| Newsfront - Friday, June 9, 2006
'Wigged Out' - unique to Danville
Last chance to enjoy 13th season of hair salon humor
by Natalie O'Neill
It's safe to say there's only one place to find Tom Cruise singing and dancing with a baboon and a six-foot jar of grape jelly.
The place is Victoria's Hair Onstage, the venue for Danville's notoriously campy cabaret-style comedy "Wigged Out." And there are only three showings left this season.
"I've had people come up and tell me they are sore from laughing," said director-producer Jeff Seaberg.
The flashy fast-paced short pokes fun at everything from celebrities to food products and is ending its 13th season this month with full houses and rave reviews from play-goers. The production began as a small skit put on by employees of Victoria's and has grown into a professional-quality play.
"It's an awesome Danville tradition ... it's People Magazine onstage," said Michelle Stedman, who saw the June 3 showing.
Other members of the audience compared the play to "Beach Blanket Babylon," a larger scale parody of popular culture that runs in San Francisco.
Seaberg said the venue for "Wigged Out" - a salon on the corner of Hartz Avenue and San Ramon Valley Boulevard - is part of what makes the show uniquely offbeat.
While some of the actors play hairdressers, the common idea that they are actual employees of the salon is a myth. Most of the cast has professional experience and acts in plays in the Tri-Valley area.
"We've got a professional quality play without a drive into the city and we don't have a two-drink minimum," Seagram said.
"It's a little piece of entertainment gold," he said.
The storyline is written collaboratively by the entire cast but is updated as material from news and pop culture develop. Dick Cheney, for example, wasn't included in the show until he made headlines for accidentally shooting his friend. And similarly, there was no Janet Jackson reference until her "wardrobe malfunction."
The cast is constantly editing, rewriting and reviewing what humor "works" and what doesn't, said actress Donna Turner, who plays a poodle, a hairdresser and Princess Latte. She said the creative process develops the way an episode of Saturday Night Live does.
"It's a living, breathing thing," Turner said.
Actress Peggy Huff-Stratten said they draw from a lot of trial and error and leave room for some improvisational comedy.
"We have the freedom to do what we want with the show because it evolves over time," she said.
While there is a clear plot and story line, the show is made up of quick two-minute scenes.
"We joke that if you don't think this is funny, wait two minutes," Seaberg said.
The actors often break the "fourth wall" and talk directly to the audience. At one point the fictional character Christine Victoria goes into the audience and flirts with a man in the front row. This part of the show is totally ad-lib and prompts a lot of laughter and response from the audience.
Members of the cast guessed the show was about 80 percent scripted and 20 percent improv.
"It's live so anything can happen," Seaberg said.
This season's storyline centers around Christine Victoria's search to find who is haunting her hair salon. Each scene has a smooth transition into the next and there is a clear beginning, middle and end. While the comedy is off-the wall, it is important to have a developed plot, Seaberg said.
Next year's production will start in November and will have totally new material. The conflict will focus on the idea that the new salon owner may lose the business. It will follow the same format as previous years, running about 75 minutes.
Tickets for the remaining shows are $38. They will run at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Saturday, June 10; 7 p.m. June 17; and 8 p.m. June 24. For more information, call the box office at 855-SHOW (855-7469).
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