The Flip Side title has two meanings. Songs making up this revue are either "flip" in nature, or they come from the second or "other" side of recordings (usually vinyl or tape) of hit numbers. Developers explain the collection as "seriously funny." Songs are "sardonic, ironic and, at times, histrionic," often combining "witty tunes..with sophisticated lyrics," but often concerning "moronic characters." True.
Beginning with an address to Dr. Sigmund Freud, after whose work psychiatry flourished, what follows should not be unexpected: emphases on nuttiness and sex . With three versatile male singers as the entire cast, sexual matter is not presented visually and kinetically but (mercifully) suggestively. Words matter. Puns proliferate. Multisyllables multitask. The men use them in solo, doubles, altogether, often seamlessly mixing modes on one tune.
Perhaps the funniest single has Richie McCall portraying a helium addict. Every time he loosens a balloon and breathes in, his voice changes into a good imitation of a Chipmunk. Typically, Stephen Hope might strum a guitar while Craig Laurie sings what amounts to a list, as in a number where he orders all the merchandise offered on TV. But Hope is just as at home leading the trio, notably for a "Night and Day" whose every punctuation mark is sung with the lyrics. Affable and with good voices, the men make the most of their material.
Unusual lighting, such as silhouetting jail-house bars for an appropriate song, adds to this cabaret presentation. Marcella Beckwith meets the challenge of providing yet another different back curtain for the small cabaret stage by slashing from house top left to bottom right a fabric with completely different textures and patterns forming top and bottom of a bow. Two flip sides, as it were. Off to another side of the stage, Michael Sebastian on the piano proves central to the entire pleasing performance.
