Archives for July 12, 2010

Just when you thought you’ve heard all the stories you could stand about the “peculiar institution,” this amazing tale serves as a reminder of the countless others that remain untold, tucked away, and forever buried.  With a sure and steady approach to the work, Lynne Marie Brown adapted a harrowing story of Harriet A. Jacobs, […]

There are those Fringe shows that contain racy material or crude language or both, but this is not one of them. The Sleeping Beauty – A Puppet Ballet by Pointless Theatre Co. is a clever and creative adaptation of the story by Charles Perrault

Who is that handsome, brilliant man who calls himself Genesis, and has been committed to a mental institution for believing he is a fallen angel? Is he delusional? Has he been unjustly committed? Is he as dangerous as his fellow inmates try to convince us he is as the play begins? Is he The Devil […]

One of the challenges of reviewing Fringe theater is determining how much weight to give earnest performance over clumsy material. But with so many productions to choose from, with your time and money on the line, I’d rather be blunt than kind.

This is definitely an unusual play – at times hard to follow, quirky, and certainly original, so yes,  it’s a text-book example of Fringe at its best!   It proves challenging to draw in an audience, but it may still be worth your while to see it. Cavers is 80 minutes long but actually seems longer – […]

If you want to know why Greek tragedy is still vital to modern theater, go see paperStrangers Performance Group’s adaptation of Medea. Striking use of movement and multimedia combine to bring very intense moments of madness to life.

Don’t be fooled – Chart Toppers of 1349! is not what you think it is going to be. While this humble reviewer cannot really know what you, the potential audience member, is thinking- rest assured, you are probably wrong. 

There is no patron saint of eating, but, really, isn’t it the nicest thing you do? Meet somebody you discover you like, and the next thing you know he’s over at your house, sharing samosas and s’mores with you. If you seek to relax a feral or otherwise skittish animal, do you not first feed […]

O.K., so this has probably happened to you some time in your life. You’re Arlecchino, (Ryan Sellers), servant to the young Leilo (Arturo Tolentino), who loves the beauteous Isabella (Leigh Anna Fry). This is fortunate for you, since Isabella is the daughter of the great Dottore (Jeff Hylden), who also employs the beauteous Colombina (Aniko […]

There’s not much point to Happenstance Theater & Banished Productions’s Handbook for Hosts except to create an atmosphere. But what an atmosphere! From the moment the ensemble begins teasing audience members with spot-on film noir accents and prettily coiffed hair, you willingly enter the parlance of the 1930’s and ’40’s.

The Hunchback Variations feels like a production of Waiting for Godot performed by the Marx Brothers.  It is simultaneously high-brow and silly.  Although I would have to say it’s less effective than Waiting for Godot, and the comedy is less refined than the Marx Brothers.  The effect can best be described as “puzzling”.

Disclaimer:  This show clearly has a target audience.  I am not in that target.  If you enjoy jokes about drag queens, jokes about ridiculous evangelical preachers, or jokes about JR’s Bar on 16th Street, this show might be for you.