Tag Archives: Cincinnati Fringe Festival

OTHER BOTHER Review

Links 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.

OTHER BOTHER presented by Performance Gallery as part of the 2016 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

CFF_Other Bother

The cast of OTHER BOTHER.

If one group personifies the word “fringe,” it would have to be the Performance Gallery, a Cincinnati-based collaborative of theatre artists, and the only organization that can claim a presence in all 13 Cincinnati Fringe Festivals.

Written and created by Derek Snow and the OTHER BOTHER ensemble, the play takes a surreal look our learned biases. The story begins literally in womb as the ensemble discovers the downside of finding illumination.

Fun, quirky, and at times, outright weird, the play is particularly timely given the current atmosphere of our country. The six-person ensemble, deftly directed by Regina Pugh, handles the challenging material well.

Four performances remain through June 10.

BTW if you have a light sensitivity, theater might not be your best choice for entertainment. Regardless, yelling “Quit shining the light in our eyes” from the audience is never appropriate behavior.

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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CESSNA: A Drama Noir Review

Links 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.

CESSNA: A Drama Noir presented by Hugo West Theatricals as part of the 2016 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

Cessna 1

Carter Bratton as Charlie Penn & Mike Hall as John Lockwood. Photo by Adam Zeek.

A 1982 plane crash into a Montgomery bookstore serves as the inspiration for Joshua Steele and Mike Hall’s latest fringe offering.

The small cast of four is top-notch: Mike Hall is John Lockwood, the hard-boiled lead FBI investigator on the case; Carter Bratton plays Charlie Penn, the eager, local cop who catches the case after the accident; Mindy Heithaus is slinky fun as the buxom, femme fatale Dawn Kenicott; and Michael G. Bath, shows great versatility as embezzler Carl Johnson and three other characters.

The show is smartly directed by Greg Procaccino and accompanied by an excellent on-stage jazz trio of Steve Goers, Michael Dudley and Justin Dawson. The use of positioned lamps, as the only lighting for the show, works well for the most part.

I would have liked to have seen the play gain a bit more momentum as it built toward its climax. The shocking moments toward the end of the show, seem abrupt compared to the pacing of the rest of the script. The flight recording, while expertly done, is hard to follow with five different disembodied voices.

As usual, Hall and Steele’s collaboration doesn’t disappoint. I expect tickets to go fast for the rest of the run.  Four performances remain through June 11.

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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My Fringe Schedule: Day 2

For the second day of performances, I scheduled myself for two productions.

CFF_I Hate It HereSHEatre: Cincinnati Women’s Theatre inaugural fringe offering is I HATE IT HERE, written and directed by its co-founders, Abby Rowold and Caitlin McWethy respectively.

Shelly and Margaret are at an impasse in their relationship. Shelly’s an unemployed, outgoing hypochondriac, and Margaret is a highly functional agoraphobe who hasn’t spoken to anyone but Shelly and their cat, Mr. Furrypants, in a year. To jumpstart their lives and eliminate their faults, they try to meld into one person.

The cast includes Abby Rowold and Sarah Fischer. Be sure to keep an eye on their official website, http://www.sheatretheatre.org/ for information on their future staged readings.

CFF_Tesla3_sm

Ricky Coates as Nikola Tesla. Photo by JMC Photography.

Working hard to avoid any electricity puns, my other performance for the night is TESLA EX MACHINA. This one-man show is written and performed by Ricky Coates, a Seattle-based theater artist.

In 1892, the famed inventor Nikola Tesla awoke with partial amnesia. Using his incredible willpower, he pieced his life back, memory by memory. In this one-man biopic, Ricky Coates examines humanity and science using his trademark theatrical prowess. Featuring: tap dance, robots, historical figures Thomas Edison and Mark Twain, and live electrical wonders! “Ricky Coates is a bit of genius in a slick and muscled body” – Edmonton Journal.

Wednesday night, CESSNA enjoyed a near-capacity audience. I’d recommend you get tickets for the remaining performances sooner, rather than later. DARLINGS also performed to a packed house.

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Indian Epic Explored in Fringe Festival Play

CFF_DURYODHANA THE UNCONQUERABLE

Taylor Greatbatch and Katie Eichler. Photo by Prabir Das.

Shakespeare’s greatest plays are full of huge, powerful stories such as the intrigue of succession after a king dies (“Hamlet” and others), great love which transcends death (“Romeo and Juliet”), or love which erupts out of the passion of hate and hurt (“The Taming of the Shrew”). He also writes of beings with supernatural powers (The Tempest and others). So it is with the classic Indian epic of “Mahabarata”—love, valor, jealousy, hate, politics and war are all presented in the clash of amazing and memorable characters.

Prabir Das, Mason resident, playwright, actor, and director, has taken these 3000 year old characters and fleshed them out in his play DURYODHANA THE UNCONQUERABLE which will have its world premiere at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival June 1-11, 2016.

His 60-minute play shows Prince Duryodhana, the proud son of an abdicated king, who fought not only for his rightful realm after his king and uncle, dies, but he fights for the love of a beautiful foreign princess he abducted many years before.

Das envisions the wife, Bhanumati, as one of the initial feminists with a zeal for freedom of rights for herself as well as for all other women. Though it was not uncommon during that era to abduct women to marry, Bhanumati finds this practice unloving and demeaning. However, she kept Duryodhana captivated, as she internally struggled to find the strength to voice her true feelings.

“The passion in the story is universal” says Das, who grew up listening to these epics and reports all people from India know these stories. “I want Americans to meet these characters who are proud and powerful, and amazingly interesting, like Antony and Cleopatra, or Kate and Petrucchio.”

Das has written the script and is also one of the founders of All Shades Theatre. This non-profit is dedicated to bridging the theatrical gap between East and West. “Indian stories can be told with actors of any background, they do not have to be just the stories of India, but of all humanity,” shares Das. “All people are interested in valor and virtue, in love and honor, politics and power.”

Das has collected a team of local artists, all with a connection to Northern Kentucky University. Professor Darryl Harris is directing, and alumni Taylor Greatbatch and Katie Eichler are performing. Tyler Gabbard, NKU SOTA Publicity Manager  is scenic designer, alum Bryce Liebert is lighting designer, and current NKU student Amanda Miller is Stage Manager.

More information about the background of the play is available on the ALL SHADES THEATRE Facebook page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duryodhana.

DURYODHANA THE UNCONQUERABLE will be performed at the Art Academy, June 1 and 11 at 7:25 pm, and June 2 and 8 at 8:25 pm and June 4 at 4:00 pm. Single tickets and day passes to the Fringe Festival can be purchased at www.cincyfringe.com.

All Shades Theater ● P.O. Box 1224 Mason, OH. 45040 ● (513) 913-5153 ● info@satfcincy.org

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My Fringe Schedule: Day 1

Day One of performances, of the 2016 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, kicks off tonight.

I was able to squeeze three productions into my first evening.

CFF_Cessna logoAs I’m typing this Tuesday evening, only a handful of tickets remain for the inaugural performance of CESSNA: A Drama Noir:

December, 1982. An unexplained plane crash leaves five officials and confessed embezzler Carl Johnson incinerated in a ruined Montgomery bookstore. The box of cash they sought? Buried in Cincinnati. Agent John Lockwood seeks answers and redemption in a dark caper where none can be trusted and fate carries out its own inscrutable design. Based on true events, CESSNA features live jazz music.

Created locally by Hugo West Productions, their previous fringe productions include: DON’T CROSS THE STEAMS: THE CEASE AND DESIST MUSICAL (2013), HOT DAMN! IT’S THE LOVELAND FROG (2014) & ZOMBIE-LOGUE (2015).

CESSNA is directed by Greg Procaccino. The cast features local favorites: Michael Hall, Michael G. Bath, Mindy Heithaus & Carter Bratton.

CFF_Other Bother logoThe second performance of the evening is OTHER BOTHER (no, not OTHER BROTHER) by The Performance Gallery, a Cincinnati-based collaborative of theatre artists.

Others have infiltrated our daily existence. Others are irksome and tedious. Others believe weird stuff and do weird things. They’re cretins. Evolution has not solved this problem? Why? WHY? WHHYYYYYYY? We will get right down to the real nitty gritty. We will solve the problem. We will make the world a joyous place. Join us as we explore how to conquer the bother of another other.

Previous original fringe productions include: IMAGES OF A BEATING HEART (2004), THE KILLER WHISPERS AND PRAYERS (2005), GODSPLAY (2006), GIRLFIGHT (2007), FRICATIVE (2008), KAZ/M (2009), THE COUNCIL (2010) THE BODY SPEAKS: SCRIPTED (2011), RODNEY RUMPLE’S RANDOM REALITY (2012), MATER FACIT (2013), HEIST (2014) & SHIRTZNECOCKLE (2015).

OTHER BOTHER is written by Derek Snow & Regina Pugh and directed by Regina Pugh. The local cast includes: Willemien Patterson Van Dartel, Maya Farhat, Justin Lee, Jodie Linver, Patrick E. Phillips, Regina Pugh & Samantha Russell.

CFF_DarlingsRounding out my first night is DARLINGS, by Animal Engine of New York City, featuring the husband and wife team of Karim Muasher and Carrie Brown.

A re-imagining of PETER PAN told from the perspective of the Darlings, two parents struggling with the loss of their children. They search for them by day and tell stories about a place called Neverland by night … where the mermaids will drown you, the pirates might kill you, and you can’t trust the charming little boy with the impish smile. A dark and dangerous fairy tale for adults.

Previous Cincy Fringe productions include: THE VINDLEVOSS FAMILY CIRCUS SPECTACULAR! (2011), PETUNIA AND CHICKEN (2013 – Artist’s Pick Award and one of my personal all-time favorite fringe shows) and DOG SHOW (2015).

I hope you have a chance to make it down to Over-the-Rhine and catch a show or ten. Feel free to say hello and remind me to take a Facebook Friends Project selfie. Happy Fringing.

 

 

 

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