Cabaret Theatre hams it up for 'RNL XXV: RNL RETURNS'
The weekend of October 25, Cabaret Theatre opened its doors for the 25th "Rutgers Night Live" ("RNL"), a spin on the sketch-comedy variety show, "Saturday Night Live." After the troupe's "RNL" Spring 2024 semester performance, it came back with a bang, producing three shows: a Friday night show, a Saturday matinee show and a Saturday night show.
The premise of "RNL," similar to that of "Saturday Night Live," includes wacky skits and absurd situational comedy, but differs in that each skit provides a distinct, relevant, important message. "RNL" exemplifies, at its core, the power of students' voices and freedom of speech on campus. Coordinated by Megan Burns and hosted by Matt Perez, both School of Arts and Sciences juniors, "RNL" utilizes its sketch-comedy setup to effectively convey a variety of societal, systemic issues ingrained in the Rutgers community and beyond.
A stand-out sketch, closely related to the social life on campus today, would be one in which a group sits on a couch, covered in marijuana paraphernalia, doing drugs with each other, while one individual abstains. This friend is slowly coerced into taking a hit of marijuana and, in typical Halloween style, they become possessed by a demon once they are inebriated.
The lights flash green, and they reveal all of their true thoughts and feelings. They growl and shout about how drug culture has made them feel left out, judged for not being a part of it and how their friends excessively take drugs to feel better about themselves. While this scene is truly hilarious and a marvel to watch, the actors' deliveries are nothing short of fantastic, the message is not lost on the viewer. They see the fear that the group experiences upon the closing of their friend's drugged episode, all clamoring to make sure their friend doesn't take anymore.
Are they doing so out of guilt and concern? Or are they doing so because they cannot bear the truth that comes from their friend's mouth? That much is left to interpretation. In the context of a college campus, in which so much of social life involves substances, calling out how problematic it can be to intertwine the two will likely validate many experiences.
In between "RNL"'s two acts, there was a drag performance, fitting considering the show was titled, "RNL XXV: 50 years? Girl, what a drag!"
On Friday evening, "Elizabeth New Jersey," a Rutgers alum, was featured, and they took to the floor with Chappell Roan and "Rocky Horror Picture Show" blasting in the background. The inclusion of drag in "RNL" is such an interesting and genius choice. The purpose of "RNL," as gathered from sitting in the crowd, is to hyperbolize and dramatize to create entertainment, yet pose serious and important messages underneath.
That is what "Elizabeth New Jersey" served — and serve, they did! Dressed in red and sparkles, they strutted, danced and completely enamored us with every move. They put on a show, to say the least. Using this show as an opportunity to put drag in the forefront was beautiful.
The closing sketch, by far, was the most memorable one. Two friends enter a theater to support their friend's thesis, and they talk about how they can never quite understand the kind of art their friend makes. The friend introduces their project, known as "I am Beautiful Syndrome." The piece begins with the friend sitting on a toilet in the middle of the stage and screaming in agony — the viewer begins to piece together that this project is about Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
This sparks a series of wacky antics such as the aggressive eating of peaches, wrapping people up in toilet paper, and a "fart line" in which all of the members of the cast line up and exclaim that they, "Wish it could be that easy!"
The most intriguing aspect of the segment was that "RNL" closes its show with a critique of, in essence, itself. This was a playful, tongue-in-cheek, piece of self-aware comedy that felt refreshing and much-needed. This IBS sketch is obviously not an accurate representation of the event's brand of comedy, as it is supposed to showcase fake-deep, pretentious, high-brow art that isn't saying much in the grand scheme of things.
But, doesn't "RNL" do something adjacent? Doesn’t "RNL" also dramatize issues to the point where one has to suspend their disbelief, especially with the IBS sketch? "RNL" began with an elaborate fart joke, in which a person in a hazmat suit rushed in thinking there was a gas leak.
Sitting in the audience and digesting the chaos of IBS and toilet paper screams, it became clear that this final sketch was an admission that yes, "RNL" can be cringe. "RNL" is cringe. It can be uncomfortable and weird and a little dumb.
But, that doesn't take away from the commentary and the true heart that goes into each act. "RNL" urges the audience, it urges us to be uncomfortable and sit with discomfort. Discomfort is what propels us to critically think about things we ignore.
