Hard to believe that our annual Fringe experience is rapidly drawing to a close. It has been a whirlwind two weeks, and we have loved every second of it. We even found some time to take in another movie yesterday, checking out Hotel Artemis before heading off for another night of Fringe fun.
Our first stop was Studio/Stage for the highly anticipated Esther Mira show, With my Eyes Shut.
TITLE OF SHOW: With my Eyes Shut
VENUE: Studio/Stage
REVIEW: In the past two years, Esther Mira has impressed us with her abilities and acting, and become a good friend. In this production, she was able to more fully show her multiple skills, and we found ourselves carried away by the sheer beauty of her performance. This was a most amazing production, and showed autism in a very positive light. Not only was Mira brilliant, but her director Tara Donovan stepped in and assumed one of the roles. Craig Shields, who doubled as the music director, continued his outstanding portrayal of Cole. The music and dancing were first rate, and moved the story along nicely. It was so easy to get swept up in this show,, which is definitely one of the best productions of HFF18. This one deserves recognition at the awards, and another run.
RECOMMENDATION: Unfortunately, this was the closing performance, and Mira is on her way to Europe for a vacation. Hopefully they will earn an extension so that everyone will be able to see this masterpiece upon Mira’s return.
TITLE OF SHOW: Charlotte’s World or the Lone Terrarium
VENUE: Theatre of NOTE
REVIEW: During the Fringe’s first few years, the Theatre of NOTE was one of its central venues, and the place where Kimleigh Smith took the Fringe by storm with her amazing T-O-T-A-L-L-Y, winning three of the top awards at the 2011 Fringe. Since then, the venue line-ups have not been as strong, and we have not attended a show there in the past two years. Fiona Lakeland, who brought us the amazing show Stranded, reached out and invited us to her new show, and we are so glad we said yes. Like her previous show, this one was another work of art, encompassing beauty, belief and child-like faith in the story of Charlotte and her desire to fly. Lakeland’s performance was breathtaking, and we were quickly caught up into Charlotte’s World. We really love the closing rhymes she so skillfully constructed, which left us with a surplus of faith in our own abilities to accomplish our dreams. Well done!
RECOMMENDATION: The show has one more performance, and we highly recommend that you see it on June 23 at 3 p.m. You will not be sorry. Get your tickets here.
After the show, we returned to the Plunge at the Broadwater for a few drinks and the chance to mingle with our fringeships. It was a fun night which resulted in getting an invite to see The Runaway Clone today, a show which we had really wanted to see. In addition, we got the chance to meet the owner of the bar, Patrick Duffy (who played Bobby Ewing on Dallas). Duffy is from Montana, so we had a lot to talk about. He is an amazing man, and we were big fans back in the day. We wish him and the bar much success.