Tag Archives: Cincinnati Fringe Festival

June 5, 2017 · 4:26 pm

CFF17: IS THAT ALL THERE IS? Review

IS THAT ALL THERE IS? presented by Cincinnati LAB Theatre as part of the 2017 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here. 

CFF_Is That All There Is“I have not plans to stop singing. What are you going to do when you love music? It’s a terrible disease. You can’t stop.” -Peggy Lee

Jaren Doren handles the role of Ronald/Rita well, but I think he could safely go bigger in personality without becoming a caricature. I would also encourage more stage drinking to better establish his issues with alcohol.

As Ronald’s sister Tess, Danielle Muething strikes a nice emotional balance between sibling and in a way, rival. Her relationship with childhood friend Chad also felt genuine and she handles his original song very well.

Sean Michael Flowers is fun as Chad, but he seemed more comfortable behind the piano. I thought his original song was a good fit for the show.

I did enjoy how the visit from his sister happened mid-transformation from Ronald to “Rita.” The half completed make-up added a surreal quality and really emphasized his/her facial expressions.

While I understand that the playwright was being purposefully vague, there were several instances where few more tidbits of information could have made the dialogue seem less repetitive. Overall though, a strong first effort from Sara Mackie.

Three performances remain through June 10.

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June 5, 2017 · 4:18 pm

CFF17: GOD OF OBSIDIAN Review

GOD OF OBSIDIAN presented by Gideon Productions as part of the 2017 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here. 

Gaslighting is a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or members of a group, hoping to make targets question their own memory, perception, and sanity. Using persistent denial, misdirection, contradiction, and lying, it attempts to destabilize the target and delegitimize the target’s belief. –Wikipedia

CFF_God of Obsidian

Mac Rogers as Nathan & Rebecca Comtois as Alice.

Gideon Productions ups the creep factor with a strong, engaging script from playwright Mac Rogers. I enjoyed the Brothers Grimm undertones to the story.

As Alice, Rebecca Comtois is fascinating to watch as her new and happy relationship descends into one of mental abuse and manipulation. Emotionally, her performance rings true and believable as she struggles to remember who she is and reassert her independence.

Mac Rogers is equally strong as congenial and earnest Nathan. Even though the character doesn’t change much superficially, the machinations under the surface are there and fascinating to watch. He pretty much embodies that “he was quiet and kept to himself, but always seemed so nice” serial killer quality.

Director Jordana Williams keeps the pacing strong and uses the play space effectively. The upstage use of the bridge worked very well. There was one point near the middle of the performance where I felt it was starting to lose momentum but the show quickly rebounded.

At the performance I attended, part of the “fun” of the performance was the audience’s physical and verbal reactions as the story unfolded. Very interesting, well-written and strongly performed, but I felt like I needed a shower after it was over. The final performance is tonight, June 5th.

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June 5, 2017 · 9:55 am

CFF17: My Fringe Schedule: Day 6

I’m kicking off the second week of Fringe with three more production on Monday.

CFF_Pet FishFirst up is winner of the 2017 longest title award, pet fish are for killing by accident somehow it’s really quite inevitable from local new participant, Dehydrated Mermaid Productions:

Tabitha is questioning her relationship of nine years with Marc – with a “C.” Antioch is smugly secure in her relationship with grad school. And whiskey. Marla has a pet fish. Also, everything is terrible. What is love? Baby don’t hurt me.

Written by Sara Tripp Swartout and directed by Shelby Becker, the cast includes: Sarah Durham, Candice Handy & Erin Ward.

CFF_mOtherNext, Stacey Vespaziani of Odds and Ends Productions returns to the Cincinnati Fringe Festival for the 5th time this year with her new solo show, mOTHER:

What happens when you find yourself questioning a perceived norm and ultimately choose to step outside of it? This is the query that the solo show mOTHER examines through one woman’s first person journey of exploring and ultimately rejecting motherhood.

Her previous fringe shows include: BETTER/WORSE (2008), I TAKE IT BACK! (2007), RUNNING MY ASS OFF AND GETTING NOWHERE (2006) and BRITNEY SPEARS AND ALL THE OTHER SHIT WE DEAL WITH! (2005).

CFF_Nine Short Plays logoI end the night with NINE SHORT PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE, written and directed by Joe Stollenwerk:

A fast-paced and fun collection of short pieces that explore various facets of theatre, performance, and storytelling, ranging in topics from race and casting to falling in love with theatre, and from Henrik Ibsen to Shirley Bassey. It is an eclectic collage in a variety of styles from realism to meta-theatre, autobiography to absurdism, parody to poignancy, including group pieces and monologues.

The cast includes Burgess Byrd, Joe Hornbaker, Barbara Karol, Mindy Seibert & Tara Williams.

Stollenwerk’s previous fringe entry was CATALINA in 2013. Long time local theater patrons may remember Joe as the Artistic Director of the late, great Ovation Theatre Company for nearly a decade. Most recently, Stollenwerk wrote the acclaimed adaptation of THE HANDMAID’S TALE presented by Know Theatre of Cincinnati in early 2015.

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June 4, 2017 · 9:22 am

CFF17: My Fringe Show Rankings

Updated 6/11/17 8:15am

CFF_Larry 13_2_2

Katie Mitchell as Larry and Rory Sheridan as Keagan in LARRY 13:2 from Muwhahaha Productions. Photo by Erika NJ Allen.

I have reached that point in the Fringe Festival where I become woefully behind in reviews vs. productions I’ve seen.

Below I am ranking the shows I’ve attended to date, based on a number of criteria from the voices in my head. 🙂 Please understand that differences between shows in the rankings can be infinitesimal.

Links to reviews added as they become available.

  1. LARRY 13:2 | Review
  2. GOD OF OBSIDIAN | Review
  3. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NICOLE JACOBS, PART 1: THE SISTER | Review
  4. GEN AND MABEL
  5. BALLS OF YARNS
  6. LADY MACBETH AND HER PAL, MEGAN
  7. BUSTED BUMPERS AND OTHER METAPHORS 
  8. 8 X 10
  9. IS THAT ALL THERE IS? | Review
  10. THE PINK HULK: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within 
  11. WHERE THERE WERE WOODS
  12. WHITE PRIVILEDGE
  13. SPY IN THE HOUSE OF MEN
  14. ROMEO + JULIET + ANYBODYS
  15. pet fish are for killing by accident somehow it’s really quite inevitable
  16. VELVETEEN: OR HOW TO BE REAL
  17. MY DARLING DILOPHOSAURUS | Review
  18. ZELDA AND HADLEY: TOGETHER AT LAST
  19. SUMATRAN RHINO
  20. THE MONSTER SONGS
  21. WILDERNESS SURVIVAL 
  22. TOTALLY UNTRUE STORIES – TOTALLY UNLIKE ANY NOCTURNAL FLYING INSECT
  23. KATES
  24. BED (A FEVER DREAM)
  25. mOTHER
  26. HOME
  27. INVISIBLE GIRL
  28. NINE SHORT PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE
  29. VAPERS AT THE GATE
  30. FIGHT FOR 52¢   

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June 4, 2017 · 9:01 am

CFF17: My Fringe Schedule: Day 5/Saturday Sell Outs

I’m finishing out the first week of Fringe with three more performances by three new participants.

CFF_The Pink Hulk_1x1First up is THE PINK HULK: One Woman’s Journey to Find the Superhero Within

What’s the first thing Valerie does when she’s diagnosed with cancer for a second time? She tries to get laid. Battling breast cancer after fighting off lymphoma, Valerie’s afraid she might lose “the girls” and takes them out for one last hurrah. Does she succeed? Come see it to find out! This sexy, adventurous solo show follows the triumphant journey of one woman seeking her own “hulk-like” strength to find her superhero within!

PINK HULK is written and performed by Valerie David out of New York City.

CFF_Lady Macbeth and Her Pal MeganNext, it’s Cornfed Productions from Iowa City, IA bringing LADY MACBETH AND HER PAL, MEGAN to Cincinnati.

When comedian Megan Gogerty is informed that she can’t play Lady Macbeth – because Lady Macbeth is a tragic figure of powerful darkness, and Megan is the human equivalent of a golden retriever – she sets out to prove them all wrong. Silly, theatrical, and complex, Megan attempts to answer the question, “What’s it like to be a woman comedian?” Spoiler: it’s murder.

cff_DrDourandPeach_hires1

Dr. Dour & Peac. Photo by Kintz.

I wrap up the day at the family-friendly THE MONSTER SONGS with Dr. Dour and Peach from Washington, D.C.

Dr. Dour pours forth tales both horrible and wondrous in a torrent of musical stylings. And Peach helps. Together they deliver never-before-told tales of lovesick mummies, giant lizards, bargain-hunting zombies, and other hapless creatures of the night in a cabaret cocktail of original songs. The mysterious is scrutinized. The strange is eternalized. And the dangerous is epitomized in song. Dr. Dour (vocals, 10-string touch-guitar) and Peach (cello, banjo, cute) elucidate all.

Announced at last night’s news, eight performances SOLD OUT on Saturday. They were:

Congratulations to all.

Happy Fringing!

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