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dreamsharkFour spectacular shows and one awful dud, fortunately ending on a high note to make a great day.
An Inconvenient Squirrel * * * *
Joseph Scrimshaw and friends.
Good clean fun for the whole family, but a bit less than perfect. The plot was a bit simplistic for my tastes, but appropriate for a kid's show (and for most of the adults in the audience, judging from the howls of laughter). The main weakness was the casting. The show was written by Joseph Scrimshaw and should have been performed entirely by Scrimshaw clones. Instead, he cast his best friends in parts that they lacked the physical agility and rubber-faced acting technique to carry off. Tim Uren was not convincing as a squirrel of any kind, and particularly not as an adolescent squirrel yearning to find himself. Still, the play was a lot of fun, especially when Scrimshaw was on stage.
Bonnie Prince Charlie * * * * *
presented by Far From the Tree
Wow! This show was a real surprise - possibly the best show of the Fringe for me! Bonnie Prince Charlie is problematic as an iconic hero. On the one hand, he's a great romantic figure: the young prince coming back over the water from exile to reclaim his throne, the kilts, the bagpipes. And all those great songs ("Charley is my darlin', my darlin', my darlin'...."). Unfortunately, that whole losing the war thing kind of casts a pall over the story. And not only losing, but dragging his countrymen into an epic bloodbath. So Charlie never gets bombastic Braveheart type movies where good triumphs over evil. Instead he gets fascinating, subtle, brilliant little plays like this one. It's a story of war told largely from the point of view of the women in a small English inn. But that doesn't mean that the men are dismissed or demonized or the women sanctified. It's about a group of very distinct individuals and the way they are affected by war and the way their own actions and choices affect the world. And then there's the music, which is integrated so seamlessly into the play that it doesn't seem accurate to call it a "musical." Soldiers sing boisterously (and slightly out of key) as they carouse in the tavern, minstrels perform for the soldiers, everybody takes a break from war to celebrate a quick wedding, and so on. I wanted to see this play for the traditional Scots music (which did not disappoint) but there turned out to be much more to this play than the music.
A Wake for Change! Tune In, Turn On, Folk Out * * * * *
Presented by A-Stage
OMG, this one was so good! It was like finding yourself right in the middle of a Christopher Guest movie (specifically, "A Mighty Wind"). Kieran's Pub is a mighty fine venue, with terrific ambience, great acoustics, and Irish beer on tap. The actors were fantastic, and it's a blast watching the action unfold around you in every direction. And the music was wonderful - classic 60's folk songs beautifully performed in 3 and 4 part harmony.
Catfight! *
presented by John Ervin
Oh well, you can't win 'em all. This one just stunk. The idea sounded clever, but the characters were heavy-handed caricatures (not even funny) and the acting was for the most part atrocious. The actress playing the Michelle Bachman clone was good, but the preacher chewed the scenery and bellowed twice as loud as everybody around him and the rest of the cast literally stumbled their way through most of their lines. Clearly this show was not only poorly written but seriously under-rehearsed. Just a loser all 'round. I'll give it one kitty for the Elvis impersonator, although he was only good at doing Elvis, repeatedly muffing his spoken lines. The only good thing about this show was that it got me to the Ritz in time to get in line for the final 5-kitty hit of the day...
The Underpants Show * * * * *
presented by Lili's Burlesque
The 225-seat theater sold out with 100 people still in line! And now I know why it's been selling out. This was a terrific show, a class act from beginning to end. Well, okay, I didn't care for the stand-up rabbit comedienne whose only joke was having somehow confused the terms "bitch" and "cunt." But the song and dance acts were fun, the strippers were incredibly good dancers and the costumes were jaw-dropping. I have to admit that I was fascinated by the stripper with the belly-dancer moves who could make any part of her body vibrate independently. On a less risque note, I loved the deliveryman in coveralls who did the acrobatic dance routine with his delivery dolly (to a lively rendition of "Hello, Dolly" of course).
An Inconvenient Squirrel * * * *
Joseph Scrimshaw and friends.
Good clean fun for the whole family, but a bit less than perfect. The plot was a bit simplistic for my tastes, but appropriate for a kid's show (and for most of the adults in the audience, judging from the howls of laughter). The main weakness was the casting. The show was written by Joseph Scrimshaw and should have been performed entirely by Scrimshaw clones. Instead, he cast his best friends in parts that they lacked the physical agility and rubber-faced acting technique to carry off. Tim Uren was not convincing as a squirrel of any kind, and particularly not as an adolescent squirrel yearning to find himself. Still, the play was a lot of fun, especially when Scrimshaw was on stage.
Bonnie Prince Charlie * * * * *
presented by Far From the Tree
Wow! This show was a real surprise - possibly the best show of the Fringe for me! Bonnie Prince Charlie is problematic as an iconic hero. On the one hand, he's a great romantic figure: the young prince coming back over the water from exile to reclaim his throne, the kilts, the bagpipes. And all those great songs ("Charley is my darlin', my darlin', my darlin'...."). Unfortunately, that whole losing the war thing kind of casts a pall over the story. And not only losing, but dragging his countrymen into an epic bloodbath. So Charlie never gets bombastic Braveheart type movies where good triumphs over evil. Instead he gets fascinating, subtle, brilliant little plays like this one. It's a story of war told largely from the point of view of the women in a small English inn. But that doesn't mean that the men are dismissed or demonized or the women sanctified. It's about a group of very distinct individuals and the way they are affected by war and the way their own actions and choices affect the world. And then there's the music, which is integrated so seamlessly into the play that it doesn't seem accurate to call it a "musical." Soldiers sing boisterously (and slightly out of key) as they carouse in the tavern, minstrels perform for the soldiers, everybody takes a break from war to celebrate a quick wedding, and so on. I wanted to see this play for the traditional Scots music (which did not disappoint) but there turned out to be much more to this play than the music.
A Wake for Change! Tune In, Turn On, Folk Out * * * * *
Presented by A-Stage
OMG, this one was so good! It was like finding yourself right in the middle of a Christopher Guest movie (specifically, "A Mighty Wind"). Kieran's Pub is a mighty fine venue, with terrific ambience, great acoustics, and Irish beer on tap. The actors were fantastic, and it's a blast watching the action unfold around you in every direction. And the music was wonderful - classic 60's folk songs beautifully performed in 3 and 4 part harmony.
Catfight! *
presented by John Ervin
Oh well, you can't win 'em all. This one just stunk. The idea sounded clever, but the characters were heavy-handed caricatures (not even funny) and the acting was for the most part atrocious. The actress playing the Michelle Bachman clone was good, but the preacher chewed the scenery and bellowed twice as loud as everybody around him and the rest of the cast literally stumbled their way through most of their lines. Clearly this show was not only poorly written but seriously under-rehearsed. Just a loser all 'round. I'll give it one kitty for the Elvis impersonator, although he was only good at doing Elvis, repeatedly muffing his spoken lines. The only good thing about this show was that it got me to the Ritz in time to get in line for the final 5-kitty hit of the day...
The Underpants Show * * * * *
presented by Lili's Burlesque
The 225-seat theater sold out with 100 people still in line! And now I know why it's been selling out. This was a terrific show, a class act from beginning to end. Well, okay, I didn't care for the stand-up rabbit comedienne whose only joke was having somehow confused the terms "bitch" and "cunt." But the song and dance acts were fun, the strippers were incredibly good dancers and the costumes were jaw-dropping. I have to admit that I was fascinated by the stripper with the belly-dancer moves who could make any part of her body vibrate independently. On a less risque note, I loved the deliveryman in coveralls who did the acrobatic dance routine with his delivery dolly (to a lively rendition of "Hello, Dolly" of course).
