Fringe Reviews, Day 1: Four Shows, Little Disappointment
Comedy Go!: Suggestion: Balloon.
They've promised a new show for every performance, and someone has to keep them honest, so I vowed to attend every showing of Comedy Go!
Ferrari McSpeedy make themselves comfortable in the Rarig Thrust, a space not dissimilar from their usual haunt of the Brave New Workshop, and while a 45 to 50-minute set is a longer stretch than they're normally used to, they used it to delve further into their characters, and bring together a cohesive universe for their scenework. The duo used their shared universe to make an honest connection between friends, fathers and sons, and the last scene was an emotional payoff.
I'm holding them to this "new show" idea, but I'd love to see some of the characters & themes pop back up over the next two weeks.
Monster: In my four-year Fringe experience, I've noticed that the one-man, multi-character drama tends to be the more successful format; perhaps the brief run times are more tailored to the format. Daniel MacIvor's Monster follows suit, cramming an erratic and enjoyable experience into its given slot.
The grisley subject matter of murder/dismemberment draws curiosity to the show, but actor Chris Kehoe's charisma drives the experience. He exudes a Bruce-Campbell-for-the-stage attitude as overconfident-yet-tense narrater Adam, but has no problem shifting into the distinct characters that color the story's moebius-strip plot.
This is a play that always asks why, and it's refreshing to get an unexpected response.
Bard Fiction: I've wondered how enjoyable some of the more reference-heavy shows are to those unfamiliar. It's been four or five years since I last saw Pulp Fiction, and I wasn't sure if I needed a brush-up on the film to enjoy performance. But it seems that the writers hit the major touchstones of the film, many of which are culturally ubiquitous and recognizable to even those who have not seen Tarantino's original.
I was amazed at the seamless transition of handgun to dagger, cocaine to snuff, "Bad Mother****er" to "Blasted Oedipus." The use of iambic pentameter and an Elizabethan-influenced dialect retained the spirit of the dialogue while remaining easy to follow. Standout performer Clarence Wethern, taking the classic roles of Samuel L. Jackson's "Julius" and Christopher Walken's "Koons," avoids the trap of turning two well-known roles from two oft-parodied actors into caricatures, retaining the essence of the characters.
This is a play for lovers of Shakespeare who want a good laugh at the Bard. This is a play for anyone who has ever seen Pulp Fiction, regardless of how they feel about the movie or Quentin Tarantino in general. And for those who have never seen the film, what a great way to test how ingrained into our culture the movie has become. This is a Fringe stand-out.
Livelihood: Livelihood feels much like a sketch comedy piece, with elements borrowed from Monty Python, Kids in the Hall, and Mr. Show. What benefited those troupes was the ability to tell such a story in four minutes; Livelihood suffers when stretched to 50.
The story of a job interview gone awry fits right into the Kids in the Hall-world of "Danny" and "A T & Love," and the rising absurdity of the interviewer's demands cleverly borrows from Monty Python sketches such as "Dead Parrot," "Argument Clinic," and "Cheese Shop," waiting for the payoff taxes the patience.
It's a dark show with witty dialogue (Matt Greseth relishes in the insanity of hiring manager "Mike"), and I love this setup, but the climax feels forced, and a touch predictable. For social satire, it never delivers a clear, original message on the discussion of the failing U.S. economy, save that perhaps nihilistic abandonment is the only option.
They've promised a new show for every performance, and someone has to keep them honest, so I vowed to attend every showing of Comedy Go!
Ferrari McSpeedy make themselves comfortable in the Rarig Thrust, a space not dissimilar from their usual haunt of the Brave New Workshop, and while a 45 to 50-minute set is a longer stretch than they're normally used to, they used it to delve further into their characters, and bring together a cohesive universe for their scenework. The duo used their shared universe to make an honest connection between friends, fathers and sons, and the last scene was an emotional payoff.
I'm holding them to this "new show" idea, but I'd love to see some of the characters & themes pop back up over the next two weeks.
Monster: In my four-year Fringe experience, I've noticed that the one-man, multi-character drama tends to be the more successful format; perhaps the brief run times are more tailored to the format. Daniel MacIvor's Monster follows suit, cramming an erratic and enjoyable experience into its given slot.
The grisley subject matter of murder/dismemberment draws curiosity to the show, but actor Chris Kehoe's charisma drives the experience. He exudes a Bruce-Campbell-for-the-stage attitude as overconfident-yet-tense narrater Adam, but has no problem shifting into the distinct characters that color the story's moebius-strip plot.
This is a play that always asks why, and it's refreshing to get an unexpected response.
Bard Fiction: I've wondered how enjoyable some of the more reference-heavy shows are to those unfamiliar. It's been four or five years since I last saw Pulp Fiction, and I wasn't sure if I needed a brush-up on the film to enjoy performance. But it seems that the writers hit the major touchstones of the film, many of which are culturally ubiquitous and recognizable to even those who have not seen Tarantino's original.
I was amazed at the seamless transition of handgun to dagger, cocaine to snuff, "Bad Mother****er" to "Blasted Oedipus." The use of iambic pentameter and an Elizabethan-influenced dialect retained the spirit of the dialogue while remaining easy to follow. Standout performer Clarence Wethern, taking the classic roles of Samuel L. Jackson's "Julius" and Christopher Walken's "Koons," avoids the trap of turning two well-known roles from two oft-parodied actors into caricatures, retaining the essence of the characters.
This is a play for lovers of Shakespeare who want a good laugh at the Bard. This is a play for anyone who has ever seen Pulp Fiction, regardless of how they feel about the movie or Quentin Tarantino in general. And for those who have never seen the film, what a great way to test how ingrained into our culture the movie has become. This is a Fringe stand-out.
Livelihood: Livelihood feels much like a sketch comedy piece, with elements borrowed from Monty Python, Kids in the Hall, and Mr. Show. What benefited those troupes was the ability to tell such a story in four minutes; Livelihood suffers when stretched to 50.
The story of a job interview gone awry fits right into the Kids in the Hall-world of "Danny" and "A T & Love," and the rising absurdity of the interviewer's demands cleverly borrows from Monty Python sketches such as "Dead Parrot," "Argument Clinic," and "Cheese Shop," waiting for the payoff taxes the patience.
It's a dark show with witty dialogue (Matt Greseth relishes in the insanity of hiring manager "Mike"), and I love this setup, but the climax feels forced, and a touch predictable. For social satire, it never delivers a clear, original message on the discussion of the failing U.S. economy, save that perhaps nihilistic abandonment is the only option.