All for Fun (Tampa edition)

All for Fun (Tampa edition)

There were no bind 'em, whip 'em girls at this year's Law Follies. But the former Hillsborough County attorney and administrator made for a few jokes.

By Hali White

Special to the Review

They took a shot at Emmy Acton and Dan Kleman. They poked a little fun at Hillsborough Judge Gregory Holder. But when it was all said and done, the 2004 Law Follies seemed a little less raucous, and markedly less racy (where were the bind 'em, whip 'em girls?) than the show's prior incarnations.

"We like to think we find the light-hearted side and present it in a way that's tasteful and appropriate," said Follies co-producer Ken Turkel of Williams Schifino Mangione & Steady PA.

The yearly tradition opened Thursday, Feb. 26, with a cocktail judicial reception in the foyer of Louise Lykes Ferguson Hall in the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center.

Hillsborough County Bar Association President Marian McCulloch opened the show with a Saturday Night Live-style monologue about previous shows. She was "interrupted" by cast members who could be heard off-stage gossiping about their association president. The joke earned chuckles from audience members who, during past Follies, overheard gossiping by offstage cast members who forgot to turn off their microphones.

Holder's recent scandal involving the alleged plagiarism of a research paper he submitted to the Air Force Air War College earned a moment in the spotlight. At the close of "Legal Writing Boot Camp," a basic training instructor asked his laptop-carrying recruits, "What's the most important thing you've learned this week?"

A: "SIR, DELETE YOUR HARD DRIVE. SIR!" (A copy of the purportedly plagiarized paper was found on the computer of Holder's former assistant.)

However, many of the Follies' usual targets, like former Pinellas Judge Charles Cope, escaped the songwriters' satirical pens, leaving the nation's president, his brother, and a certain Austrian-born governor of California to fill in as the butt of the players' jokes.

Ben Older (last year's break-out performer) of Older & Lundy PA showcased his very real musical talent in a Follies' version of the Jesus Christ Superstar theme. His chorus: "Governor. Dictator. Who in the world do you think you are?"

And, in one of the show's best scenes, Older mocked President Bush's lunar initiative to the tune of "Man on the Moon," by REM. "George Bush believes that we can live on the moon. Georgie, how ya payin' for this one?" he sang.

Folks were talking about that one on the way to the parking lot.

Naturally, national pop culture provided Follies fodder, as well. There were Janet Jackson breast jokes, Paris Hilton "Simple Life" jokes, Michael Jackson-is-not-guilty jokes, and, of course, how-will-Martha-decorate-her-cell jokes.

One joke in particular fell strangely flat. Follies regular Nancy Silva, decked out in a dominatrix-esque number, sang, "It's the bite of the tiger, it's the end of an age" in reference to illusionist Roy Horn's near fatal tiger bite. The audience didn't offer much encouragement.

Crowd pleasers Amanda Uliano and Jefferson Taylor made a very bad Sonny and Cher, but were delightful as Emmy Acton and Dan Kleman together on the prowl for new jobs.

"Just put your little hand in mine. Let's go join the unemployment line," sang the county's former attorney and administrator.