Fringe Monday - one dud, one gem
Aug. 5th, 2008 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkLeft work later than planned, called Richard to alert him that making a 7pm show would be tight. He rose to the occasion, packing me a "lunch" to eat in the car on the way to the West Bank. The warm tofu and mushroom sandwich was really good. We got to the Playwright Center with time to spare. As it happens, I didn't like the first show at all, but I loved the 2nd one over at Rarig. FWIW, Richard like the first play somewhat more than I did and the second one not quite as much.
Hue and Cry * *
Lex-Ham Community Theater.
A painful two-person dysfunctional family play. I wanted to see it because it's supposedly by "one of Ireland's outstanding contemporary playwrights," but I really think that Ireland can do better than this. I found the characters shallow, sterotypical, and just not very interesting. The actors worked very hard (and for the most part successfully) on their accents and body language, but there was so little chemistry between them that they might as well have been playing their parts alone on separate stages. The one that played the drunken lout played his part very theatrically, with lots of wild gesturing and a booming voice that overwhelmed the small performance space. The other actor chose a quieter and more naturalistic approach, speaking in a conversational tone with much smaller movements. Either style would have worked fine, but the two together on the same stage didn't work at all, at least for me. Mercifully, it was short. So short, in fact, that they really should have combined it with a 2nd one-act play. I have an Ultrapass, but if I'd paid $12 to see a 35-minute play I think I'd feel a little cheated. However, since it didn't cost me anything, I'm glad it wasn't longer.
Hey, I'm Talking Murder Here! * * * * *
Rhino Productions
A truly fine example of the multi-sketch Fringe show: three completely unconnected short pieces - fast paced, sharply written and flawlessly performed. A few years ago there used to be lots of Fringe shows in this style. Sadly, this classic Fringe format has been largely replaced by the ever-growing menace of Clowns and Mimes. Also sadly, this particular show is saddled with an extremely stupid name and a misleading description (another growing Fringe menace). We'd just skipped over it, thinking it was another blood-soaked murder mystery, zombie play or alien invasion story. But it fit the schedule so we gave it a try, and we're glad we did. It deserves a wider audience.
Hue and Cry * *
Lex-Ham Community Theater.
A painful two-person dysfunctional family play. I wanted to see it because it's supposedly by "one of Ireland's outstanding contemporary playwrights," but I really think that Ireland can do better than this. I found the characters shallow, sterotypical, and just not very interesting. The actors worked very hard (and for the most part successfully) on their accents and body language, but there was so little chemistry between them that they might as well have been playing their parts alone on separate stages. The one that played the drunken lout played his part very theatrically, with lots of wild gesturing and a booming voice that overwhelmed the small performance space. The other actor chose a quieter and more naturalistic approach, speaking in a conversational tone with much smaller movements. Either style would have worked fine, but the two together on the same stage didn't work at all, at least for me. Mercifully, it was short. So short, in fact, that they really should have combined it with a 2nd one-act play. I have an Ultrapass, but if I'd paid $12 to see a 35-minute play I think I'd feel a little cheated. However, since it didn't cost me anything, I'm glad it wasn't longer.
Hey, I'm Talking Murder Here! * * * * *
Rhino Productions
A truly fine example of the multi-sketch Fringe show: three completely unconnected short pieces - fast paced, sharply written and flawlessly performed. A few years ago there used to be lots of Fringe shows in this style. Sadly, this classic Fringe format has been largely replaced by the ever-growing menace of Clowns and Mimes. Also sadly, this particular show is saddled with an extremely stupid name and a misleading description (another growing Fringe menace). We'd just skipped over it, thinking it was another blood-soaked murder mystery, zombie play or alien invasion story. But it fit the schedule so we gave it a try, and we're glad we did. It deserves a wider audience.
