Cartoon Dump!

Cartoon Dump is presented exclusively on the West Coast. Usually, it's the West Coast of the country, but last night, it was the West Coast of Manhattan, and it further infuriated the New Yorkers who read about Dump (and other upcoming animation-related events) on Cartoon Brew by confirming our worst fears: we've been missing out on great entertainment because we insist on living in this backwater town.

Oh, sure, you can go over to the Cartoon Dump section of YouTube and see snippets of the show, and the hysterically awful semi-animated cartoons Jerry Beck has selected to showcase. But this is live theater we're talking about here, with very talented, deeply funny performers. I'm telling you, I've seen Young Frankenstein on Broadway, and it's strictly for tourists and chumps. Rent the DVD. Cartoon Dump packs twice the laughs into half the time.

Erica Doering is a relentlessly chipper comedic powerhouse; her cartoony voice and condescending showmanship suggest Hillary Clinton on helium. Frank Conniff gives a great deadpan performance (and had some great ad libs) as Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl. This guy could just look at the audience and get a laugh. Kathleen Roll reminds me of Paula Prentiss (and that's high praise); her Buff Badger not only provides angry historical context for the cartoons, but also fully explains the furry phenomenon for those who don't quite get it. And of course, there's animation legend Jerry Beck. (There is not a single animation legend anywhere in the 2 1/2 hours of Young Frankenstein, by the way).

I'm just hoping there was a Saturday Night Live scout somewhere among us who decides to sign the whole team up and keep Cartoon Dump in New York, where they belong.