Category Archives: Cincy Fringe Festival

May 29, 2015 · 4:02 pm

Indiana Queen to play at Fringe Prom!

Veteran Cincinnati Fringe Festival performer Kevin Thornton’s new alt-country band will rock the house Saturday night in the Know Theatre Underground

Kevin Thornton.

Kevin Thornton.

Know Theatre is proud to announce that up-and-coming Nashville recording artists Indiana Queen will take the stage Saturday night during Cincinnati Fringe Festival’s Fringe Prom, on May 30 at 11 PM.

Indiana Queen is a new queer alt-country band fronted by longtime Fringe Festival artist Kevin Thornton. Indiana Queen’s music is described as having “traces of Hank Williams,” and “the pulse of ‘Jolene’”, but with a decidedly untraditional flair and rock-and-roll edge. Indiana Queen will be headlining Nashville Pride in June—but you can see them here first, at Know Theatre tomorrow night!

Indiana Queen joins us for our annual Fringe Prom, part of the nightly Bar Series events of the 12th Annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival. Our Fringe Prom theme this year is “Cowboys and Indie Bands,” so feel free to pick out your favorite Western wear, give it some hipster flavor, and rock out to the sweet sounds of Nashville’s kings of queer alt country.

The Cincinnati Fringe Festival runs through June 6th with over 180 performances from 45 productions, featuring more than 230 local, national, and international artists. This year the Festival is set to welcome over 8,000 visitors to Downtown and Over-the-Rhine. Every single night of the Festival, after your shows let out, we’ll be hosting a different Bar Series event, so join us at Fringe Headquarters at Know Theatre of Cincinnati to raise a glass, have some fun, and get a little weird.

For more information on Bar Series events, and tickets to all of the shows of the 12thAnnual Cincinnati Fringe Festival, visit www.cincyfringe.com.

Know Theatre of Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know Theatre of Cincinnati also receives support from The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation.

Our mission is to create evocative and explosive live entertainment.

We value a playful artistic community where artists can collaborate and grow.

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May 29, 2015 · 3:30 pm

ZOMBIE-LOGUE Review

CFF_Zombie-logueLinks to all reviews can be found using the REVIEWS link at the top of the page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my Facebook fan page. You can also receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

ZOMBIE-LOGUE presented by Hugo West Theatricals as part of the 2015 Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

You can read the show description here.

Well you know what they say about assuming.

Just because Mike Hall is the guy who helped create zany musical comedies like Don’t Cross the Streams: The Cease and Desist Musical and Hot Damn! It’s the Loveland Frog for previous Cincy Fringes, one should not automatically assume that this year’s entry would also be a zany comedy. Like I did. Then you would be wrong. Like I was.

Instead, ZOMBIE-LOGUE is a story grounded in the real world (well, a real world with zombies). Hall portrays a lone “walker,” held at an undisclosed location, being passive-aggressively interviewed by person or persons unknown about his role in what has transpired.

Hall has a great every man quality that serves the character well. The zombie’s struggle to piece together what has happened and stay on topic feels natural. The script is well-written and, while not a comedy, it has a fair share of laughs and offers some biting commentary on today’s social norms.

The make-up, designed by Bob Allen, is unique and succeeds in the small space.

Aside from being a little slow to start, director Greg Procaccino has the show well-paced and and uses the area well. I did think there were a few emotional beats that could be explored regarding the zombie’s concern for his wife and child.

For future performances, a platform under the chair would help with sight lines. Also, when Hall was downstage center at the fence, it blocked the audience’s view of the communication from the observer(s).

Overall a bit unexpected, but an interesting and engaging story well-told. Four performances remain through June 6.

I would enjoy hearing what you think about the show or my review. All I ask is that you express your opinion without attacking someone else’s opinion. You can post your comments below.

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May 29, 2015 · 2:12 pm

CODY CLARK: A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING Review

CFF_Cody ClarkLinks to all reviews can be found using the REVIEWS link at the top of the page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my Facebook fan page. You can also receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

CODY CLARK: A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING presented by Cody Clark as part of the 2015 Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

You can read the show description here.

Cody Clark is a talented young magician and a savvy performer. Cody also has autism.

Reading that in his show information, the word doesn’t have any real-world meaning for me. No one in my extended family or circle of friends has this neurodevelopmental disorder.

During his show, Cody discusses the social deficits and communication difficulties he and other people with autism experience. He also shares funny and, at times, poignant stories of growing up, and the challenges he faced. All complimented by a wide-array of magic tricks. The story of his Mee-Maw, and his family’s obsession with Velveeta Cheese (with accompanying sleight-of-hand) was a personal favorite.

What I find most impressive about what Cody does, is that his desire to perform his magic in front of an audience is, in ways, in direct conflict with his disorder. His determination to succeed and love for what he does is inspiring.

Cody personifies what he encourages his audience to do: embrace and celebrate what makes you, you.

Overall an entertaining performance that offers some new insight into the human condition . Four performances remain through June 6.

I would enjoy hearing what you think about the show or my review. All I ask is that you express your opinion without attacking someone else’s opinion. You can post your comments below.

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May 29, 2015 · 10:53 am

Friday Fringe Update

On Thursday, the second day of performances, the 2015 Fringe had it’s first sell out.

Photos by Jillian Beach.

Photos by Jillian Beach.

SHELTER, a collaboration between Pones Inc.and Queen City Flash, is a theater/dance mashup.

At the end of the world, a teenage couple seek refuge in a backyard fallout shelter. As lights flicker and sirens blare, their internment reveals the cracks between them and their reliance on each other. They soon discover that survival isn’t what you escape, but what you bring with you.

Remaining performances are:

  • Sat, May 30 at 4:25pm
  • Sun, May 31 at 4:25pm
  • Mon, June 1 at 6:30pm
  • Thur, June 4 at 9:00pm

CFF_Moonlight After Midnight

After the opening performances on Wednesday, the buzz-worthy show of the night was MOONLIGHT AFTER MIDNIGHT. It’s latest award was being named the pick of the Orlando Fringe.

Love, loss, memory, and mystery intertwine when a beautiful woman and a secretive man enact scenes from a relationship in the private theater of a midnight hotel room.

The second of five performances for this husband/wife duo is tonight:

  • Wed, May 27 at 8:00pm
  • Fri, May 29 at 6:30pm
  • Sun, May 31 at 1:15pm
  • Fri, June 5 at 6:30pm
  • Sat, June 6 at 8:40pm

CFF_Edgar AllanThe show that was the talk at the Know bar Thursday night was EDGAR ALLAN by husband and wife duo, The Coldharts. Fringe fans may remember them from last year’s sell-out entry, The Legend of White Woman Creek.

Eleven year old Edgar Allan has one goal: to be the most remarkable boy at boarding school. He has only one obstacle: Edgar Allan. A manic lullabye inspired by the childhood and short stories of Edgar Allan Poe.

For EDGAR ALLAN, four performances remain:

  • Sat, May 30 at 8:00pm
  • Sun, May 31 at 4:30pm
  • Thur, June 4 at 8:40pm
  • Sat, June 6 at 7:25pm

I hope to see you at the fringe this weekend.

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May 28, 2015 · 2:56 pm

HEARD Review

CFF_HeardLinks to all reviews can be found using the REVIEWS link at the top of the page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my Facebook fan page. You can also receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

HEARD presented by Queen City Queer Theatre Collective as part of the 2015 Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

You can read the show description here.

The Queen City Queer Theatre Collective has been staging impressive monthly readings since November of last year. I was excited to hear that they were presenting a fully-staged performance at this year’s Fringe, and they didn’t disappoint.

This original work is smartly-written by QCQTC co-founder Linnea Bond. The structure of the show works well, giving the audience enough information about the central character to keep us fully-engaged as her story unfolds.

QCQTC’s other co-founder, Lindsey Augusta Mercer, directs. She has quickly become one of my favorite directors whose local credits include THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED at New Edgecliff Theatre and DEATH AND THE MAIDEN for Diogenes Theatre Company. The blocking was natural and worked well within the found space. It was nicely-paced with solid performances from a strong ensemble.

Kaleigh-Brooke Dillingham brings a nice balance to the role of Esther. She has a natural chemistry with Helen, played with believable ease by Mia Vera. Vera does double duty as Janice, bringing a nice contrast and complimentary-tone to the role. One of my favorite scenes of the play takes place about midway, when Esther visits Dr. Taylor, played pitch-perfectly by Tracy Schoster.

I enjoyed seeing Cal Harris on stage in the role of Dave. I liked the attitude and the physicality of the character, and his “relationship” with Esther was very believable. I would have liked to have seen his energy level raise slighty to match Dillngham. Zach Robinson has a good characterization as more-than-slightly, drunk and obnoxious Ben, but his connection to the other characters in the scene was lacking.

The acoustics in the venue are a bit hinky, so I would encourage the performers to keep their volume up, as I did lose lines in some of the quieter moments.

Overall a very well-done production and one that I’m sure will be a personal favorite of this year’s Fringe. Four performances remain through June 4.

I would enjoy hearing what you think about the show or my review. All I ask is that you express your opinion without attacking someone else’s opinion. You can post your comments below.

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