After 17 hours of driving, and an overnight stay in Las Vegas, we arrived in Los Angeles mid afternoon. Our first show wasn’t until 7 p.m., so we had time to visit with friends, get situated at the airBNB and clean up before heading into Hollywood for our first night of fringing.
Our first stop was the newly opened Hobgoblin Playhouse (6520 Hollywood Boulevard), managed by the stellar team of Greg Crafts and Jenn Scuderi Crafts, who also manage Studio/Stage. It was great to catch up with them pre-show, and to hear the back story about our first show of #HFF18, which was written and performed by Laura Jo Trexler.
Once they got the contract to manage the space, they discovered this beautiful grand piano inside. They called Trexler to come and tune the piano. During the session, she mentioned that she had written a one-woman show and asked if they knew where she could perform it. Obviously, the response was “At the Fringe,” and the rest, they say, is history.
TITLE OF SHOW: Play On! A Musical Romp with Shakespeare’s Heroines
VENUE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse
REVIEW: Trexler is incredible, both as an actress and musician. The songs she has so skillfully created depict the true character of each of these legendary women as written about by William Shakespeare, including Juliet, Rosalind, Ophelia, Olivia, Beatrice, Viola, Adriana, Lady M, Gertrude, and the Dark Lady, The production was in every way imaginable just perfect, and set the bar extremely high for this year’s Fringe. Greg Crafts did an admirable job stepping in for the stage manager, who was under the weather, and perfectly executed the lighting plan. Trexler’s performance had all that you would expect from a Broadway show, with just the right amount of theatricality added to the songs to make them come alive and memorable. She even had recorded a soundtrack of the songs, and made the CD available for her patrons at a “pay what you can” price. This was definitely the way to start our 2018 Fringe Experience. Welcome to the Fringe, Laura Jo! We’re so glad we found you.
RECOMMENDATION: This one is a no-brainer. You simply must see this show, especially if you love music and Shakespeare. This one deserves a long run. You can still catch it on June 15 at 10 p.m., June 16 at noon and June 24 at 11:30 a.m., or buy the soundtrack and listen it these great songs over and over again. You can purchase your tickets here.
Our next show wasn’t for a couple of hours, so we headed over to Fringe Concierge to pick up our credentials and then stopped at Three Clubs for a drink. It was wonderful to run into several of the Cherry Poppins ladies, including Alli Miller, Sarah Haworth Hodges, and Sarah Wines, along with their amazing cohorts including Michael Shaw Fisher, Cory Robinson and Schoen Hodges. We even managed to find Laura Wiley there as well.
We headed back to The Complex for our 10:30 show at The Flight Theatre, and ran into Victoria Watson and Better-Lemons‘ own Enci Box. Watch for our reviews on that website as well. Before we knew it, it was time for our second show of the night.
TITLE OF SHOW: The Rental
VENUE: The Flight Theatre at The Complex
REVIEW: This one was a last minute addition to our schedule, and boy are we glad we went. This show was impeccable, and wonderfully written and directed by Ben Ubiñas. The show starred Jake Corvino and Ali Astin, the amazing actress daughter of Sean Astin, best known to millions as “Sam” in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In today’s era of #MeToo, female empowerment and sexual politics, this show was right on point. Both Astin and Corvino turned in Tony Award-worthy performances as a call girl and her virgin client. The story takes you in one direction and then shifts into an entirely different one, with mind-blowing results. Trust us when we say that you will walk away from this one with an entirely new perspective on the world’s oldest profession.
RECOMMENDATION: This one is likewise a no-brainer. There is only one performance left on June 14 at 6 p.m., and you owe it to yourself to attend. You can grab your tickets here.
It was so good catching up with Ali after the performance. We hadn’t seen her since 2012 when we worked at the Renaissance Faire. We are sure the world will be seeing a lot more of this amazing actress.