Day 2 of Fringe, not yet completely delirious from non-stop theatre-going and sleep deprivation. To give a quick recap of my post yesterday, I am on a chaotic quest to see how many Fringe shows I can write reviews of this festival, and assess each according to an emoji scale which you can reference over there. Up today:
Liquid Sunshine 2
Though, tbh, this felt more like a concert than theatre, this show was one that lived up to its sunshiney name and description’s promise of providing a shot of “Vitamin C for the Soul!” Here backed by a few band members, singer Zelda Grey is the show’s life force, and has a unique, textured voice that is lovely to listen to— the kind that would make me stop in my tracks if I heard one of her songs playing in the supermarket so I could figure out who was singing and listen to her again later.
Her melodies are uniformly pleasant, but it’s harder to appraise her lyrical skills because the band’s playing was often so loud as to overpower and obscure them. But in her singing, guitar playing, and occasional spoken asides to the audience, her enthusiasm, artistry, and radiant spirit came through a lot more clearly.
See it today @ 5:45 pm, Brown Venue
More showtimes and tickets here!
Emojis earned: 💞🎈🍃🤩
Odyssea’s Family Tree
After being wowed by a previous version of this show when it premiered at the Breakthrough Theater’s Original Play Festival this past fall, I was thrilled to see this title reappear on the Fringe lineup! I wasn’t actually able to catch the preview of the Orange venue version in person, since, regrettably, I have not yet figured how to be in two places at once, but I was sent some footage by the production team that I’m here referencing as well as my prior impressions.
As the only aerial/pole show on offer at this year’s fest, it’s an obvious choice for fans of the genre, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it as someone without a particular affinity. Though the show does ostensibly have a narrative throughline as conveyed through movement and sporadic voiceover segments, this story is mostly more implied than linearly decipherable.
But the intensity of the subject matter comes through in the expressiveness of the show’s music and choreography even without being made explicit, and you don’t really need to be able to follow anything to be able to appreciate the piece’s artistry. Overall, the gravity-defying athleticism and grace of the show’s dancers is the main attraction here, and that’s a wonder that will surely have you on the edge of your seat.
Catch it tonight @ 6:40 pm @ the Orange Venue
Future showtimes and tickets here!
Emojis earned: 🤩💙🍃
The Vagina Monologues
Compared to all the flashier shows on this year’s Fringe roster, it might be easy to underestimate the value of this established and frequently performed piece. But since I’ve never actually seen The Vagina Monologues in person before, I decided to make an excursion over to 1010 for the performance, and I’m actually so glad that I did.
A fundraiser for local non-profit One Heart Women and Children, this show will feature a rotating cast of women, most of whom are familiar Fringe faces involved in other shows at this year’s festival. So though I can’t speak to the performances of every actress you might see included at a particular show, I can say that the preview performance’s cast absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Transcending the limitations of the staged reading format with raw power and intensity, I’d actually even say they offered some of the best acting I’ve seen at the Fringe thus far! These badass women are undaunted by the intimate nature of the show’s subject matter and willing to be bold, vulnerable, and absolutely hilarious as the powerful script calls for— even when it calls for a string of simulated orgasms!
For better or for worse, the 30 year old play also proves itself viscerally relevant to the modern experience of womanhood—the ways that we are shamed for our sexuality and desires, the ways we are violated and objectified by men, and the bottomless strength we and our vaginas display in the face of endless onslaughts. Through the inclusion of a beautiful monologue by a trans woman, the play even suggests that, for all the vagina’s wonders, there is no reason to gatekeep gender on the grounds of genitalia—an unfortunately controversial assertion even today.
Last but not least, if you arrive at the show early, you might get a few extra laughs out of the pre-show slideshow, which intersperses information about the show and cast with vagina trivia and images of non-vagina objects that look suspiciously… feminine. Think of it as some light-hearted foreplay for the penetrating piece ahead… innuendo intended!
See it today @ 7:30 at 1010 Brewing Bside
Tickets and future showtimes here!
Emojis earned: 🎭 💙😄🏆
Mother: A Postpartum Comedy
If you do opt for the Vagina Monologues tonight and make a swift enough bolt from 1010 brewing to the Green Venue, you may actually be able to engineer a particularly cool double feature by heading to this show afterwards. This is because the last “vagina monologue” celebrates the miracle of birth, and Mother begins with a hilarious and surreal staged simulation of one.
That might not even be the most audacious of solo performer Ann Zanders’ antics, which harness broad comedy and her background in clowning to convey how physically disorienting and emotionally harrowing becoming a mother can be.
Zanders’ exaggerated expressiveness, fearless choices, and occasional shifts into vulnerability allow the piece to land viscerally for the audience in a particularly striking way. Though the pacing at times falters with a few over-long bits, Mother is beautifully bizarre in the service of a poignant truth and definitely worth seeing if you think you can survive the weird and some gross-out gags. The piece doesn’t paint the rosiest picture of motherhood, but it sure made me a little more grateful for mine!
See it tonight @ 8:45 pm at the Green venue
Future showtimes and tickets here!
Emojis earned: 🎉😄💙🧠
The Frogs: A New One-Act Adaptation
Especially for a show performed by a high school cast as part of the festival’s “fringers of the future” program, The Frogs is a play that’s a good deal wilder and wackier than most audience members might expect. This one-act adaptation of Aristophanes classic play blends ancient myth with modern trappings and references, characters traversing the underworld but also wielding cellphones.
There were definitely a few standout talents in the large cast of young performers, and the show’s technical and costume design was actually above par, as was most obvious in one delightfully surprising theatrical representation of the titular Frogs, which appear repeatedly throughout the play. Basically, it’s a conceptually ambitious and enjoyably zany piece that I found consistently quite engaging.
Also, if you ever wondered what it would be like to see Nietzsche debate Mr. Rogers… The Frogs is definitely the piece for you!
See it tonight @ 6:25 pm at the Yellow Venue
Tickets and future showtimes here!
Emojis earned: 🎭💫🎉🧠
—
So, that’s five more shows down – one more than yesterday, which means that I should probably quit while I’m ahead and brace for opening night of my play Karma is a BITCH. I’d be remiss not to mention that you could also go see that tonight at 7:15 pm in the Brown Venue if you’re not in the mood for frogs, vaginas, or pole dancing, or after/before my other two highlights.
Meanwhile, happy fringing!