2023 Audience Reviews

Company: Phina Pipia
Show: Ha Ha Da Vinci
Venue: Southern Theater

Love This Show! (Except the Crickets)

This is quite honestly one of the most impressive showcases of talent I’ve seen in a long time. An endearing performer with skill after skill after skill who throws them all together into a fun variety show with a through line about time travel and magic. It truly has a little bit of everything, and I found myself thinking “how did that work” even several days later! I’d give the performer 20 cats if I could, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the crickets. They start chirping early on—to establish the nighttime environment—but continue for a majority of the show at a volume set way too high to ignore. Too much for too long. Their rhythmic pattern does not match the tempo of the several songs they compete with, and the repetition was so grating on my ears that I could not focus on anything else. I wish I could experience the show again, but without that sound. If the performer and tech can find a way to bring those crickets down until they’re either several dB softer than the stage dialogue, or if they fade out completely before the first piano song, no one would be confused about the play’s setting, and this would be a serious contender for best show this year.