What a festival HFF 16 proved to be. I drove 2600 miles round trip to attend 35 shows in eight days, and reviewed every one of them on my blog and on the Fringe website. I reconnected with past fringeships and built new ones. I walked miles up and down Theater Row going from show to show. I drank more than I have in the past two years. But most importantly, I had fun, thanks to the amazing participants and Festival staff that make up the Hollywood Fringe Festival.
The Freaks will be handed out next Sunday for the best shows at Fringe, as voted on by the participants and those who have reviewed shows. But I wanted to take this time to hand out some of my own awards. Here are the bottom five of my top 10 favorite shows:
10. Gilda: A tribute to the beloved comedienne Gilda Radner. Helena K. Cosentino gave us one of the best tribute shows I have ever seen. She nailed many of Radner’s routines, but it was the way she captured the spirit of Radner that made this show so special. Thanks Helena.
9. Tilt. With a cast like Ben Moroski and Michael Shaw Fisher, both multi-award winning actors, how could you lose? You can’t. This show was very different from what they have previously done, but different is good. They both turned in amazing performances, and it was an honor to be able to witness this next step in their Fringe careers.
8. The Old Woman. John Grady has been bringing excellent theater to the Fringe since it started in 2010, and his latest offering continues that tradition. It is a moving story that gives his audiences a chance to see his ballet skills. It provided a much needed respite from the heat and refreshed my spirit. Well done John.
7. My Big Fat Blonde Musical. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about seeing this show. Theresa Stroll has created a masterpiece of theater that brings attention to one of the remaining biases in Hollywood – being fat. Stroll proves that she can write, sing, perform and do comedy just as well as a skinny person. My hat is off to you Theresa. Thanks for the reminder that we still have a long way to go in erasing stereotypes.
6. Happy Hour. Fringe is the time to try new approaches, and this one worked. Combining elements of theatre with live music and dance movement outside the confines of a musical was brilliant. I look forward to seeing what Elitia Daniels and Wesley Flowers come up with next. Hats off to the Venice Symphony Orchestra for making the show powerful and fun, and for bringing music to the masses.
Check out the rest of my Top 10 Favorite Shows in my next post, along with a few awards of my own.