Closing the first act is crowd favorite Dr. Mystery. The masterful buffoonery of David Whitehouse as the good doctor accompanied by faithfully foolish sidekicks Vigo (Jimmy Mak) and the Fair Maiden (Katy Psenicka) always entertains. In “Dr. Mystery and the Even Laster Crusade” this live action/puppet show/silly sound effects skit spoofs “Indiana Jones” and his search for the Holy Grail. Nothing short of surrealism meets baggy pants vaudeville, the joyous absurdity of it all is difficult to do justice with mere words.

Local weatherman Jym Ganahl returns for Raisin’ Hell in science fiction video vignettes, eventually succumbing to the “iPod People” and becoming one. Watching this cherubic, childlike weather hero boogie to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” with his iPod cord hanging out of his ear, is totally insane in it’s self depreciating humor.

Act II’s “Office Zone” is a parody of TV’s “Twilight Zone”. Set in the 1980’s, office workers confront a computer workstation in the office for the very first time. Those of us who remember fearing the first computers might find this funnier than younger folks…unless they were laughing at…uh…me? Julie Klein, David Whitehouse, Jimmy Mak, Tony Stremanos and Jerrod Wigton are campy without relinquishing a foothold of historic realism, making the sketch a gem.

Also great is “The Gothparents”. Mr. Whitehouse and Ms. Klein again shine as parents who go “Goth” to relate to their son Sedrick (Jimmy Mak). And the cameo of BillWho’s ace percussionist “The Beast” as Goth Coach is a perfect touch. Julie Klein utters a delightfully dorky parental response to her son’s confrontations about their Goth cred. “But we found it on the Google”…I still smile when I hear it in my head.

The best skit of the show is closer “Sci Fi Story”, a spoof of “West Side Story” pitting gangs from “Star Trek” (The Trekkies) against “Star Wars” (The Jedis). Gang leaders Han Solo (Tom Cardinal) and Kirk (Jimmy Mak) try in vain to break up the love affair between Luke (David Whitehouse) and Uhura (Storm Woods). The dance choreography (Katy Psenicka), singing and character development are quite impressive for a comedy skit. “Sci Fi Story” is one of the finest performances I’ve seen from Shadowbox’s funny side. The writing is superb, and with a combination of all components, makes relevant and heartwarmingly humorous on several levels.

And as usual, the music kills. I am always impressed with the guitar work of Matt Hahn and Chris Lambert. Bandleader Jennifer Hahn’s keyboard talent and the solid underpinnings of a rhythm section consisting of Andy Ankrom and Anthony McCoy sharing bass along with Matt “The Beast” Buchwalter on drums is arguably the most dynamic rock crew in Columbus. Add the vocal prowess of Carrie Lynn McDonald and even the Styx tune “Renegade” sounds fabulous.

Amy Lay’s rendition of “Synchronicity” (The Police) gets Raisin’ Hell off to a flying start. All the tunes in this show are excellent. Standouts for me on this night were Christina Connor’s tastefully torrid rendition of “Fire” (Jimi Hendrix), Jennifer Hahn’s strutting “Walk This Way” (Aerosmith), Tom Cardinal’s dynamic delivery of “Aerials” (System of a Down) and Julie Klein’s pensive performance of Pink Floyd’s “Time”. Last but not in any way the least…closing the show, Shadowbox diva Stephanie Shull brings down the house with a smoking take on (appropriately) AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”.

Raisin’ Hell is a good show with great music. And this year’s emphasis on science fiction rather than Halloween is a nice twist. I had a great time. Again, I did not win the raffle. And I’m kind of glad I didn’t.

Raisin’ Hell runs at Shadowbox in the Easton Town Center until November 15th. For more information go to:
http://www.shadowboxcabaret.com/.