the order of the show made it hard to follow the collection of titles in the program. Both original music and original lyrics set to popular songs like "On My Own" and "42nd Street" were witty and well done by College sophomore Debra Fromer and Engineering senior Kimberly Killmer. Fromer also deserves extra applause as the band's pianist, along with College sophomores Elie Landau and Brooke Wurst, who provided an entertaining array of scene-changing music as a pianist and guitarist, respectively. Come On Baby, Light My Satire continues tonight and tomorrow night at 7 and 9:30 p.m. in the Houston Hall auditorium. Tickets are $5 and can be bought on Locust Walk and at the door.