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The Stones
Gather No Moss
Twin brothers’ stand-up act reaches maturity
 Quite
awhile ago, maybe even two or three years ago, I saw the twin stand-up
duo Stone & Stone as part of a collective show somewhere -- can’t recall
the venue at this point -- but I do remember being kind of annoyed with
them -- thinking their seemingly smug demeanor and overlapping speech
were off-putting. And even more recently, seeing them again on the most
recent season of Last Comic Standing (see
Blog entries), I had a similar
reaction.
But on seeing them again in their own showcase at the People’s Improv
Theater on September 27, it appears the duo have either gotten better
and more sophisticated with their act or maybe I just was more receptive
this time. It’s hard for a critic to know which it is sometimes, but no
doubt Stone & Stone are now certifiably worth seeing.
Adam and Todd Stone actually capitalize on talking over each other as
they deliver conversational stories always unexpectedly landing on a
phrase serving as a punch line, with a pause. Their cross-talk, the more
one listens to it, serves to build a jazzy rhythm that propels their
humor.
The twin brothers will trade off phrases or repeat each other a little
as they build to a punchline in their stories. They will set up a story
by saying “we did …” something in the manner that a single stand-up
comic would tell a story-style joke, as though Stone & Stone really do
everything together. In their best piece of the night, Todd says Adam
was calling him, feeling nervous in the city that someone would attack
and rape him, and Todd tried to calm him by saying, “You can do that
too.” And if Adam were afraid of getting his wallet stolen, Todd tells
him, “You can steal a shirt.” So what does Adam do to the guy he thinks
was following him? Adam reveals, “I raped him and stole his Lance
Armstrong bracelet.” Dark, but the style the brothers have developed
puts it over.
And the Stones’ command of pauses and pacing in their delivery also
works for them on simpler, sharper bits, such as their tales of elderly
Jewish relations in Florida -- one of whom can’t even keep rice on his
fork long enough to eat it … and “he drives,” Todd concludes. On another
bit, their overlap builds the piece when Todd talks about trying to
craft his resume, peeling off “passive” words like “participated and
completed” then relating that he went too far with stronger words … like
“molested and indicted” -- as Adam chimes in, repeating and questioning.
The “Stone and Stone Show” at the PIT is supposed to feature the
brothers as hosts for other comedians, but this is only nominal, as they
dominate the show both in onstage time and in the strength of their
material, with one exception on the performance seen -- a guest
appearance by Dave Hill (see 10/5/06 review),
a more conceptual stand-up solo performer, who updated one of his
signature techniques of reading a diary entry off a crumpled piece of
paper, to be about the Bodies exhibition, and showed a great
video of a
collaboration with the Stones where he plays Big Brother to them.
What Stone and Stone do may actually be way beyond what could have gone
over in a contest environment like “Last Comic Standing.” Their
signature style and tone can require a little getting used to, but once
you do, it’s well worth it.
“The Stone and Stone Show” returns to The PIT at 8 p.m. Friday,
October 10. |
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