Somerset Villager’s Theatre recently renewed their comedy series as part of Not Your Mother’s Black Box. The black box production brought in a few young New York comics trying to earn their chops as professionals. The comics were followed by musical act Uncle Funk as the Villager’s Theatre is a community organization dedicated to providing multifaceted entertainment to the pleasant suburban area of Somerset, New Jersey. Interestingly enough, they began in 1960 in a barn thanks to a considerable monetary donation by a local farmer.
Two comics distinguished themselves from the others on the small stage. Ryan Houssein is a whiskey-blooded New Yorker who likely incited a label of “classless” by the largely middle-aged crowd, and to his credit he likely weighed this as a compliment. He’s bearded, presumably unshowered, and he’s getting a seeing-eye dog to supplement his blind drunkenness.
Houssain’s set is decadent and self-critical. Often feigning a visceral embarrassment about one pathetic biographical fact or another, Houssain, with a begrudged air, discloses the unimaginable reach of his apathy and his humble contentment as a base individual. He likely wished he was being accommodated with a procession of beer that undoubtedly accompanies his sets in the city, although he was frequently spotted grabbing tiny complimentary servings of beer from the lobby, and likely survived provided he was returned to his rightful habitat in a reasonable timeframe.
His missteps occurred when he forwardly lambasted the crowd’s perceivable age, first having success with the topic then over aggressively relying on it later on. Then was unable to lay-off a dead end bit of a disquietingly humiliating masturbation life, a bit that would have pulled further with a younger crowd. While Houssain should have been able to ground the mistake and head in a different direction, he embarrassingly admitted he hadn’t prepared enough material to bypass the hopeless bit and proceeded to beat the horse into its fifth or sixth life.
Ty Raney also showed promise. He earned the largest roar of the evening with his creative disdain for the working life, explaining his proclivity to call out in the parking lot and frequent need to Google what it is he might be expected to do at work. As an only child he paints a peculiar experience with absurd, make-shift substitutions to sibling life, and presents himself as a loving father before hilariously alienating his son.
“Based on the feedback I received from people in attendance, I am planning on making comedy night a continuing program on a quarterly basis,” says organizer Joe Buz.
