Here it happens again…The Celebrity Roast crew puts on another brilliantly off-color performance on their unilateral mission to piece by piece deconstruct the millennial childhood experience. And “The Roast of Harry Potter” proudly carries on their tradition of the endearingly obscene. A sordid group of local comedians gathered once again at The Bard's Town to pot shots at one of pop-culture's favorite sorcerers. The roasts are a local show they do every two months and is a spin on the Comedy Central Roasts, in the past they have turned their sights on icons from Jesus to Batman and everything in between.
Harry Potter's roast was hosted by Gandalf (yes, Tolkien’s Gandalf, because Dumbledore is dead in Rowling’s universe and “The Celebrity Roasts” are nothing if not bound by cannon) and also featured Frodo and Gollum to make the fantastical crossover complete. The Dais was brilliant, including a pedophile version of “He Who Shall Not Be Named” aka Voldemort, a pregnant Hermione, and an Americanized interpretation of Hagrid the gentle giant.
Craig Williams’ bizarrely creepy performance of Voldemort – who was sexually obsessed with Harry was nothing short of hilarious. And the fact that the sound of his character’s laughter and the sound of an orgasm were synonymous made his makeshift appearance that much hilariously off-putting.
Tyler Jackson’s stint as Ron Weasely aimed his barbs at himself and J.K. Rowling for making him such a benign milk toast character throughout the series. He was a coward, he was poor, he was not very smart…and he was a ginger. She never even gave him a chance for success.
Jake Reber’s Severus Snape had him on point with a nearly perfect Alan Rickman impersonation, and Mandee McKelvy as J.K. Rowling herself read an excerpt from her “Fifty Shades of Harry” spin-off series which will soon be getting to read. McKelvy most often, but the entire cast at times had hard time keeping in character and not laughing as the other performer’s did their sets; it made watching the show more endearing watching on as they made each other laugh.
As the Roasts go on, the production value only gets better with each passing show, and last night was no exception with the Hogwarts stage set, complete with a talking sorting Hat and picture frames that had moving people in them were included for ambiance. And by the time they got to the “Red Wedding” finale (Yes, that “Red Wedding), it became clear that there is no limit to the creativity (or pop culture pandering) the “Celebrity Roasts” have in store for future endeavors.
The Roast Crew will return in August with a "The Roast of Hollywood Squares."
(Photo courtesy of Pixel Brain Productions)
