Sub-Total
2023 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Ryan Klima
Company: Lady Z Productions
Show: Choose Your Own Fringe Adventure
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Great Job Everyone
Great job everyone, it was a funny, well-performed show
Company: Goof Goof
Show: 101 Goofin' Things
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Goof Goof Good Good
Phil and Liv have incredible chemistry and are always making weird unique stuff. Fringe Shows, even the great ones, can sometimes feel repetitive but before tonight I’ve personally never seen two people covered in eggs and whipped cream vehemently apologize to a brick while Cars 3 plushies raced around on zoombas. There were two small children in attendance at my showing and I hope they get super into experimental comedy because of this.
Company: Eli Sibley
Show: Born of a Fairy Tale
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
Wonderful Acting and Dance Bring Fairytale To Life
I saw some great solo acts at Xperimental this year: Dolly Who, 1992, and now Born a Fairytale too. The story was simple but good—the performer brought so so much out of the material through dancing and character acting—often simultaneously, nearly all the people in the story had very unique ways of moving.
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Company: [Un]Qualified
Show: H.G. Wells' THE INVISIBLE MAN
Venue: Southern Theater
The Hidden (Or Invisible???) Gem of the Festival
Southern Theater was pretty packed for the final showing of Invisible Man, but for some reason it’s near the middle for audience reviews...more people should’ve seen it. This is a fantastic vaudeville rollercoaster filled with creativity and ingenuity; with inspired physical comedy from all four performers. The final ten minutes, a breathless sprint through Sussex, is one of the best things I’ve seen at Fringe this year.
Company: Team Rand-McKay
Show: Works in Progress
Venue: Theatre in the Round
The Doctor is Out…But Why???
“Works in Progess” is a solid whodunnit about three patients searching for their missing shrink. Great performances all around, especially from the woman navigating those crazy heels. There were some groaners—an Alec Baldwin gun joke for example—but I think the waitress is the only likable character at the beginning and the script realizes this. I thought there was some slight punching down, the patients turning into the Three Stooges as their problems become sources of comedy, but overall solving the mystery involves the characters overcoming the difficulties of their disorders, not from the help of the satirical TikTok psychologist, but rather themselves.
Company: an alleged Theatre Company
Show: A Swimming Lesson in a Theatre Without a Lifeguard
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Alleged Goes Off The Deep End
Last year’s Spirit of Fringe winners wipe the mustard from their shirts in exchange for whistles and seven layers of sunscreen. They’re once again mining legitimate pathos from a super goofy plot, though ironically compared to “Hot Dogs” last year the absurd premise and audience participation wasn’t as strong but the dramatic character moments were more effective. Each swim instructor uses the stupid world of rules they created to escape something haunting them from their past or present; all three weirdos have great range as actors.
Company: Mike Fotis Productions
Show: The Windblown Cheeks Of Lovers
Venue: Strike Theater
Whirlwind “Cheeks” A Honking Good Time
If you’ve been to Hard Times twelve times in the past 8 days like I have and need a change of scenery, Strike has a pretty great lineup as an indecent venue, with “Windblown Cheeks” being the crown jewel. The plot itself—-an E! True Hollywood Story-style exposé on a hit 80s Soap Opera—is uproariously funny, but there’s a very enjoyable meta-element at play of watching three of the finest comedic actors in town trying to pull off a super-complicated play with dozens of characters, a video camera element, and several sprints backstage in order to not miss a cue. The whole thing is just pretty Bonkers. Tech Craig Corsi deserves a special shout-out, there were difficulties with the camera at times but I don’t think Craig missed a single one of what must’ve been over 40 lighting cues.
Company: Rachel Buhman
Show: Joy; A Sketch Show
Venue: Strike Theater
Ode to “Joy”
I’m usually not much of a sketch fan—I’d rather watch a Snail than SNL, but Joy was a fun time. Goofy characters, elaborate dance segues, expert tech work by “Diamond” Dan Ruby, and more references to food and butts than an entire season of Bob’s Burgers.
Company: Sandbox Theatre
Show: Yes No Maybe (please explain)
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Yes No Maybe Checks All the Boxes
I was struck by the similarities between this and another great show at Rarig Thrust, Dock Work—experimental, emotional, a cast of three female/non-binary performers and a backing band playing Gen X music. I think this one will stick with me more because of the more tangible, relatable messages. The show is a love letter to the 90’s, as Kristina sifts through a mountain of love letters with mischievous pieces of her conscious—all named Amber. The video camera aspect added a new layer of intimacy and nostalgia to the proceedings and they kept finding new ways to be inventive with it and serve the story—never just cool for cool’s sake (though it was cool). Joyful, lucid, and melancholic, it felt like daydreaming an episode of My So Called Life; with the jangly backing band reminding me of Juliana Hatfield (Hatfield herself guest starred on an episode of My So Called Life, playing an angel). This is a super underrated show with many charming songs, don’t miss out on its last showing.
Company: Kurkendaal Barrett Presentations
Show: Climbing my family tree
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Beautiful and Fascinating
Everyone’s family tree is shrouded in a little mystery, but the twists and turns in the roots of Les’ tree is honestly incredible, there were several gasps from the audience as new information was revealed. The piece alternates between Les meeting various interesting long-lost relatives and a harrowing story told by his grandfather. There are many lovely examples of how we can be connected to others in unexpected ways and even after fifty there are new ways to learn about yourself and your place in the universe.
Company: Flavorade Foucault
Show: Shark Grant
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
Why Wasnt One of the Investors Called Shark Cuban?
I saw this show with some chums and it had its moments of glorious stupidity, where the audience was all in on this great concept, but other times the show was wading in the shallow end. Of the three contestants in my showing, the female artist got about 50 seconds of stage time while the two male artists got about 15 and 20 minutes respectively. I still had a good time though, it had 2 AM basic cable vibes (in a good way)
Company: SECRET CULT
Show: OPERA PUNKS
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
A Night at the Opera (Punks)
The Schedule Gods weren’t kind to Opera Punks, but don’t let them escape your radar. This is a group whose first ever show was 10am on a Thursday and they delivered a great Monday 10pm set with infectious enthusiasm and their signature foul-mouthed, angel-voiced hooks. It’s like Queen meets Ween the way they bombastically leap feom genre to genre; each performer has their unique charms but Rueben Gomez in particular reminds me of a young Jack Black.
Company: Rogues Gallery Arts
Show: My Only Hope for a Hero
Venue: Southern Theater
Highly Entertaining, Received Ovation
Duck Washington’s examination of heroes both real and fictional is a phenomenal piece of writing and acting. The performance runs a gamut of emotions without ever feeling tonally off, along with childhood whimsy Duck displays moments of sadness, guilt, and anger that feel totally earned and real. Two of the play’s most harrowing moments are conversations with the cardboard figures on the side of the stage—and two of the funniest are with the volcano in the center and the voice of Sam Landman. This Fringe has been a fantastic year for solo shows and My Only Hope For A Hero is no exception.
Company: Hey Rube!
Show: Behemoth
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Large Ideas and Ferocious Performances
I strongly recommend reading the pamphlet that is handed out prior to the performance. Behemoth had compelling acting and visuals but I felt a few steps behind on the plot—and then I read the pamphlet and audibly said “ohhhhhhhhh” This is a very high concept show but all the actors are more than up for the challenge. I noticed one continuity error: for many scenes there was a pink string in actor Mahmoud Hakima’s hair but at some point this string vanishes.
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Company: Lady Chamberlain Productions
Show: 4 Bisexuals and 2 Guys Named John Kill Dracula
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
Bram Stroker Would Be Proud
Wow! That was fantastic; my favorite of the festival so far and one that I could’ve watched another hour of. A couple and a polycule join forces to take down a truly haunting and menacing portrayal of Count Dracula. Some genius use of props, blocking, and a parody of Phoebe Bridgers’ “Kyoto.” The script is fast-paced and funny but also allows for slower, believable tender moments—you really start to care about Johnathan, Mina, Lucy, and the trio of hunks once blood starts getting sucked and the climatic battle begins. Get your tickets early because by my Count there were 1! ah ah 2! ah ah seats remaining at my showing.
Company: Jason Schommer
Show: 1992: Mistakes Were Made!
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
It Would Be A Mistake To Miss This Show
1992: Mistakes were made had a stellar opening night to a big crowd at Xperimental. Jason is a regular performer and host of The Moth and the piece really felt like ten strong Moth sets one after another. Stories of perms and roasting school bullies feed into the larger narrative of being true to yourself. Jason sets up the different years of the story through what was going on in Madonna’s career and the soap Days of Our Lives at the time, and later ties those non-sequiter seeming elements together so beautifully. And although this is mostly just one long story there are a few small, subtle lighting cues that all hit at the right moments.
Company: Jackdonkey Productions
Show: Dock Work
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Passionate, Frenetic Fragments about Unions
Dock Work ignited the first night of Fringe with an explosion of sound and energy. The movement began in the pre-show and never relented. Dance, spoken word, sketch, Nirvana songs, red yarn, and other cacophonous elements coalesce in short stories about Unions. I felt sometimes the show became too abstract for the message to fully land but everything was delivered with such conviction by the cast and backing grunge band to create a uniquely memorable experience.
Company: Destiny Davison
Show: DOLLY WHO?
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
All That Glitters IS Gold In This Great Show
Dolly Who is a charming and thoughtful delight by Destiny/Dolly Davison. Equal parts memoir and Improv, Dolly uses her cartooning skills to create a Reading Rainbow-esque show while also tackling deep questions like existentialism, being unable to meet older relatives’ younger selves, and what became of the air conditioner from the Brave Little Toaster. Fun and worthwhile for all ages and all snails. Unrelated to review but mildly interesting: on opening night of Rarig I saw Dock Work and Dolly Who back-to-back—both titles eight letters with the initials D.W.