'Voyeur' roasts Rocky

SATURDAY'S VOYEUR 2007: THE ROCKY SHOW (CLOSING SOON), Salt Lake Acting Company, through Aug. 12 (363-7522 or www.saltlakeactingcompany.org); running time: 130 minutes (one intermission)

Following two or three years when "Saturday's Voyeur," Salt Lake Acting Company's annual foray into lambasting local politics, society and religion seemed to be all over the map, the 2007 edition is much more focused.

The setting this year is a public television studio ("SLCTV, Ch. 17") where Rocky Anderson's Lame Duck Players are presenting "The Goodbye Rocky Comedy Special," played out through 17 scenes spread over two acts.

And while many previous "Voyeurs" have contained an abundance of crude humor that was blatant Mormon-bashing, this one has co-authors Allen Nevins and Nancy Borgenicht focusing mostly on outgoing Mayor Anderson's ... um ... rocky legacy. There are several bits that manage to offend nearly everyone at some point, but the anti-LDS material has been somewhat softened.

The Mayor Anderson segments are very funny, with Kevin Doyle playing Rocky, attired in a colorful boxing outfit as he spars both physically and verbally with an assortment of foes — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (Alexis Baigue), Sen. Chris Buttars (Cragun Foulger), Sen. Scott McCoy (Michael Todd Behrens), Gayle Ruzicka (Jeanette Puhich), a transvestite Jazz Bear (Rock H. White), Larry Miller (Behrens), Peter Corroon (White) and Mitt Romney (Foulger).

Any ribbing involving the LDS Church is mainly aimed at the Salt Lake City Council unanimously overruling Rocky on the City Creek Center development and presidential candidate Mitt Romney allegedly being heavily supported by the wives of prominent Mormons.

One of the most hilarious segments is the Jazz Bear performing with "The Glow Dome Singers" (a made-over version of "Glow Little Glow Worm") with the troupe dressed in nuclear facility coveralls while commenting musically on the EnergySolutions Arena.

Also very funny are the two "Rocky Python Players" bits and Baigue's chirpy asides as Cardozo, Rocky's parrot.

Two irritating, ongoing pieces that continually interrupt the proceedings are a string of "Choose the Right Wipes" commercials, featuring disposable CTR tissues useful for cleaning up political and social messes, and endless PBS-style pledge breaks featuring "Doug Capezzio" and "Mary Vixen" (Christopher Glade and Brenda Sue Cowley), encouraging the audience to purchase season tickets, reminding everyone that SLAC's agenda is NOT "bridging the divide."

Most offensive were sexually explicit segments with Enid Greene (Arika Schockmel) in an elevator with Gov. Huntsman, an obnoxious Borat (Baigue) joining the lengthy list of presidential candidates, and a raunchy commercial featuring Cowley and Puhich as seductive soccer moms.

John Caywood's direction, Keven Myhre's scenery and Jenny Floor "and her All Gentile Band" are big pluses.

Sensitivity rating: The profanity is minimal, but there is quite a bit of sexually oriented vulgarity.

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E-mail: ivan@desnews.com