|
|
|
Tweet this article !
Better late than never, I suppose, as I am just a tad tardy in reporting on the final three Fringe Festival entries I was assigned. But life being what it is, the unexpected can throw you way off course and…oh, who cares?...on with the shows! These three that I have thrown together here are all musicals (sort of) and had wildly divergent approaches and levels of success. Indeed, thrown together might well describe one of the shows and a couple approached what might be referred to as the better never category! Gratefully, one was a true, qualified success, so let’s begin there.
The joyously authentic and unusual Sarah Hayward performed her self-penned one woman show Stripes: The Mystery Circus, to an enraptured audience who were, myself included, basking in the glow of a completely original, never seen anything like it before, treat of theatrical wizardry. Suffice to say, the action all centers around kooky, desperate and oddly endearing Pollyhymnia and her hilarious, genuinely touching and off-kilter attempts to join the circus. Taking her cue from famous illustrious acts of the past, she turns each into her own version, taking the general idea (or title anyway) and evolving them into variations that you and I could certainly never imagine on our own, that made one actually feel another person's often insane, and yet insanely logical, and involving world view. Clever, smart and funny, she never lost our attention through any number of character and costume changes (all handled rather brilliantly and expediently!) and a host of deliciously strange and beautiful songs that transported us to another world entirely. This was a lovely show and a completely successful tribute to it’s obviously impassioned creator! Brava Sarah!
Speaking of analysis (refer to article title) our second entry (Have a Nice Life) is a 
tuneless tuner about group therapy! While the subject matter might seem rife with possibilities, and tthis 90-minute session has enjoyed successful runs elsewhere, including an earlier (and far more enjoyable, I’m told) version in the NYMF (New York Musical Theatre Festival) and a stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it ended up just leaving me confused! What exactly was this show trying to say? Although the performers were mostly excellent, their individual characters were so uniformly repulsive that it was impossible to actually identify with any of them. Instead of being pulled in by their endless, overly dramatic stories, I mostly just wanted them to shut up. It certainly didn’t help matters that the repetitive songs (by Conor Mitchell) sounded like some manic mixture of Stephen Sondheim (Into the Woods) and William Finn (Falsettos), with all of the intriguing melodies and intelligent lyrics missing. Early on, one of these lovely individuals actually sang, “that AIDS guy and Doris Day”!!! In addition, it was perplexing as to where our patients lived and why they all seemed to know each other outside of group, as if they were residing in a mental institution together. (Hey, maybe they were! That’s what I’ve been missing!) In the end, the therapist quits and all of the members decide they are finished with therapy too, although they are all clearly in dire need of it. If the plan was to turn people away from seeking help, then mission accomplished! Despite all of this, the production itself (with crisp and inventive direction by Bill Felty, choreography by Nancy Berman Kantra and musical direction by Tom Brady) was particularly polished and eye-catching, and sadly wasted on this truly off-putting mess of a musical.
Last and most certainly least, Hip Hop High: The Musical. Sadly, the less said about it the better (please don’t get me started!). Although obviously created with the best of intentions, it was extraordinarily ordinary and derivative. Firstly, someone needs to tell writer/producer/creator Z-Man (a triple threat if ever there was one!) that Hip Hop reached it’s peak of popularity nearly ten years ago. The plot revolved around nothing more than countless similar stories we have seen in countless shows and films in as many years. Imagine Grease, West Side Story, Footloose, Fame, 9 Mile, Step Up, Glitter (and so on and so on), all thrown in a blender and performed by a Backstreet Boys cover band, and you may begin to get the picture. To be fair, there were a couple pleasant tunes and radiant rhymes along the way and more than a couple outstanding performances, in particular the marvelous Elissa Goldstein, who was in a category all her own. But in general, the acting and singing were subpar (at times atrocious) and the storyline with all of it’s unbelievable coincidences, was rendered even worse when compared to the stellar choreography (and it’s mesmerizing performance by all) created by Shani “Virgo” Alston. The film work in several music videos, helmed by director Jana Mattioli (who did a credible job directing the show with actors who couldn't act), was also quite impressive. The intention of the creators (as boldly stated in the program) is to take this musical to Broadway and I wish them the best of luck, but also wonder if any of them has ever actually seen a Broadway show?
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
