Show Up
About the show
After hit runs in NYC and Edinburgh, Peter Michael Marino's fully improvised solo show enjoys an encore run at Under St. Marks. More…
After years of performing his solo shows around the world, Marino grew weary of writing and memorizing them. So he's decided to just show up and create one on the spot. The audience will be the subject of this socially anxious experiment that both spoofs and celebrates the solo show genre. All you have to do is show up.
for a previous production “I do not like audience participation of any kind...I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised to enjoy myself in the extreme…Marino takes the old saw of using our suggestions to plot out an improvised story. But that is just the icing on the cake. Prior to that, he ushers us down an autobiographical lane that is both hilarious and sincere...He is up there on the stage about to fly without a net...A spot-on piece of 'let’s have fun' that works on so many levels.” Full Review
for a previous production “Marino’s show has a charm that never feels cheesy. Audience interaction feels authentic...As a result we all lean forward and join in. It’s an interactive hour, interesting, moving, full of fun, and funny. We are in the hands of a charismatic performer who blends brash with humble and the result is something original…Rare and special work…The audience loved every minute, there was laughter aplenty but we also sailed into the rocky waters of love, loss, uncertainty, and depression." Full Review
for a previous production “It would take a brave performer indeed to improvise an entire hour every day on their own. It would take an incredibly funny and intelligent performer to be able to do this. Luckily, Peter Michael Marino is a performer of great intelligence, wit, and enough energy to light up the entirety of The Counting House…Marino is a deeply engaging performer who always leaves the crowd with a message…You will never see this show again, and you don’t want to miss out!” Full Review
for a previous production “An often silly, occasionally searing, ultimately affectionate send-up of solo theater performances, interpersonal communication, and the bendable nature of truth…Marino was in chess master mode: absorbing the many plot points he’d just commissioned, then orchestrating those wildly disparate moving parts toward a logical end...Marino made each sip of water seem like a breath of fresh air.” Full Review
for a previous production “‘Show Up’ subverts the clichés and tropes you might expect from a solo performance…Marino knows how to work the crowd…It’s bizarre, manic and hilarious…Marino isn’t just skilled with stand-up and audience banter. He is also a compelling actor, drawing us in with moments that are funny, ridiculous, and even poignant at times. Marino’s key strength is his seemingly endless energy…‘Show Up’ provides brilliant laughs and is worth repeat visits to fully appreciate its ever-changing nature.” Full Review
for a previous production "Marino provides a wild, unpredictable ride for his audience commenting on his own social anxiety and performance challenges...Any anxiety or shyness evaporates because everyone is involved together in a group endeavor…By including his audience in his production, Marino creates an unforgettable experience and turns audiences into participants and co-creators…In showing up to 'Show Up,' people find themselves totally involved with a group of strangers in an enjoyable project." Full Review
for a previous production “This performance is sharp, witting and engaging…If anything, it proves you don’t have to be artistic to have a tragic life that can be mined for comedic results...‘Show Up’ is the result of a keen and witty mind who knows how to take different ideas, meld them together and run with the result. I really enjoyed the show and laughed from start to end…Enter it in the right spirit and you’ll be well rewarded. Marino knows the format and how to play with it, as well as how to judge an audience.” Full Review
for a previous production "With some assistance from an audience member to stage manage and another to handle the sound design, Marino launches into a hilarious improvised tale…Marino has created a unique hour of entertainment by taking the overplayed solo show format and fashioning an improvised comedy routine that works all the better for the audience’s connection to the source material." Full Review
See it if Anyone with a sense of humor and love of stepping off cliffs.
Don't see it if You want a well-made play. Yawn.
See it if Talented improv artist takes personal experiences from the audience and creates an impromptu story around them. Funny and surprising.
Don't see it if He follows a script telling his personal background before he gets to the more creative part of the show.
See it if you want to be enlightened
Don't see it if you are a snob
See it if You like something completely unique. This is a solo show unlike anything you've seen before. Improv with a twist - the audience star in it!
Don't see it if You don't want to be entertained, involved, or have a show written about you and the rest of the audience! You will be the center of it all!
See it if you want to see a master entertainer show you HOW IT IS DONE! You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll help create the show!
Don't see it if you have a heart of stone and don't care about important things like art and feelings.
See it if If you want to be entertained by a 1 man show,all original
Don't see it if If you don't have a sense of humor
See it if you want unique entertainment. No two shows are the same.
Don't see it if audience participation shows scare you. Though this one is mild by comparison.
See it if YOU LIKE IMPROMPTU, UNIQUE, NEW EACH EVENING. UNUSUAL FOR THEATRE TO CHANGE EACH DAY SO IT IS A TREAT. ENTERTAINING.
Don't see it if IT IS SCARCASTIC, SPOOFING ON EVERYTHING, ONE MAN SHOW. HE IS TALENTED BUT IT CAN GET SILLY AND CRAZY SO BE PREPARED. NOT A SHOW FOR EVEYONE
See it if You love being surprised, improv, audience participation, smart, funny performers. Every show is "one night only."
Don't see it if You want to know what the show is about before you go. It's a different show every night.
See it if Great Improv's choice! The actor is highly energetic + experienced.He shows total control by fitting the words picked earlier into his piece
Don't see it if You don't like improv
See it if you don't care about production values and want to see an intelligent man with interesting ideas.
Don't see it if you want to see high end theatre.
Also The secret to life is to show up, to not be lazy
See it if You want a unique theater experience like nothing you've ever been a part of.
Don't see it if You don't like solo performances.
See it if You love a new spin on existing forms of storytelling.
Don't see it if You hate fun and quality!
See it if you have a beating heart, a curious mind, and a sense of humor. You are ready for a peek into the mind of that guy who doesn't pot luck.
Don't see it if you don't like solo shows
See it if You want to see a unique theatrical experience that is never the same twice and if you are ready to be moved by the human experience.
Don't see it if You only like scripted plays and you aren't interested in something different.
See it if You like to see a performer with the courage to think on his feet, who is candid about his flaws, and relates to the audience.
Don't see it if If you need to see traditional, structured work. This isn't that. It's candid and improv driven.
See it if I was moved by the people of Gander and their selflessness to total strangers
Don't see it if You don't like a true story
See it if you want a glimpse into the world of creating a show and to see a master improviser at work.
Don't see it if you are looking for a book show or a linear story line.
See it if You are socially anxious or love improv. Also if you have one free hour, and love to laugh!
Don't see it if No reason not to see it. Just. Do. It.
See it if You love talented performers who are brave and brilliant.
Don't see it if You just had mouth surgery and are not supposed to smile and laugh out loud.
See it if ...you are want to get inspired to create or if you just enjoy unique theatre.
Don't see it if ... you don't like improv. But maybe you can give this improvised one-person show a chance?
See it if you need a good laugh.
Don't see it if Just go. Everyone needs to go, even if you don't want to. SHOW UP
See it if You enjoy watching a consummate master take improv to its ultimate level. Funny, intelligent, insightful, wise. Laugh, learn, leave happy!
Don't see it if If you do not like solo shows. If you prefer a scripted show and dislike any form of improv.
See it if you have or have not witnessed any solo shows or if you have something on your mind today
Don't see it if you don't like entirely unique theater-going experiences
See it if you want to have an enjoyable night at the theater. The show is different each night. Both times I saw it were excellent!
Don't see it if you do not enjoy satire, solo shows, improvisation, or audience interaction. Great show for theater vets to take their non-theater friends.
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