Dynamic duo up the ante at Brattle Theatre
By Sean L. McCarthy
Boston Herald, April 14, 2006

At some point during a Coxen and Johnson, show, you look to the person sitting next to you and want to ask: It couldn’t get more ridiculous than this, could it?

And then it does.

“Our little recipe to success: We like to draw people in with some sort of element that they’re familiar with, and then shoot them off to some absurd dimension they weren’t expecting,” Chris Coxen said.

That’s where Nate Johnson comes in.

“I try to make sense of what Chris is doing,” Johnson said.

Coxen and Johnson presented their first big show of sketches and videos last summer at Jimmy Tingle's in Somerville. This weekend, they up the ante at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, with assistance from comedian Sean Sullivan.

“He adds a little bit of fire to everything he’s involved in,” Johnson said of Sullivan.

They had a month of Wednesday night shows at ImprovBoston to flesh out new material for this weekend’s shows.

They’ll be joined onstage by guest comedians Elisha Yaffe and the Walsh Brothers tonight, and Max Silvestri and Dan Sally tomorrow. The Grownup Noise will provide musical accompaniment.

“Oh, I did purchase $20 of toilet paper, which will make it into the show,” Coxen said. “Another crucial point.”

Coxen and Johnson Industries perform at 9:30 tonight and tomorrow at the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. Tickets: $12 ($6 for students). Go to www.brattlefilm.org or call 617-876-6837.

< back to press