One night about a year and a half ago Mick Napier was up late channel-surfing with a few other members of the Annoyance Theatre when they noticed some old friends making an appearance on Jay Leno. They were performing bits from The Real Live Brady Bunch as a plug for the show’s national tour.
Conceived and directed by the Soloways, The Real Live Brady Bunch, based on the weak premise of acting out actual old Brady Bunch episodes, was paired with a parody game show, The Real Live Game Show, and booked for Tuesday nights, the darkest of dark-night slots.
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Then things really heated up. Film and TV producers and agents started turning up on Tuesdays. In one night alone Lorne Michaels and Quincy Jones showed up in separate stretch limousines. Michaels auditioned several Annoyance actors for Saturday Night Live, ultimately tapping Melanie Hutsell and Beth Cahill. At almost exactly the same time, promoter Ron Delsner worked out a deal to take The Real Live Brady Bunch to New York.
Still, the company can’t seem to shake its Brady Bunch past. A Real Live touring production, with the Soloways serving as consultants, opens next week at the Park West, and the Annoyance has been receiving 30 or 40 calls a week asking about tickets.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/David Schulz.
