FOOL FOR A CLIENT
presented by Mark Whitney
Showtimes
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 10:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 3 @ 2:00 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 5 @ 8:00 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 6 @ 6:00 p.m.
[A] Sat., Aug. 9 @ 6:00 p.m.
KEY:
[S]=ASL interpreted
[A]=Audio described
Show details
Venue: Bryant-Lake Bowl
Duration: 75 minutes
For ages 16+
Written by Mark Whitney
From: San Diego, CA
Website: www.markwhitney.com
Genres: Solo, Spoken Word, Audio described, Political
Warnings: Adult language
Overall rating
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User reviews
Tax evader as hero?
by Florence Brammer Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
Mr. Whitney's manic, midway-hawker style was exhausting and irritating, though his show was polished (to the point of being on auto-pilot). I would have just liked to have heard the story of what happened, without his self-righteous spin that he has become a hero of constitutional rights because he chose to intentionally evade years of tax obligations. Like the Mrs. Jones of his door-to-door salesman years, I felt manipulated, patronized and underestimated.
three creepy kitties
by BN DR Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
It only gets three because I had a beer.
all over the map
by Matt Sciple Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
The story, by itself, is fascinating, funny and disturbing; it doesn't need so much hard sell. Nix the ridiculous music, cut 15 minutes and at least 3 endings (seriously; he's got a PERFECT end line; biggest laugh of the night, and the show goes on for five more minutes! I expected a bunch of hobbits to start hugging him in slow motion.) and 9/10s of the painful stand up "comedy" and there's a brilliant, thought-provoking, powerful show in here. As it is it just wore me out.
Great show
by Melissa Beukema Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This is an excellent show, well rehearsed, and told by someone with an intriguing and unique story.
I really enjoyed it. That said, I almost expected a little more after all the hype.
Loved it!
by Liz Bassett Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Really fun show. Loved the satire. It is done really well and I would highly recommend it, but get there early as it is a small theater.
Excellent
by Richard Heise Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A treatise on our legal system. Extremely hilarious with too much truth.
Can someone give this guy a ten!!!
by roseroberta pauling Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This has got to be the best comedy and storytelling that I have seen at the Fringe. If everything in this story is true, for all the comedy it is damn scary, and it seems that at least the main theme is. This guy deserves a ten for just being able to stay focused and turn what he's gone through into a comedy story. He's brilliant, and the tale he tells speaks loudly of the times we are living.....Mark I hope you see this. I was sitting 2nd row under your nose. Its guys like you that make the world a better place.
Stunning
by Paula Nancarrow Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I wish my son and daughter could have seen this. I wish I could have seen it with a roomful of college kids taking Philosophy 101 or American Government. But in a sense I did, because Mark took us all back there, back to the place where you say WTF is wrong with the system? And why didn't I notice before? Zero tolerance for zero tolerance indeed.
Take it or leave it.
by Derek Henderson Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
Funny show. But it was stand-up, not theatre. I enjoyed it more because I was at a venue where I could drink during the show.
Fool for a Client
by Deb Ann Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This was a comedy, a tragedy, a love story all in one! While laughing, my heart felt for this guy! OMG, all the knowledge he had to acquire and the things he had to go through! And his wife all the while standing by him to support him. He is a very entertaining story teller! Thanks~
You'd Be a Fool to Miss This
by Judith Martin Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Whitney is the funniest ex-con to legal expert imaginable. His story is a perfect (and perfectly hilarious) review of the past 20 years of bizarre public policies.
Get there early.
by ari ofsevit Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Here's a tip to the folks at the Fringe: when a guy has sold out all his recent shows, give him the biggest venue you can find. The 85-seat Bryant-Lake Bowl is a good, intimate venue (although Whitney ad-libbed a bit on the bowling alley aspect for a while, saying "he only plays bowling alleys" and that he was happy the Twin Cities had a bowling alley-theater), but there are going to be a lot of disappointed theatre-goers this week.
For the first show, half of the tickets had been sold ahead of time.
And for good reason. Whitney tells the true (from what I can find online) although surely from his own point of view. He's generally the good guy, the government bad (well, he is a libertarian after all â and if you spent two years in the penitentiary you might be too). Still, he did study law in prison, take on the legal system, and win. And now he owns two houses and seems to have quite a life. It's engaging, thought-provoking, and done with polished comedic timing â he had us lurching in our seats several times with gut-wrenching punchlines. No one is immune, the government, lawyers, his wife. She's stood by him for 25-plus years.
So he tells an intriguing story amazingly well. You don't want to miss it. And you will miss it unless you order online â I'd bet good money the rest of his show will be sold out completely. And that's not by accident.
Hip Lawyer Story
by Peter Erickson Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Mark Whitney does a passionate, funny, and critical telling of his legal encounters, conviction, and imprisonment. He makes you laugh, get angry, and wonder how it all happened.
Great Show
by Celeste Black Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Incredible solo piece from someone who knows his craft well, whether it's vacuum sales, fleecing the IRS, challenging the law, or delivering brilliant comedy.
Zero tolerance = Maximum Government
by Dave Romm Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
What would you do if you were a vacuum cleaner salesman who wanted to sell ice cream but discovered that banks treated you like a mark being sold a vacuum cleaner? If you are Mark Whitney, you'd go to jail, become versed in law, challenge the rules, and tell your story as a stand-up comic. His routine comes with experience gained in hindsight and a dash of bitterness and is delivered with time-tested laugh lines. Three and a half stars rounded up to four for sustaining a funny rant for 70 minutes. A Shockwave Radio Theater Review.
