Show 5 - Xena and Gabrielle Smash the Patriarchy
Spending my adolescence in the 90s meant I was very familiar with the Xena: Warrior Princess TV show and it’s characters. This show was a wonderful homage to the show and also a send up of the toxic elements of geek culture. The cast was energetic and charismatic and the ending was very satisfying for any Xena fan. This is a super fun show and you should see it, especially if you are a geek!
Show 6 - How to Come Back from the Dead
This is Matt Kessen’s second year in a row at Fringe with Monster Science and my second year as his stage manager. I really dig Monster Science and I’m always happy to help another artist, espeically one who is just such a good dude. The show this year is very fun and I really enjoy the addition of Elora Riley as Rev Matt’s graduate assistant.
Show 7 -Renaissance of the Dead Show Performance #2
My cast and I headed to Mixed Blood for our second show. We had a much bigger crowd, and the energy difference was very noticeable. The cast killed it and there were tons of laughs. I was smiling from my spot behind the overhead projector the whole time. We don’t have another show till Wednesday, so I have some time to enjoy Fringe.
Show 8 - Death of a Pen Name
Wow. That pretty much sums up my thoughts on this show. A beautiful and emotional recollection of friendship and loss. I was wiping tears from my eyes on more than one occasion. The cast was stellar and everyone involved should be very proud of this show. It takes a ton of emotional labor to put forth such a personal piece of art, and this was exceptional. One warning this isn’t an easy watch, and there could be some challenging content for some folks. The show treats this content with great care and I’m very glad I watched it.
Show 9 - Booth’s Ghost
It takes a very talented person to pull of a one actor show. Andrew Erskine Wheeler is just the actor to complete such a task. A very compelling show of sibling rivalry, family legacy, and history defining violence. On a bonus note a huge thunderstorm rolled into the area during the show, adding an amazing ambiance to a haunting tale. History and acting buffs should make sure to see this show. Also the Ritz Main stage may be the perfect venue for this show.
Show 10 - The Late Great Uncle Danforth
I’m a bit biased with shows by Kelvin Hatle. He was in the cast of the first thing I ever directed. Kelvin has one of the mostly delightfully strange comedic minds I’ve ever encountered. To add to the absurd and hilarious comedic bits there was also a good amount of sincerity and humanity in the show. Kelvin got into the fringe just a couple of weeks before it started from the wait list. He did the show with script in hand, but that hardly took away from the performance. This show was great and will only get better in the run as Kelvin get’s more time with his script. Also two words: Karate Elvis.
Show 10 - Chocolate Covered Chicken Wings
This show didn’t work for me at all. As a parent of a young child there are certain things that have to be done really well for me to be okay with. Child death is one of those things. I totally see what the playwright was trying to do - show the impact of the tragic loss of a young child on the friends and family around them. The issue is, they weren’t explicit with that message, the show came across as a childish romp of some 11 year-olds at a strange Chuck E. Cheese-esque restaurant. The cast does an excellent job with the script they had to work with, there are definitely some fun and cute moments, but they really fail to stick the landing. Too much time was spent of the actors being goofy high energy kids with inserts from a creepy clown mascot. The death of the child felt like an afterthought by the time it came around in the script. I’m not saying you shouldn’t write a play about child death, but if you do you better damn well be careful how you do it. This wasn’t careful.
Show 11 - Swords & Sorcery: The Improvised Fantasy Campaign
This was the perfect show to end my evening on. After some heavy emotional and dramatic shows I needed something reliably fun. The Bearded Co. delivered a much needed hour of laughs and nerd inspired goofiness. Improv is best when you can tell the cast support and trust each other and are having fun and this group definitely does that. Thank you for a wonderful cap to my evening.