Broadway met Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland as they opened for previews in their new show, “Oh Hello” in Sept. The brainchildren of John Mulaney of “Saturday Night Live” and Nick Kroll of “The Kroll Show,” on which the two were recurring characters, Faizon and George are two bachelors who have been working in theater and living together on the Upper West Side for 40 years. To describe the essence of the pair, ask John Mulaney himself: “You know when you walk by a travel agency and you’re like ‘What?’ Well, when they walk by a travel agency, they’re like ‘Oh, sure.’”
Although the men have been performing as the two for years on television, and recently in shows across the country, their first night of previews had the loose kinetic feeling of great live comedy, with the two making each other break and laugh regularly throughout the show. The show starts with an extended introduction to the pair where the audience learns important details, such as that St. Geegland’s three wives all died on the same set of stairs and that Faizon is afraid of raccoons because they are so easy to fall in love with.
Like all great characters, they are devotedly imbued with many particular mannerisms, such as their mispronunciation of words and references to their favorite artist Steely Dan. The loose plot is based on a play-within-a-play St. Geegland and Faizon are putting on, and they often stop to confer with each other on how their show is going and to yell at their intern who is working the lights. The play tells the story of their friendship and the development of their show “Too Much Tuna,” from its public access roots to when they “sell out” to New York One.
“Too Much Tuna” is the show’s signature because of the tradition of inviting other comedians onstage to participate. For the first night of previews, the guest was Will Forte of “Saturday Night Live” and “Last Man Standing.” Mulaney and Kroll have deep roots in comedy, so you never know which of their friends might be getting pranked with an overstuffed tuna sandwich when you go.
While the mystery guest is exciting, the night belongs to St. Geegland and Faizon and the men who breathe them life. Fans of Mulaney and Kroll know that although they are in character, the two’s signature styles are both working here to great effect. They utilize their respective gifts for observation and parody of pop culture as they take on the tropes of theater.
They also bring a unique utilization of improvisation to Broadway, such as when they comment on how a dream sequence’s smoke effect was nailing the front row or when Faizon stormed off into the audience and said goodbye to audience members (“Goodbye, goodbye, if you’re not father and daughter, that makes me sad, goodbye”). All in all, “Oh Hello” is an exciting shake-up and send-up to the Great White Way, and any fan of comedy or theater should consider checking out their limited engagement before they close on Jan. 8.
