Fringe 2009 - Thursday night
Jul. 31st, 2009 02:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkWe got off to what seemed like a fast start with 3 shows on the first night, but none of them were great. Even the one I liked the best suffered by comparison with the same company's show last year. Hoping for a little better luck tonight.
One thing that did get the season off to a good start was running into![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
minnehahaK at the first show of the night. We had already brought along my friend Trisha to make use of the special Ultrapass power to get a friend in free on the first 2 days of Fringe. So the four of us joined forces and made it to 3 shows. Trisha is joining us again tonight, and I hope I run into other friends.
7:00 p.m.
Anansi, Brer Rabbit and Other Wily Characters * * * 1/2
presented by Black Storytellers Alliance
Venue: Playwrights' Ctr
8:30 p.m.
Murder on the Mighty Mississippi * *
presented by Traudtrikt Productions
Venue: U of M Proscenium
10:00 p.m.
Blue Ribbon Burlesque * * * *
presented by Lili's Burlesque Revue
Venue: U of M Proscenium
_________________________________________________
7:00 p.m. Anansi, Brer Rabbit and Other Wily Characters * * * 1/2
presented by Black Storytellers Alliance
Venue: Playwrights' Ctr
I'm beginning to suspect that the oral folk tale tradition is another thing like sailing, where I want to believe I like it better than I really do. The story tellers were accomplished, enthusiastic and likable, but the stories were kind of boring. Every single one of these stories was of the format where one thing happens, and then it happens again just the same way, and then it happens again the same way, and then there's a (totally predictable) twist and the last iteration ends differently. If the story tellers could have found a few stories with a different format it would have been much appreciated. Other than that, this show was fun. I particularly liked the male story-teller that gave the audience a finger-snapping rhythmic chorus to chant during the monkey story. I think this show would be more fun to see with a lot of children in the audience.
_______________________________________________
8:30 p.m. Murder on the Mighty Mississippi * *
presented by Traudtrikt Productions
Venue: U of M Proscenium
The idea sounded promising, but it just didn't work. The mystery was not believable and the solution was telegraphed well in advance of the big reveal but it still could have been fun with a great cast. Unfortunately, the quality of the acting could most charitably be called uneven, ranging from "never bothered to learn my lines" bad to a pretty good performance by the guy whose time on stage is severely curtailed by the fact that he is the murder victim. The biggest problem was probably that the cast was much too large to keep track of in a one-hour show. Most of the show is taken up with trying to figure out who all these characters are and with trying to figure out what is going on when the actors can't even remember their own characters' names. Some of the chaos was opening-night goofs like the moment when one of the characters is felled by a phone ringing (oops, wrong sound effect!) . But I don't see much chance that this show will ever rise to any better than mediocre.
_______________________________________________
10:00 p.m. Blue Ribbon Burlesque * * * *
presented by Lili's Burlesque Revue
Venue: U of M Proscenium
All the performers are incredibly good at what they do, but overall the show was not as good as last year's 5-star production. The state fair schtick starts out funny, but gets old after a while. The running joke of Minnesota Wholesome colliding with inner naughtiness kills the momentum on too many of the performances. I guess I would have liked to see naughtiness win out a little more often. There's a lot of talk, but not much actual tassel-twirling. And that gal in the cow costume with the glittering udders? Plain disturbing. Let's just say that when the final act was introduced as "the best ass in the business" I was relieved that it didn't turn out to be a donkey (and yes, she does twirl a few tassels, finally). The best thing about the show was the music, especially the songs where all three female vocalists are singing in harmony. If they offered a soundtrack album, I'd buy it!
One thing that did get the season off to a good start was running into
minnehahaK at the first show of the night. We had already brought along my friend Trisha to make use of the special Ultrapass power to get a friend in free on the first 2 days of Fringe. So the four of us joined forces and made it to 3 shows. Trisha is joining us again tonight, and I hope I run into other friends.7:00 p.m.
Anansi, Brer Rabbit and Other Wily Characters * * * 1/2
presented by Black Storytellers Alliance
Venue: Playwrights' Ctr
8:30 p.m.
Murder on the Mighty Mississippi * *
presented by Traudtrikt Productions
Venue: U of M Proscenium
10:00 p.m.
Blue Ribbon Burlesque * * * *
presented by Lili's Burlesque Revue
Venue: U of M Proscenium
_________________________________________________
7:00 p.m. Anansi, Brer Rabbit and Other Wily Characters * * * 1/2
presented by Black Storytellers Alliance
Venue: Playwrights' Ctr
I'm beginning to suspect that the oral folk tale tradition is another thing like sailing, where I want to believe I like it better than I really do. The story tellers were accomplished, enthusiastic and likable, but the stories were kind of boring. Every single one of these stories was of the format where one thing happens, and then it happens again just the same way, and then it happens again the same way, and then there's a (totally predictable) twist and the last iteration ends differently. If the story tellers could have found a few stories with a different format it would have been much appreciated. Other than that, this show was fun. I particularly liked the male story-teller that gave the audience a finger-snapping rhythmic chorus to chant during the monkey story. I think this show would be more fun to see with a lot of children in the audience.
_______________________________________________
8:30 p.m. Murder on the Mighty Mississippi * *
presented by Traudtrikt Productions
Venue: U of M Proscenium
The idea sounded promising, but it just didn't work. The mystery was not believable and the solution was telegraphed well in advance of the big reveal but it still could have been fun with a great cast. Unfortunately, the quality of the acting could most charitably be called uneven, ranging from "never bothered to learn my lines" bad to a pretty good performance by the guy whose time on stage is severely curtailed by the fact that he is the murder victim. The biggest problem was probably that the cast was much too large to keep track of in a one-hour show. Most of the show is taken up with trying to figure out who all these characters are and with trying to figure out what is going on when the actors can't even remember their own characters' names. Some of the chaos was opening-night goofs like the moment when one of the characters is felled by a phone ringing (oops, wrong sound effect!) . But I don't see much chance that this show will ever rise to any better than mediocre.
_______________________________________________
10:00 p.m. Blue Ribbon Burlesque * * * *
presented by Lili's Burlesque Revue
Venue: U of M Proscenium
All the performers are incredibly good at what they do, but overall the show was not as good as last year's 5-star production. The state fair schtick starts out funny, but gets old after a while. The running joke of Minnesota Wholesome colliding with inner naughtiness kills the momentum on too many of the performances. I guess I would have liked to see naughtiness win out a little more often. There's a lot of talk, but not much actual tassel-twirling. And that gal in the cow costume with the glittering udders? Plain disturbing. Let's just say that when the final act was introduced as "the best ass in the business" I was relieved that it didn't turn out to be a donkey (and yes, she does twirl a few tassels, finally). The best thing about the show was the music, especially the songs where all three female vocalists are singing in harmony. If they offered a soundtrack album, I'd buy it!
