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.
Darfur: The Greatest Show on Earth! thinks itself mighty clever, contrasting genocides in Nazi Germany and the Sudan under the guise of a big-top circus subverting the cliches of musicals. But it’s merely a muddle of ethical issues, preferring to preach at the audience rather than to be truly brave. When Theater J’s stunning In Darfur simply broke a refugee’s legs on stage, that was theatrical power at its most subversive. But being screeched at to get out of my chair and take political action, as in this performance? Just not effective.
The faults of Darfur: The Greatest Show on Earth! are really the faults of the writer, Jonathan Fitts. The naive plot lines – in the past a Nazi Guard grapples with his bigotry in the face of an innocent child, while in the present a Janjaweed soldier fights his love for a refugee – make for an awkward, clumsy musical that would need a very strong directorial hand to make it as gutwrenching as it seems to think it is. I’m not trying to be cruel – but these are young performers from the College of Southern Maryland theater program, and it tore me up to see them perform so eagerly in a piece so histrionic. Young thesps need direction and mentorship, and while there’s a lot of raw talent here, it isn’t being honed. Several actors couldn’t find the lung power to fill the small Mead Theater. And there’s an uncomfortable culpability in the playwright having them harangue the audience for political inaction on Darfur while providing divine forgiveness for a Nazi Guard.
Maybe I’m just too jaded to be moved by youth imploring me to care. You may feel otherwise. There are certainly spots of promising talent here, most notably Kenny Waters showing real charisma in the Master of Ceremonies role and an ode to capitalism wittily sung by Billy Thiedeman as a guns-for-sale middleman. But with all the myriad options on view on Fringe, this one has too many cringe moments for me to recommend it highly.
Darfur: The Greatest Show on Earth!
by Jonathan Fitts
Produced by the College of Southern Maryland
Reviewed by Jenn Larsen
Running time: 75 minutes
Read all the reviews and check out the full Capital Fringe schedule here.
Did you see the show? What did you think?
I saw the show last night and tears rolled down my face. The point of the show was to open your eyes to the cruel things that happen around the world, and they definitely achieved that goal. They had some weak points and you’ll notice if you go in thinking that it’s just show, but all in all it was an amazing and inspiring show.
I saw this show a few days ago and thought it was amazing! I love how Mr. Fitts related Nazi Germany (past) to Darfur (present). I must agree with Ms. Larsen on stage volume and the “ode to capitalism,”which i thought was cool. Although there were a couple rough patches in the show, the message was very clear. These actors set out to get people to help realize what is going on in Darfur and to get people to go out and do something about it. It’s obvious Ms. Larsen clearly did not get the message. I am not exactly sure why she was “jaded to be moved by the youth imploring her to care.” HELLO? Our generation has done nothing to stop this horrific genocide. Sure these actors are young but you can never be too young to care. At the end of the day there generation may be our only hope to fix the problems in Darfur. I did get a chance to see “In Darfur” (which i absolutely loved <3) and when they broke the refugee’s leg on stage I was in awww. In “Darfur the Greatest Show on Earth,” the young boy was shot and killed while digging (his on grave), isn’t that a little more intense than breaking a leg? Both shows were amazing and i am not going to compare them because they are two completely different shows (although the message is similar). Linda is definitely right in saying that if just one person got the message of the show, then that’s one person to help make a difference and after watching this show I got the message.
I will have to disagree with both of you. This show, to me, was simply amazing. For their age and for the heart these students put into the show, I enjoyed every minute. Yes the show is in your face. Its in your face to give you a message. Yes the show has a few points that are very slow and drags a little. But what show doesn’t. I actually left the theater on Friday and went straight to the “Save Darfur” Coalition and actually donated to help the cause. Its not much, but I choose not to “Forget” as the young lady sang at the end of the show. To me the Nazi scenes was to drive home a point. Not many people know about Darfur, but every knows about Hitler and the Nazi Regime in Germany. So the writer combined the two events to make the audience aware of what is going on. This musical showed a lot of raw talent. To completely destroy this show and the writer and the music and the cast, is complete idiocy. They deserve more than what you are saying. But I believe after reading this comment, they will know that at least the message got across to one person. And if its just one person, then its just one more person to help make a difference.
I must agree with Jenn, this show is a mess. I think the biggest weakness here is the book. Without a strong book any musical comes apart. A starting point might be to dump the entire Nazi segment – it doesn’t work and it drags down the show. Mr Fitts who wrote the book, music and lyrics should stick with what I think he knows best – music. There are several good musical numbers in the show. The cast is uneven, but for College staged work that could be forgiven but with all of the other problems in this show the weak links become more a drag on the production. This is a Fringe show and one should expect things that new are creative to be seen. That’s why I came. But given the other choices at this Fringe I wouldn’t come again, I might have stayed away. Sorry.