Welcome to my final Fringe Review Round-Up! It was a wildly fulfilling month with great performances and wonderful experiences. My sincere apologies for the extended delay in this final publication. I was dealing with some personal medical issues throughout the end of September. However, this Fringe Festival had some truly magnificent work that will stick with me for months to come. Now - let's get to the last of it!
Bodies (Matti McLean)
The art of body painting is fascinating, complex, and intimate. Having an artist take their brushes and literally paint on skin seems like a wildly wonderful experience. Artist and performer Matti McLean utilized his talents for both to bring a very unique experience to Fringe this year. The show is relatively simple, Matti and a model stand on stage; Matti paints them, then interjects life stories and words of wisdom to the audience. There are also moments of audience participation, as Matti invites audience questions during the painting interludes. Matti’s story is fascinating, in how he found his way to body painting and body positivity. Occasionally, the writing feels a touch like an after school special, but not in any truly detrimental way. While his painting style is abstract, his story is anything but, being extremely relatable and at times profound. Being able to witness a live, in-person body painting exhibition was truly a splendid experience that made Bodies one of the coolest Fringe pieces this year.
Bodies ended its limited run on September 18th. To follow Matti’s journey visit here.
Smooth, a solo queer noir musical, bitch (Asteroid B612)
The noir films of the 1930’s and 40’s were made with the intention of being intense, dramatic films. While there are still some classics, many films of the genre are looked at through a lens of camp. In Smooth, a solo queer noir musical, bitch writer and performer Dan Kitrosser dials that camp up to eleven with punny names, musical interludes, and a lot of dick jokes. The story isn’t exactly the most complex thing: a wife seeks out a PI to help find her husband who has vanished. Surprise! The husband had also been sleeping with the PI, and left them all in a mystery surrounding a dive bar called the Glory Hole. There are many twists and turns, some that make sense, others that are a bit more of a leap. Dan is an effervescent performer, who had an extremely welcoming energy. Their smile alone lit up the rather tiny space in Christ Church. While occasionally funny, the slapstick humor started to run a little dry after a while, with maybe one too many entendre. Overall this show was a little rough around the edges, but had a lot of heart behind it, and enough jokes to make it entertaining as a whole.
Smooth, a solo queer noire musical, bitch ran until September 29th. To stay up to date with Dan and his work, visit here!
Power (Reggie Wilson/ Fist and Heel Performance Group)
Power, the new dance piece by Reggie Wilson and the Fist and Heel Performance Group, explores the complex history of a community of Shakers led by freed black women in Philadelphia in 1859. The creative framing device helped ease the audience into the show, utilizing the innate charm of a simple storyteller to help us understand what we were watching. The choreography was percussive, exciting, invigorating and fascinating to watch. Occasionally, it dipped into a repetitive styling that felt a little unfocused, but overall was exhilarating to watch. The show had a natural ebb and flow of energy throughout that was refreshing, and never dragged. Would have loved a touch more clarity on the shifts between the modern day, almost dance class sections, and the past, more spiritual, moments, but that is a small gripe in an otherwise Power-ful performance piece.
See what I did there?
Power ended its limited engagement on September 22nd. For more information on Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, visit here.
Calvin Barrows (Theatre by Development)
Calvin has been hit by a car and is in a coma. On the one month anniversary of this event, his group of friends get together to have a party celebrating and commemorating their friend. However, through his magic eight ball, Calvin is able to be at the party and get a first hand view on his friends and their thoughts, hopes, and wants. This new work, presented by a relatively new theatre company, is certainly ambitious. Unabashedly queer, this group of friends sadly never fully feels like actual friends. It is hard to track why these people all like each other. The eight ball concept is really interesting, and a great way to get to know characters, but there is a point in the show where the eight ball character monologues zap all momentum from the piece. While lights and sets were well executed, there seemed to be a general lack of energy from the production. It's a shame for such an interesting concept, that I would love to see further explored and worked on.
Calvin Barrows ran at The Skinner Studio Theater in Plays and Players (1714 Delancy Street) until September 29th. For more information, head here.
This is How We Remember (Zoe Rabinowitz and Galen Bremer)
This is How We Remember is a deeply personal story of a woman dealing with her mother’s deterioration to Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, while abstract modern dance is not my forte, this piece didn’t seem to fully translate from the mind of the artists to the audience from my perspective. Auditorily difficult to understand, visually repetitive, and a lack of cohesive thru-line made this piece less successful than it could’ve been. While some of the choreography was visually appealing, there was a lack of growth and development throughout the piece to make it cohesive. There were projections and music, but neither were particularly effective. This is How We Remember was an overall miss for me, but I hope others were moved.
This is How We Remember ended its run on September 22nd. To keep up with Zoe and Galen, visit here.
Whore’s Eye View (Kaytlin Bailey/ Old Pros)
One part stand-up comedy show, one part historical Ted Talk, Whore’s Eye View was a fantastic one person show about the oldest profession. Yes, that’s right, Whore’s Eye View explored the intricacies, history and persecution of sex workers. Kaytlin Bailey’s one person show was as hilarious as it was informative, expertly crafted to highlight the parallels in our society today, and at various points through history. Bailey, a sex worker and comedienne, wonderfully paired personal anecdotes with historical events, leading the audience to snap or clap in agreement at several moments. Bailey is an engaging performer, naturally charismatic, and with great comedic timing. The message of the show, that sex work is an ancient and acceptable form of work, is extremely important, and a topic that should be actively talked about more. To be honest, this show could have been longer. The history of sex work is fascinating and there were topics that were only briefly mentioned that could be expanded and explored more, which I would love to see and hear about from Kaytlin.
Whore’s Eye View ended its engagement on September 23rd. For more information on Kaytlin Bailey/ Old Pros, visit here.
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