San Francisco Fringe 2018
Low Down
Sparked by the death of his father and birth of his daughter, Comedian Bill Santiago goes in search of answers and laughs at the border of science and religion, exploring the comic nature of the cosmic quest for understanding existence, life and death (not necessarily in that order).
Review
Bill Santiago establishes an easy rapport with the audience. This is vital for a comedian and Santiago alternates with fast paced words and silent wide-eyed looks. His vibrant energy and big smile are sometimes larger than life and he starts talking about several days in his childhood, death, food items, personal information and family. His tone is often self-deprecating and a few times the opposite.
He is goofy in a few moments and pulls laughs and reactions effectively with his exaggerated big eyes and still open mouth look as he moves quickly from topic to topic. Santiago’s wacky logic is entertaining as he continues his solo performance touching on the Koran, church, religion, and of course, the Big Bang! He finds a flow in his delivery when talking about science in detail, then reducing to a quip that is witty and funny. He expounds on big ideas and jumps around in his thoughts with facts, opinions, links and drives the point home.
Santiago is never at a loss for words, and at times this is a science lecture with strange logic – there’s also a cat involved somewhere! The show has a specific focus on the death of his father and recent birth of his daughter and Santiago is seeking answers and poses questions throughout the show. It’s a fascinating provocation and Santiago has much to say.
These topics are interesting and bring up a lot of commentary from Santiago in his comedic style. His use of wit and words is fascinating and he reaches poignant moments in between the exaggerated facial expressions, which are effective, however, would benefit from more variety. He works hard, sincerely wants to tell his comedic stories and is particularly effective and human in vulnerable and tender observations about his father and daughter.
Given that a lot of Santiago’s material is about religion he has a way of making social commentary based on his own particular sense of logic. This is an entertaining, animated and humorous show with relatable topics! Recommended!!
