Fringe - Sun Aug 7, 2011
Aug. 8th, 2011 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkAnother successful day, although not particularly ambitious by SuperFringer standards. But then, having been priced out of the ultrapass market, we aren't going for SuperFringer status this year. Saw just 3 plays - two of which were excellent. Ate at the Acadia Cafe for the 2nd day in a row. And since I had my bike in the van, I took advantage of the unexpectedly pleasant weather to bike home from the West Bank.
The Duties and Responsibilities of Being a Sidekick * * *
Barkada Theater Project
Cute, but predictable. The whole joke about superheroes joining unions, cultivating their brands, and worrying about their career paths is getting kind of old, IMHO. This show has nothing new to add to that genre. However, it's executed pretty well here, and judging by the audience reaction there are still plenty of folks who aren't tired of this meme yet. I found it mildly amusing, but pretty much a waste of time. Adding to my impatience with the show was the row of hee-hawing jackasses behind me that howled with laughter when the first character walked onstage (before anything happened!) and kept it up pretty much nonstop throughout the performance.
The Smothers Brothers Grimm * * * * *
Comedy Suitcase (aka Josh Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen)
SO much better than I was expecting ... and I was expecting it to be pretty funny, given the level of talent involved. I thought this was going to be a series of comedic set pieces with a child's bedtime as an incidental framing device. It turned out to be something quite different: a funny, poignant heartwarming story about a delightfully quirky family coming to terms with the death of the family patriarch. The comic set pieces embedded in the story are hilarious Easter eggs that keep the audience laughing so hard they don't notice the challenging themes that are flying past, like the nature of love and loss and the meaning of humor itself.
While this is certainly a family friendly show, the 2+ designation is not appropriate. Kids younger than 9 or 10 are simply not going to get the humor, and may end up imitating some behaviors that aren't nearly so funny out of context.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Dr. Jekyll * * * *
Tim Uren
A charming fable. I was expecting something else - something with more psychological depth, plausibly Victorian characters, and at least a touch of genuine introspection. It turned out to be just another bit of high concept post-modern fluff. Oh well, that's okay too. The writing is witty, the acting is good (with a surprising amount of physical comedy), and the characters are endearing. Still, I hope that next year Tim Uren goes back to the period piece horror genre he does so well and lets the rest of the Fringe cover the slyly winking anachronisms.
The Duties and Responsibilities of Being a Sidekick * * *
Barkada Theater Project
Cute, but predictable. The whole joke about superheroes joining unions, cultivating their brands, and worrying about their career paths is getting kind of old, IMHO. This show has nothing new to add to that genre. However, it's executed pretty well here, and judging by the audience reaction there are still plenty of folks who aren't tired of this meme yet. I found it mildly amusing, but pretty much a waste of time. Adding to my impatience with the show was the row of hee-hawing jackasses behind me that howled with laughter when the first character walked onstage (before anything happened!) and kept it up pretty much nonstop throughout the performance.
The Smothers Brothers Grimm * * * * *
Comedy Suitcase (aka Josh Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen)
SO much better than I was expecting ... and I was expecting it to be pretty funny, given the level of talent involved. I thought this was going to be a series of comedic set pieces with a child's bedtime as an incidental framing device. It turned out to be something quite different: a funny, poignant heartwarming story about a delightfully quirky family coming to terms with the death of the family patriarch. The comic set pieces embedded in the story are hilarious Easter eggs that keep the audience laughing so hard they don't notice the challenging themes that are flying past, like the nature of love and loss and the meaning of humor itself.
While this is certainly a family friendly show, the 2+ designation is not appropriate. Kids younger than 9 or 10 are simply not going to get the humor, and may end up imitating some behaviors that aren't nearly so funny out of context.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Dr. Jekyll * * * *
Tim Uren
A charming fable. I was expecting something else - something with more psychological depth, plausibly Victorian characters, and at least a touch of genuine introspection. It turned out to be just another bit of high concept post-modern fluff. Oh well, that's okay too. The writing is witty, the acting is good (with a surprising amount of physical comedy), and the characters are endearing. Still, I hope that next year Tim Uren goes back to the period piece horror genre he does so well and lets the rest of the Fringe cover the slyly winking anachronisms.
