Had a fantastic Saturday full of fringing, music and new fringeships. Headed in early to get good parking at The Broadwater, and easily found parking all day at both The Lounge and Studio/Stage. Early morning breakfast at Starbucks produced a pair of new fringeships and tickets to a couple more shows. We’re now up to 70 shows on our schedule. Approximately 27 of them are for our Larry Cornwall Award for Musical Excellence and the rest are just because. Also got an amazing email from Michael Shaw Fisher stating they wanted to judge my solo show for their “O” Face Award. That made my day. I saw a total of six shows on Saturday, topped off by a Neverwonder concert at Molly Malone’s. Let’s get going on the first three shows.
TITLE OF SHOW: The Bully Problem
VENUE: The Broadwater (Main Stage)
REVIEW: Our first musical of HFF19 was a dream come true. Michael Gordon Shapiro (with the help of ASCAP and Broadway’s Stephen Schwartz) has created a masterpiece of energetic singing and dancing and a timely story about overcoming obstacles and becoming who you were meant to be. The show was produced by New Musicals, Inc. and is ready for Broadway now. Time stood still as the entire sold-out audience was totally mesmerized by the amazing talent on stage, especially the work of James Everts as the protagonist Kevin Djykstra, Jordan Mitchell-Love as the robot Oscar, Josh Hillinger as the chief bully Gordo and Allie Costa as the effervescent Margaret. The show was skillfully directed and produced by Joanna Syiek with superb musical direction from Jennifer Lin. Hallie Mayer, Melvin Villajin Biteng, Tianna Cohen, Clint Blakeley, Jayna Sweet, Frankie Zabilka, Andrew Landecker, Socks Whitmore, Case Hunter, Malissa Marlow and Adam Foster Ballard turned in masterful supporting performances, especially Whitmore’s portrayal of bully intern and future nerd Charley. This one is definitely one of the best musicals we have ever seen at Fringe.
RECOMMENDATION: Don’t miss this show. Remaining performances are June 14 at 8 p.m., June 22 at 5 p.m., June 27 at 6:30 p.m. and June 29 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available on their Fringe project page.
TITLE OF SHOW: Batter Up! My Brain on Baseball
VENUE: Studio/Stage
REVIEW: Brett Moore is a Fringe rookie performer, just like me, although he is affiliated with Theatre Unleashed and has spent his share of time in the shadows. Thanks to the amazing direction of his director Gregory Crafts and his stage manager and wife, Erin Moore, he brought this magical show to live and delivered a killer performance. I’m a huge baseball fan anyway, so regardless I would have seen this show. But the funny part is that it’s enjoyable whether or not you like baseball. Think of it like the close-up magic you see by the wandering magicians at the Magic Castle. This one is interactive and will have you cheering along, and there are prizes. This is definitely one of the most interesting shows we have ever seen at Fringe.
RECOMMENDATION: Don’t miss this show. Remaining performances are June 14 at 7 p.m., June 21 at 7 p.m., June 22 at 3 p.m. and June 29 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available on their Fringe project page.
TITLE OF SHOW: The Journey of the Little Prince
VENUE: Studio/Stage
REVIEW: Irina Kampa is quite simply a force of nature. If you attended any of the pre-Fringe Office Hours functions, you could not fail to notice her. She brings that same energy to this production, wonderfully written by Victor Sotomayor, which reminds us that every adult was once a child, but only a few remember. The Prince’s journey is a meta-physical voyage of self-discovery. Patricia Mizen and Transe Carder provide excellent support to Kampa during her travels. The most unique feature was the interesting lighting design, which kept most of the stage and cast in the shadows. This allowed the words to have a more powerful impact, making them truly stand-out so the message could be delivered loud and clear.
RECOMMENDATION: This one is definitely worth your time. Remaining performances are June 15 at 10 p.m., June 22 at 11:30 a.m., June 25 at 9 p.m. and June 29 at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are available on their Fringe project page.