519 Reviews as of : 03/06/2010

All the Wrong Reasons is political stand-up comedian John Fugelsang's one-person show concerning one of the "worst years of his life". His career has stalled, he is broke, his father is in the terminal stages of cancer, and his mother is making an unacceptable demand. That his parents are both ex-clergy (she was a nun, he was a Franciscan brother) allows them to lay claim to their late first born's (Mr. Fugelsang) rite of Catholic guilt and shame. Before Dad is called to the pearly gates, mom wants misguided son to marry his girlfriend of 11 years, a fate (though it's clear Mr. Fugelsang loves his girlfriend) that may not be worse than death but certainly goes against practicality and Mr. Fugelsang's own beliefs. There is a minor miracle and then a major miracle that gives Mr. Fugelsang pause in his forward motion of living … a pause that may have changed the way he looks at things all together.

Mr. Fugelsang is attractive, personable and professionally adept. The structure of his piece is solid, though its introduction could be trimmed, and the message he imparts is warm-hearted for such a barb-spiked fellow. When his jokes don't land, it's usually because he's given too much explanation prior to them or made too many excuses about talking about something as tired as Catholic guilt or rationalizing his wont not to reveal anything personal. When his jokes do land, they evoke barks of laughter because they're original and unexpected or at the very least there's cause to chuckle because he's not selling anything.

Director Pam MacKinnon keeps things clear and moving along and nicely beefs up the staging with the meat of the story. However, I wish she wouldn't let Mr. Fugelsang get shrill which he does on more than a couple of occasions thereby causing one to reject more than accept. But as one person shows go, this one doesn't feel like an audition and there are enough insights along the way to warrant your appreciation of the genre.

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