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  • Dylan Meconis, "Peter Serafinowicz"

Peter Serafinowicz couldn't make it for last night's 7 pm Twitter All-Stars show at the White Owl, which was kind of disappointing—his flight was delayed—but I heard a rumor he made a surprise appearance there later in the night. (Someone confirm and give details in the comments, if that's true.)

He did, however, make it for 10 pm's weirdly under-attended yet incredibly great showcase "Don't Get Bored of Us and Leave" at the Mt Tabor Theater. It was hosted by Torontans (?) Tom Henry and David Dineen-Porter, whose aren't-we-clever interplay was initially kind of off-putting (I got bored fast during a too-long bit that recycled a Jay Leno monologue) but eventually totally won me over with general good cheer and some of the best audience interaction I've ever seen.

Quick highlights from that show—including Peter Serafinowicz's turn as a Beatle and a super-glamorous bonus guest (!)—after the jump.

The lighting on the big Mt Tabor stage makes performers look like they are wearing creepy animal masks, and there were plenty of open seats at last night's show, but I couldn't have asked for a better kickoff to Bridgetown.

I'd seen Kate Berlant before, at Curious Comedy's All Jane No Dick comedy fest a few months back, and I remember liking what she did, but thinking the crowd wasn't really game for it—her set didn't really work so well. Last night it did. Her stage persona is unique and pretty unforgettable—she plays the over-earnest, too-intense girl who talks about "processing" a lot, and whose eye contact freaks everybody else out. Berlant has an impressively extensive vocabulary of bullshit art jargon and self-help terminology, and last night she just kind of roamed the stage, riffing on self-actualization and her relationship with the crowd. "It's so interesting to be performer next to a screen, when I myself am a screen," and so forth.

Chris Fairbanks reminded me of that fairy tale about the shoes that keep dancing even when the girl who's wearing them wants to stop—it was as though his mouth had simply run away from him, like it was a half-step ahead of his brain, which was lagging. I don't remember a single thing he talked about. I loved it; I'll be looking for him on the schedule for the rest of the weekend.

Local Barbara Holm was just great—she's little and cute and she knows it, and her stuff plays on the audiences' perception of her in really smart, interesting ways.

Peter Serafinowicz
came out fully in character as Paul McCartney ("Can you believe I'm 70?"). Musical comedy is a tough sell—so are impressions, come to think of it—but Serafinowicz's take on two Beatles songs was fucking masterful. I won't ruin the jokes in case he busts 'em out again later in the weekend, but he's one of the biggest names at the festival and suffice to say he doesn't disappoint.

And finally, the show closed with a surprise appearance from a fur-clad Natasha Leggero, whose brutally snooty and judgmental glamour-girl persona terrifies me even though I know it's fake. She so goddamn good.

Like I said—a great way to kick off the festival.