Tuesday at the Fringe and not much was happening. I only had two shows on my schedule and was looking at an early night, but things can change rapidly at the Fringe if you are willing to be flexible.
My first show of the day was 30:30:60 – A Competitive Birthday Event at Three Clubs, my first time at this venue this year. Despite starting late (a violation of one of the Fringe’s cardinal rules), This was an improv show, actress and writer Anne Brashier did her best to adhere to the ending time, sacrificing some of her material to ensure the show ended on time.
The show was stimulating and fun. Brashier portrayed a retired tennis star approaching her 30th birthday with a desire to accomplish 30 goals in 60 minutes. The premise succeeded, in no small part due to the likability of the character and the humbleness with which Brashier embodied her. She had the entire venue rooting for her success and willing to do just about anything to help her.
If you like improv, check out the show at her final performance on June 20 at 9:45 p.m.
I was scheduled to see Washed in the Blood next. Unfortunately, I headed to the wrong venue, and could not get back in time. One of my cardinal rules is to never enter a show after it has begun, so I headed over to Fringe Central instead.
As I thought about my other options for the night, I noticed that Bumpersticker the Musical would be starting shortly next door at the Dragonfly, and decided to see if I could crash the party. Producer Michael R. Blaha was running the box office and was happy to let me in to the almost sold-out performance. I was not prepared for what happened next.
Bumpersticker was an impressive musical featuring the songs of Gary Stockdale and Spencer Green. Directed and choreographed by Michele Spears under the musical direction of David O, this politically charged piece was set during a massive traffic jam and featured songs about all the bumper stickers drivers are forced to view as they are held captive in their vehicles.
The songs were well written, but the brilliant cast, which featured Nadia Ahern, Jahmaul Bakare, Lamont Dozier, Jr. (son of Lamont Dozier, Sr,, who was one-third of Motown’s incredible songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland), Zachary Ford, Eliot Hochberg, Lauren Rubin, Jennifer Leigh Warren and Anne Yatco, brought them to life with their incredible voices.
Bumperstickers is a great piece of musical theatre that is this year’s hidden gem. We strongly recommend the show, with remaining performances of June 18 at 2 p.m. and June 22 at 7:30 p.m.
After the show, I headed over to Butter’d Up, which is the renovated version of Room 5. My friend Dave Yaden was playing jazz, and I wanted to check out the venue and see and hear this virtuoso of the keys. Needless to say, it was an amazing night of music from Yaden and his band, with special guests Lio Nicol, Sean Hill and TJ Gibson. There were also songs from Yaden’s business partner, Mike Rossi and Greta from Iceland, who will be a special guest next week. It was also nice to see Justin Hopkins (The Voice) and Darwin Johnson (Colbie Cailat’s bassist) in the audience. The event is free and open to the public every Tuesday night beginning at 10 p.m. We highly recommend you spend some time at Super Tuesdays Live at the Butter’d Up.
