Sammy J And Randy Land

The musical comedy act Sammy J & Randy — a nerd and a purple puppet — should be ridiculously antiquated.

But instead, they're ridiculously funny and, with an ABC sitcom, now hugely popular. This extravagantly staged show finds the pair tired of entertaining (unpaid) for "exposure" open a carnival park. Their trademark rivalry grows ever more deviously ruthless as each asserts himself as the star, narcissistic Sammy a wannabe Peter Allen. There's superbly tight, even slick, scripting, with only the odd boyish crudity for easy laughs. Combining subversive pantomime and unhinged vaudeville, Sammy J & Randy Land is the Marx Brothers' At The Circus on meth.