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Inside Out

Talkative sketch comedy duo Lance & Ray conjure worlds on multiple levels in recent PIT show.

In their recent one-night only show at The People’s Improv Theater, duo Lance & Ray (Lance Rubin and Ray Munoz) create vivid worlds in their comedic scenes with rapid fire dialogue and little to no props or scenery.

And at times, they even succeed with equally rapid fire asides between more formal scenes that work as self-referential parody.

And at best, Lance & Ray combine these two tracks, like in a sketch that imagines a 1950s-style educational film about how comedy is supposedly made, with a “square” delivering narration, telling you how material is submitted to a wizard.

Another sketch features the duo on a subway, talking about Ray’s ex, who they’ve spotted sitting right under the map inside the car. This leads into all sorts of flashbacks about their relationship where his awkwardness leads to some surprises.

The self-referential material also provides some highlights as well, with Lance’s Dave Matthews obsession aggravating Ray in another piece. The duo are adept at carrying the audience along through instant shifts between straightforward pieces and dialogue that appears to be personal squabbles between them.

A perfect example is a little remark Ray makes at one point in the show about Lance auditioning for a commercial that serves as an intro to a sketch about a pompous and pushy acting teacher.

At times, the duo gets a little lost in transitions, though, and a parody of DVD director’s commentaries at the end of the show gets a little overlong, but these are minor quibbles with what is an inventive and original show overall.

Lance & Ray return to The PIT on Fridays, August 3 and 10, and have a special Central Park performance in the works August 11.

  

   

     

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