Dan's Papers - July 27, 2007 - review: just say yes

If you're tired of sitting at home on Tuesday night with nothing to do, you may want to consider checking out the Hampton's only comedy troupe, "Just Say Yes."

"Just Say Yes" is an improvisational comedy group performing at The Lodge Restaurant in East Hampton every Tuesday night. The group is comprised of Jonathan Peters, Josh Perl, Marcus Johnson, Stephan Scheck, Susan Cincotta, Michael Horny, Lydia Franco Hodges and Dan Becker. This cozy, outdoor performance encourages audience participation and is enhanced by the intimate environment outside of the restaurant, with a setup of outdoor tables and a stylish bar on the left side.

Before the entertainment, we enjoyed dinner at the Lodge. We debated over the menu, while munching on their fresh bread and tasty white bean dipping spread, as there was an abundance of appealing items to choose from including Rib-Eye steak, their Jarlesburg burger with onion rings, Scottish Salmon with black truffles and many more appealing entreees. In the end, we decided to get a Caesar salad, Lodge salad, filet mignon, and a side order of their grilled vegetables.

The Caesar was the first to arrive. The crisp green lettuce was served with a not-too-creamy dressing and Parmesan crisps. The bowl returned to the kitchen clean as we enjoyed the light and fresh flavor. Then the rest of our food arrived. The filet was cooked to liking and Fred finished off the sizable piece of meat with ease. The Lodge salad was a simple but creative combination of tasty tomatoes, green beans, red onions, shrimp and bacon with a delightful red wine vinaigrette drizzled on top. The flavor was distinctive and every bite was fresh. The grilled vegetables were also a fresh and flavorful choice. The medley of sweet potatoes, red peppers, onions and other seasonal vegetables went fast and like the other dishes, there was barely anything returned to the kitchen (the array of side orders should not be missed and will complement any entreee).

Can't forget dessert! Everything on the menu looked delicious, which explains why we wavered on what to order; one of us wanted the lemon cheesecake while the other insisted on chocolate. In the end, we decided on the mint chocolate chip profiteroles and let me tell you, great choice. The dish comes with three puff pastries, each sandwiching a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream and finished off with a rich chocolate sauce. Something about the mint ice cream and the texture of the pastries made these one of the top profiteroles on our list. Dinner was finished and our bellies were full and Just Say Yes was next.

So what makes a great show? Two things: perfect location and perfect execution. It seems this clever group of witty comedians, who found each other in an acting program run by current group member Jonathan Peters in November achieved just that. It takes more than intelligence and humor to successfully perform improvisational comedy, the group also needs great chemistry. Although this troupe has only been together for about eight months, the show last Tuesday proved to us that this group is cohesive and can entertain a crowd. Most of members of "Just Say Yes" are not new to the stage, with past experience in either acting or stand-up comedy. The show begins with a short stand-up comedy routine from one of its members - when we saw the show, Marcus Johnson provided the audience with a hilarious monologue about names involving people with big money like the Jacksons, Michael Bloomberg and, of course, the ever-existing Tito Jackson.

"My name, Marcus Johnson, sounds like I got bills" he said.

After the introductory monologue, the show began and the group utilized a series of improvisational games like: Movie Review, Evil Twin, Deaf Interpreter and many others to make the audience chuckle in their seats. The actors' anticipation of their colleagues' next moves is clear and comes through well in their work. Just Say Yes' improvisational comedy show creates a unique and fun environment unlike those that other comedy routines can supply.

Between the delicious food and the entertaining comedy, we had a positive experience with the Lodge and Just Say Yes. So if you like to dine and laugh, come out to East Hampton and see this one-of-a-kind comedy group from 8 to 9 p.m., it's the perfect treat.

"Just Say Yes" performs at The Lodge Restaurant in East Hampton every Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $15. For more information, including ticket purchasing, visit www.spindletopproductions.com.