Press

Ventriloquist, ‘dummy' host twisted variety show
BY ROBERT LOERZEL
DIVERSIONS EDITOR

A couple of years ago, Second City gave some of its performers an assignment: Come up with a
comedy act for Black History Month.
Oak Park residents Marz Timms and Keith Smitherman responded by portraying a ventriloquist,
John Baptista Jr., and his dummy, the Amazing Luggah.
“We stood out from everyone else,” Timms said. “Everyone else was doing Black History Month, and
we were just goofs.”
It may not have had much to do with black history, but the act was a hit.
They've now built a whole show around their bit, with Smitherman as ventriloquist John Baptista Jr.
and Timms as his dummy, the Amazing Luggah.
“The Big Kids Comedy Hour,” a show by Bucky’s Planet Productions, will open Friday for a six-week
run in Chicago.
Timms said he and Smitherman came up with the concept as they were joking around in their Oak
Park apartment.
“We sit around the apartment and do so many bizarre things, and this was one that worked,” he
said.
Timms has been acting and performing comedy for about 10 years, including five years in the play
“Coed Prison Sluts” and a recent appearance in a Hanes shirt commercial with Michael Jordan
(“You’re not allowed to talk to him, so everything he did was separate. He was added in digitally.”)
Smitherman said he has less stage experience than Timms.
“He’s the one who pulled me into it,” he said.
The two have co-hosted a cable television show and performed together in a rap group.
When Smitherman takes on the role of John Baptista Jr., he said, “I'm a bitter ventriloquist who
takes it out on the audience.”
“Basically, the dummy says things the ventriloquist can’t say,” Timms said. “I can be really loud and
obnoxious on stage.”
“The Big Kids Comedy Hour,” directed by Steve Wright, tells the story of John Baptista Jr. and the
Amazing Luggah and the cute and cuddly children’s television show they hosted — until it was
yanked off the air.
That experience embitters Baptista. When the performance flashes years forward, Baptista and
Luggah get their TV show back, but things have changed.
“He ends up as this oddball character, surrounded by oddball characters,” Smitherman said.
“It’s like ‘The Mickey Mouse Club,’ ” Timms said, adding that the adult characters are all like
overgrown children.
Timms said his sister, Denail Timms of Oak Park, plays Maureen Younge, “a rich germophobe.”
Joseph Henry plays Chaz Johnson, “the bully of the group.” And Jim Nadder plays Benji Nufter, “an
adult fresh off Ritalin.”
Matt Sabo portrays Christian Leahy, “who’s living out his dream as a janitor for John Baptista Jr,”
Smitherman said.
Timms and Smitherman often play off racial stereotypes. They'll tell audiences, “You’re expecting us
to dance, aren’t you?” And then they will perform just the sort of dance routine audiences might
expect from black entertainers.
Sometimes, they openly court hostility. They once performed in front of an audience consisting
mostly of black senior citizens and children. Rather than toning down their act, they said to
themselves, “We’re going to be just as mean and rowdy as we normally are,” Timms recalled.
During the course of that performance, they remarked, “Wow, look at all these black people in the
park. Where are the cops to break it up?”
“We actually got booed,” Timms said, with a touch of pride in his voice.
“The Big Kids Comedy Hour” performes at 8 p.m. Fridays at Frankie J’s MethaDome Theatre, 4437
N. Broadway, Chicago. Tickets are $10. Call (708) 848-4310 for reservations.
This show is not suitable for children.

November 09, 2002
Sunni Williams
Bridgeview , Il
I LOVE THE BIG KIDS COMEDY HOUR! It is sketch comedy with a whole lotta spur-of-the moment
improv. You can really tell that these guys can think on their feet or on a lap as the case may be. I
was laughing hysterically the entire time. I would suggest this to anyone who is looking for fun in a
different kinda way. There is something for everyone and you may get a prize at the end. I'd just like
to say thanks for giving me a great night. I love it all!

November 08, 2002
T Strick
Chicago , IL
Awesome show! I love the refrences to hip hop and the dummy was just so cute. This is so not a
show for the kids, but its great entertainment for adults. GO SEE IT!!!!!!!

BIG KIDS COMEDY HOUR, Bucky Planet Productions, at Frankie J's
Methadome Theater. It's a surprise to see that an old-fashioned comedy
act --- a ventriloquist and his dummy ---- can still entertain audiences.
But with a whole lot of attitude and energy, the stars of the erratic Big
Kids Comedy Hour, directed by Steve Wright, bring new life to nearly
forgotten form. Keith Smitherman plays John Baptista Jr., the
over-the-top ventriloquist, giving every word an inflated import as he
alternately harangues and flirts with his audience. Marz Timms is the
big-eyed, dirty minded, quick-thinking dummy, the Amazing
Luggah-----the id to his handler's ego.
We watch the comedy hour's storytime and simple-hints segments, the
backstage shenan! igans, and flashbacks depicting pivotal moments in
JBJ's career. Nevertheless the show is original. It takes just about
anything as a jumping-off point and includes dancing, reinvented fairy
tales, allusions to Star Wars and Say Anything..., and lessons on
personal hygiene and alternatives to diapers. This scattershot
approach doesn't always work, but overall this is an audacious,
bizarrely inventive, and amusing production. -----

Jenn Goddu ChicagoReader