Category: Fringe Shows

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Fringe Shows

HFF16 – Day Two (part 2)

One of the beauties of Fringe is the ability to change your schedule on a whim.  That occurred when I ran into an old fringeship, Kat Primeau, while walking between venues.  I noticed that she was dressed in what appeared to be a costume, and she told me that she and her troupe, Robot Teammate & the Accidental Party, were doing a show at the Sacred Fools Main Stage called Thug Tunnel.

Thug

Thug Tunnel is this year’s Doomsday Cabaret.  It is well written and directed and has an extremely talented cast that sells the story of a time when the only place you can live is underground.

Primeau, Chris Bramante and Dave Reynolds lead the brilliant cast, turning in fine performances along the way.  The packed house audience was totally engaged and invested in the show, and the energy from each side of the stage fed the overall atmosphere, creating an electrifying good time.

If you like rock music, an interesting story and a good crowd, then Thug Tunnel should definitely be on your radar.  Don’t miss what is sure to become a Fringe legend.  The remaining performances are scheduled for June 17 at 7:30 p.m., June 18 at 4:30 p.m., June 19 at 9:30 p.m. and June 20 at 11 p.m.

From the world of rock music and tunnel dwelling I was next transported to Happy Hour, a truly original combination of acting, live music and movement.  The show features part of the Venice Symphony Orchestra (“VSO”), led by Wesley Flowers, providing the live soundtrack for the show.  The show is brilliantly directed by Elitia Daniels in her directorial debut.

Happy Hour

The cast turned in great performances.  Besides their acting chops, they were also called upon to do multiple dance movements during the times when VSO was performing.  Those movements were so well choreographed that they appeared natural and integral to the storyline.

If you’re looking for a unique Fringe experience, then Happy Hour is definitely the show for you.  Catch one of the remaining performances on June 18 at 5 p.m. or June 24 at 11:55 p.m.  This show is guaranteed to entertain you and is highly recommended as part of your Fringe experience.

My last show for the night was Suddenly Split & Swiping Over at the Asylum @ Studio C portion of the Complex Theatre.  The show is brilliantly written and produced by Tracy Held Potter and directed by Katherine Vondy.  Although the show stars Susan-Kate Heaney, I was treated to a delectable performance by her understudy, Angela Jaymes.

Suddenly

Through multiple characterizations (Kelly, her best friend, her mom, her therapist and several others), the show tells the story of a young lady, recently split from her boyfriend of 9+ years and thrust into a new single existence which includes hook-up apps and constant advice from well meaning friends and family.

Jaymes does a great job stepping into the role, although the pacing could have been a little tighter.  Overall, it was an interesting and entertaining tale which was well told.

Jaymes will appear in the performance on June 26 at 8:30 p.m. while Heaney will do the other performances, scheduled for June 19 at 2:30 p.m., June 23 at 10:30 p.m. and June 25 at 2:30 p.m.

Happy Fringing!

 

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Fringe Shows

HFF16 – The Journey Begins (part 2)

My first show for the day was Tell me on a Sunday at the Black Box portion of the new Sacred Fools Theater.  The location previously housed Theatre Asylum, as well as the Elephant and Lillian Theatres.

Tell Me

Tell me could not have been a better start to my HFF16 experience.  It was a one-woman musical told without any dialog.  The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Don Block, under the direction of Calvin Remsberg and the musical direction of Richard Berent.  But what truly set this musical apart was Shannon Nelson, the dynamo behind this musical gem.

Without the use of any spoken dialogue, Nelson told us a story of love and relationship, entirely in song and through her amazing acting chops.  Her performance left no doubt of the story line, or who was the true victor in this all too common story of love found and lost.

We highly recommend this show, with remaining performances on June 15 at 9 p.m., June 19 at 11 p.m., and June 20 at 10 p.m.

Next up was Tilt, one of the ten shows in my article Ten Shows I’m Looking Forward to at the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival.  The cast of Tilt contained two of my favorite Fringe actors, Ben Moroski and Michael Shaw Fisher, and was directed by Nick Massouh.

Tilt

Previous to this production, Moroski has been considered a brilliant storyteller with two award-winning solo shows, while Fisher was considered a musical theater genius of three award-winning musicals and one winner of a solo show.

Needless to say, the energy in this show was palpable, and never lets up from the opening to the closing scenes.  Fisher’s commanding stage presence, and the kinetic energy of Moroski combine to light up the stage.  The dialog is witty and the chemistry between these two giants of the Fringe is worth the price of admission alone.

This is definitely a show that must be experienced.  Remaining performances are scheduled for June 17 at 10 p.m., June 18 at 5:30 p.m., June 24 at 9:30 p.m. and June 15 at 5:30 p.m.  The performances are on the Second Stage portion of Sacred Fools.

My third show was The Rogues Gallery, performed in the Studio portion of Sacred Fools.  It is a fast-moving, campy and comedic one-woman show written and performed by New Orleans’ own original classy broad, Alison Logan.

Rogues

Logan puts four of her previous ex-boyfriends “on trial’ as she explains why they should all be convicted of roguish behavior, separated by song and dance numbers featuring the smoky and powerful pipes of Logan.  The show also includes great audience participation, including a hilarious version of the Village People’s classic anthem, YMCA.

This show is too much fun to miss, and only has one remaining performance at 10 p.m. on Sunday.  Don’t miss it.

At this point, I took a musical interlude to attend the amazing performance of my friends Shannon Hurley and Ben Eisen’s duo, Lovers & Poets, held at the newly opened Second Stage portion of the world-famous Hotel Café.  The show was further proof that Lovers & Poets are becoming a force in the LA indie music scene.  They did not disappoint and kept the small but mighty audience enthralled during the set.  Were Freddy and Francine not celebrating their CD release on the main stage, I’m sure the venue would have been packed.

After spending some time with fringeships David Haverty,  Meghan McCauley, Leigh Neeves, Jeffrey Wylie and others at Fringe Central, I headed over to my final show of the night, Charlotte’s Shorts, held at the Actor’s Company theater on Formosa.  The show features the short stories of the incredibly talented Charlotte Dean, daughter of my friend Tracy Newman, as read and performed by some of Hollywood’s rising talents, including Anastacia McPherson, Lisa Schurga, H. Michael Croner, Hannah Einbinder (daughter of Tracy’s sister, SNL alum Larraine Newman), Lynne Stewart, Navaris Darson and Jordan Black.

Charlotte

Unlike anything I have ever experienced at the Fringe, this show was fun, witty, and non-stop hilarious.  Not only did it showcase Dean’s talents as a writer, but it also showed Hollywood what type of talent is waiting in the wings for their big breaks.  This was indeed one of the best Fringe shows I have ever seen in my six years of covering the Festival.

Indie Voice Blog is proud to highly recommend this show.  Don’t miss one of their remaining performances scheduled for June 17 at 8:30 p.m., June 19 at 5:30 p.m. or June 26 at 3:30 p.m.  With a revolving pool of talent, every show will be different, so why not catch them all?

I closed out the night with a night cap at the Formosa Café with Dean, Newman and several members of the cast.  It was a wonderful ending to a perfect first day of Fringe.

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Fringe Shows

HFF16 – The Journey Begins (part 1)

I left Missoula at 7 a.m. on Friday to begin my journey to the 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival.  After fuel stops in Dillon, Montana and Plymouth, Utah, I ran into bumper-to-bumper traffic outside Ogden, Utah due to construction and a small brush fire.  I finally arrived in Salt Lake City about 3:30, where I met up with my old Riverside Community Theatre partner-in-crime, Erin Michael Finney.  He moved to SLC about 12 years ago, and we had not seen each other since.  We headed out for the Natural History Museum where he gave me a private tour of the amazing paleontology exhibits.  Afterwards, we headed over to the Sugar House section of town, where we had dinner at the Salt Lake Pizza and Pasta restaurant.  After a too short visit, I was back on the road towards Vegas around 7 p.m.

I arrived in Vegas just before midnight local time (having crossed over to Pacific time) where I was supposed to spend the night with a friend.  Unfortunately, our wires got crossed and the promise of a bed and some sleep failed to materialize.  I spent about an hour on Fremont Street, where I listened to the music of Spandex Nation (an 80’s hair band tribute act) and gambled a bit at the Golden Gate Casino.  With nowhere to stay for the night, I decided to just keep on driving, and got out of Vegas just before a massive rainstorm hit.

Having already driven more than 13 hours, I only made it as far as Baker, California before having to pull over and catch a couple hours of sleep.  I woke up about 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, just as the dawn was breaking.

My journey continued and I arrived at my AirBnB location in Burbank about 8 a.m.  My hostess, Sun, could not have been nicer.  I settled in for a few more hours sleep before making my way to my first day of the Fringe.

The Fringe is headquartered this year at the Dragonfly, a long-time musical venue located on Santa Monica Boulevard.  Since they did not open until 2 p.m. on the weekend, I stopped and chatted with several of my old fringeships (fringe friendships), include Monica Miklas at the Complex and Matt Quinn of Combined Artform aka Asylum.

Finally, 2 p.m. arrived and I headed over to Fringe Central to check in and receive my press credentials.  I had a wonderful chat with my old friend Ben Hill, the Executive Director of the Fringe, as well as with Lois, one of the bartenders at Bryan’s Bar, located within the venue.  Having secured my credentials, it was time to start Fringing.  Follow what happens next in my next post.

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Fringe Shows

Ten shows I’m looking forward to at 2016 Hollywood Fringe Festival

I attended the first five Hollywood Fringe Festivals before missing last year.  I am very excited about attending this year’s event, and will arrive on Saturday, June 11.  I am currently scheduled to attend 29 shows, with time for a few more.  These are the 10 shows I can’t wait to see (in alphabetical order):

A Feast of Snacks – Theatre Unleashed has consistently put on some of the best productions at every Fringe.  This one contains four mini-musicals.  How do you top that?

A Horse with a View – I met Chris Piehler last year at the Zootown Fringe Festival and he blew me away with his show.  Looking forward to seeing what he has for us this year.

All the Best Killers are Librarians – Sacred Fools is legendary for putting on good theater.  Their serial killer series was one that I wanted to see had I been in LA.  Since they are offering a couple of them during the Fringe, they immediately went on my list.

Broadway Noir – This show came highly recommended from several of my friends at the Southern California Renaissance Pleasure Faire, so it had to be included.

Gilda:  A Tribute to the Beloved Comedienne Gilda Radner – Who doesn’t love Gilda Radner?  I was a big fan of the early years of SNL, and can’t wait to see this tribute to Gilda.

Lamprey:  Weekend of Vengence – Another play featured in the Sacred Fools Serial Killer series.

My Big Fat Blonde Musical – This one comes highly regarded by my friends at Theatre Unleashed.  Plus I love musicals.

The Old Woman – One of my favorite one person show writers is John Grady, and I have seen both of his past two Fringe shows.  His new one sounds like a touching tribute to his mother.

The Father, The Son and the Holy Sh!t – Shadley Grei impressed me with his last show, Marshall’s Law.  When I found out he was doing a solo show, it immediately went on my list.

Tilt – Two more of my favorite Fringe performers combine in what is sure to be another Fringe winner.  Ben Moroski, who brought us the solo winners This Vicious Minute and Wake, and Michael Shaw Fisher, who contributed Doomsday Cabaret, The Werewolves of Hollywood Boulevard and Shakespeare’s Last Night Out, should provide another one with their latest offering.  This is probably my most anticipated show

I will post reviews of these and all the other shows I attend here on Indie Voice Blog.  Follow my blog to get the latest reviews.  Just click on the link below.  Have a great time Fringing with us.