Living Armenian Culture

The Theatre Group Behind Out Of The Cage:
The Flagship of Diaspora-based

Living Armenian Culture

By Appo Jabarian

Executive Publisher / Managing Editor

USA Armenian Life Magazine

Friday,  February 20, 2009

On Sunday February 14, the folkloric hilarities of various cultures from – of all places – Pakistan, Japan, certain parts of the Middle East, of course Armenia and Lebanon, all the way to Glendale, came into a comical focus in Hollywood, USA.

The captivating theatrical ambiance at the Out Of The Cage comedy evening was multi-layered and multi-dimensional. The complexity and the diversity of the skits such as the farcical “Armenian Turkish Reconciliation,” the explosively comical “Japanese” and the “Triangle” sketches among several others, demanded commensurate talent. And there was certainly no shortage of that!

The evening was topped by a colorful performance of “Peshawar Ensemble” exhibiting a refined artistic capability to embody an imaginary “lost” and “rediscovered” small Armenian community of musicians “living” in Pakistan and singing in their mother tongue Armenian, with humorously intertwined – also imaginary Pakistani-Armenian accent.

The patron saints of this latest mostly homegrown Diaspora Armenian comedy, Vahe Berberian, Ara Madzounian and Vachik DerSarkissian, were adroitly supported by such respectable talents as Henrik Mansourian, Ara Baghdoyan, Sako Berberian, Maurice Kouyoumjian and Shahe Mankerian.

As a young actor, Chris Bedian showed a commanding and convincing stage presence. Equally talented Harout Dedeian, Salpi Yardemian and Helena Gregorian joined him in completing the cast that so smoothly navigated through the evening thanks to its perfected artistic cohesiveness and excellent sense of timing in delivering the punch lines of each and every skit.

The ultimate result was a parade of portrayers of a slew of hilarious characters who were adored by an electrified audience.

This latest artistic endeavor came after four years of rewriting and recalibrating the sequence of “events” that culminated in the creation of a volcano of laughter in an otherwise still untapped terrain of Armenian theatre in America.

Due to heightened demand, two more shows were slated for the second half of February in addition to the initial four. As of press time Monday Feb. 16, the new shows were also sold-out.

Even though the Out Of The Cage satiated the thirst of connoisseurs of the Armenian comedy, it created an even bigger appetite for more.

The theatre group behind this high quality and widely acclaimed Armenian theatrical achievement can be easily recognized as being the flagship of Diaspora-based living Armenian culture. Hats off to the director, the writers, the actors and the sound and stage technicians and their assistants.