Category Archives: Reviews

June 3, 2013 · 3:10 pm

MATER FACIT Review

CFF_Mater Facit1

Anna Carroll Horton, Jodie Linver & Willemien Patterson. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

MATER FACIT presented by Performance Gallery as part of the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

The Performance Gallery is a group I can count on, every Fringe, to challenge my perceptions of theater. This year’s entry, MATER FACIT succeeds as well.

CFF_Mater Facit2

Willemien Patterson, Jodie Linver, Kevin Macku & Anna Carroll Horton. Photo by Mikki Schaffner.

The strong four-member cast, supported by an on-stage band, examines the role of motherhood as supplier of soldiers for war. TPG members began the rehearsal process with a two-day workshop with award-winning Minneapolis-based physical theatre artist, Jon Ferguson (theatreforever.com).

At times the performance style and cartoon-y violence was reminiscent of a Kukla, Fran and Ollie puppet show. Solo male ensemble-member Kevin Macku runs the gamut of son, soldier, rabbit and more. Each of the three ladies get to shine in their role as “Mother.” Jodie Linver’s impassioned monologue was one of my favorite moments.

A few times I felt the show lost a bit of momentum during the scene transitions. Also a few times, some of the visual elements pulled my focus from the speaking actors.

As always, a truly unique experience that keeps you thinking after the performance ends.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for MATER FACIT.

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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June 1, 2013 · 12:52 pm

AIN’T TRUE AND UNCLE FALSE Review

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

CFF_Aint TrueAIN’T TRUE AND UNCLE FALSE presented by Paul Strickland Presents as part of the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

The Troubadour of the Trailer Park

In the show description, Paul Strickland is described as a nationally acclaimed comedian, storyteller and musician. Sitting in the Know’s bar Friday night, I heard a fellow-fringer describe him as a wordsmith. I thought that was a great compliment and I couldn’t agree more.

It’s Paul’s attention to words that elevates the stories in AT&UF, and in some ways, reminds me of the homespun humor of Will Rogers or Mark Twain. Paul is a charismatic and entertaining performer, easily pulling the audience in for each outrageous story, always with a twinkle of mischief in his eye.

Have you met my friend Paul? He tells the greatest stories…

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for AIN’T TRUE AND UNCLE FALSE.

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 31, 2013 · 1:59 pm

A KILLING GAME Review

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

CFF_A Killing GameA KILLING GAME presented by Dog & Pony DC as part of the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

It’s all sunshine and lollipops until someone coughs…

Where some shows require volunteers from the audience, consider yourself volunteered the moment you purchase your ticket to A KILLING GAME.

As you arrive, each audience member is given a unique pack of six game cards. These will be used to guide you through the audience participation sections. (You may want to arrive early enough to look over the cards before the show starts.) Smart phones are welcome and encouraged, as during one round, you’ll be able to call-in, text and tweet news to the cast.

The show is zany fun with tongues firmly planted in cheek, led by a talented color-coded ensemble. The more the audience embraces the participation, the more momentum the show gains. Opening night, they took an audience of strangers and turned them into four packs (BLUE MOON ‘OOOWWWLLL!!!) competing to survive in a world gone mad.

Grab a couple of friends, a couple of cocktails, let your hair down, and die like no one is watching. It makes for a fun and truly memorable experience.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for A KILLING GAME.

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 31, 2013 · 1:23 pm

DIRK DARROW: NCSSI Review

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

CFF_Dirk DarrowDIRK DARROW: NCSSI presented by Tim Motley as part of the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

First a quick confession. In setting my fringe schedule, I start by compiling a list of must-sees. Using only the guide information in hand I go with my gut. This show had me at the title.

So I just read the actual show description and it pretty much says it all:

Follow the trail of a killer through murky paranormal city streets in the world’s only one-man comedy film noir magical murder mystery! Marvel at impossible deductions from clues supplied by you, the spectator! Think Boardwalk Empire meets X-Files meets Naked Gun. Part stand up, part mental-ism  part theater, all gritty 1940’s nostalgia.

Tim Motley is charming and funny in this polished one-man show. Since I had not read the description I was initially surprised by the first few magic tricks. Fun as those are, it’s the acts of mental-ism that are really impressive. (Most of which elicited a “Wha’??!!??” from Jay Kalagayan seated next to me. :))

The show does rely heavily on audience participation, but don’t hesitate to join in. It’s all in good fun and nothing too embarrassing. DIRK is being performed at 1334 Main Street, which is one of the smaller venues. The opening performance had few open seats. And for those of you that wondered, NCSSI stands for Not Completely Serious Supernatural Investigator.

From his online bio, Tim Motley is “a wisecracking New Yorker by birth, but he is currently based in Melbourne, Australia.” This gives him the distinction of having traveled the most miles to attend the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, ever. I’m glad he made the trip. Following the performance opening night, he broke character to encourage audience members to attend other performances at the festival. There is something about a man with an Australian accent…

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for DIRK DARROW: NCSSI.

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 31, 2013 · 12:14 pm

SHUT UP, EMILY DICKINSON Review

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

Tanya O'Debra as Emily Dickinson.

Tanya O’Debra as Emily Dickinson.

SHUT UP, EMILY DICKINSON presented by Tanya O’Debra as part of the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

Tanya O’Debra, the playwright and performer in last year’s sold-out hit, RADIO STAR, returns as the title character in her new show, SHUT UP, EMILY DICKINSON.

Before the famous Grey Gardens recluses of Big Edie and Little Edie, there was Emily and Lavinia Dickinson. Little is know about Emily’s life, as her sister burned most of Emily’s letters after the poet’s death (as requested).

Loosely using what is known about Dickinson from her surviving papers, the audience is transported inside Emily’s mind for a “pseudo-historical, quasi-biographical psycho-romance about America’s most annoying poetess.”

What we get is a funny, smartly-written piece that falls squarely into the theater of the absurd. Time has no meaning as Emily wanders around her bedroom, with the ever-present Master conversely wooing and tormenting her.

O’Debra is laugh-out-loud funny in her portrayal of Dickinson. She is supported onstage only by the talented Gregg Bellon. He supplies the voice of  the  offbeat Master and controls the multimedia for the show.

While SHUT UP may not have the broad appeal of last year’s show, it is a fun entry that falls on the fringe-ier side of the festival.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for SHUT UP, EMILY DICKINSON.

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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