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Brick Wall Comedy
Brick Wall Comedy
Promotional art for Red State Blue State
Cover image credit: via TMDB

Red State Blue State

Colin Quinn

CNN · 2019 · 75 min

Colin Quinn mocks both sides of the polarized American landscape.

Colin Quinn envisions a modern American civil war that is far from glorious: fat refugees in jorts and flip-flops trundling toward Canada, carrying coolers, with history books eventually recording the Siege of Dave & Busters. Standing in front of a light-up wooden map of the United States, the world-weary comic spends his time laying waste to the political gridlock dividing the country, refusing to take sides because he believes both camps are equally ridiculous.

Filmed at the Minetta Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village, the show served as a 2019 CNN special presentation, adapting Quinn’s Off-Broadway run of the same name. Directed by Bobby Moresco, the performance catches the Saturday Night Live veteran in his comfort zone: pacing the stage in an untucked plaid shirt and grumpily diagnosing societal decline. He targets the rise of social media outrage, the two-party system, and even the quality of European hotel towels. The set culminates in a rapid-fire sequence where he insults all fifty states one by one, calling New Jersey “a bad idea that continued” and dismissing Delaware as a state that just wants to be noticed. While some theater critics felt the loose structure made the performance feel more like an assembled list of grievances than a theatrical piece, it found a warm reception among viewers tired of partisan finger-pointing.

The set list

5 bits

  1. Insulting all 50 states one by one

    Riffs on how the nation has evolved by targeting each state in the union with a rapid-fire comedic jab or put-down.

  2. A modern American civil war would not be glamorous

    Argues the country is unsuited for another civil war because it would involve fat refugees in flip-flops and battles at Six Flags and Dave & Busters.

  3. Free speech was never meant to go electric

    Contrasts the original acoustic nature of free speech on a tree stump with the modern nightmare of constant global internet opinions.

  4. Two political parties for 350 million people

    Highlights the absurdity that modern society recognizes 15 genders and four bathrooms yet maintains only two political parties.

  5. Breaking the country up into city-states

    Proposes dissolving the union into regional city-states like ancient Greece or the former USSR so different temperaments can govern themselves.

How it plays

Tone
Derisive, snarky, satirical, and droll yet equitable.
On stage
A gruff, no-nonsense barstool philosopher and Brooklyn curmudgeon delivering plainspoken, evenhanded barbs.
Pace
Fast-paced and frenetic, delivering a rapid stream-of-consciousness monologue while rarely cracking a smile.
About
Political polarization and tribalism, The two-party system, The erosion and distortion of free speech by social media, A potential modern American civil war, Breaking up the United States into city-states, Critique of Donald Trump and modern discourse

What the critics said

Praised as a smart, witty, and evenhanded political satire tackling both sides of the aisle, though some critics found certain extended bits, such as the 50-state roast, to be hit-or-miss.

In the room: Taped before a studio audience at Hunter College, described as nice and reasonable people in a solidly blue city.

Summed up from reviews, articles and listings. Sources: decider.com, newyorktheater.me, nystagereview.com, cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com, nytimes.com, newyorker.com, en.wikipedia.org, vulture.com, netflix.com.

Backstory

Filmed amidst intense modern American political polarization, Donald Trump's turbulent presidency, and the backdrop of government shutdowns and rising social media tribalism.

Details

Released
Taped
Hunter College, New York
Runtime
75 min
Where
CNN
Director
Bobby Moresco
Topics
Before
The New York Story (2016)
After
Colin Quinn & Friends: A Parking Lot Comedy Show (2020)

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