Tag: Kimleigh Smith

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Awards Fringe Shows Hollywood Fringe Festival Reviews See it or Skip it Theatre

HFF19 day 17 – see it or skip it

I only took in three shows on Saturday, out of the seven I had originally planned, giving me time to spend some time talking to friends at the Plunge and actually eat a sit-down meal before hanging with my bestie Kimleigh Smith for a while.  Before we get started on those reviews, I’m sure you’re all anxious to know who won the Larry Cornwall Award for Musical Excellence, so here we go:

SOLO SHOW – Blackboxing

ENSEMBLE SHOW – An yet Another Evening with the Sistahs

Both shows have been extended, and we strongly recommend them both, so grab your tickets on their individual Fringe project pages.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Olivia Wilde Does not Survive the Apocalypse

VENUE:  The Complex (Ruby Stage)

REVIEW:  Another of the Matts, this time Matt Robinson, has come through with an amazing addition to HFF19.  This show is a masterpiece and his hand-selected cast are comedic geniuses in pulling out all the stops to make this the funniest damn show of the Fringe.  Featuring Sean-Michael Bowles as the “hack director” and Emilie Martz as the “snooty actress,” the amazing cast also included Francesca Manzi as Rodeo, Chelsea Langenderfer as Chandler, Everett Dailey as Marcus, Chris Bunyi as Crenshaw, Asia Pitts as Abbot Kinney and Ashley Frances Hoffman as Dr. Kelli Hu  The show was directed by Robby DeVillez, and he was brilliant.  My sides hurt so much from laughing, especially at all the inside jokes.  We will be quoting lines from this show for a long time.

RECOMMENDATION:  Although this was their last performance, they have been granted an extension, so we advise you to be first in line when tickets become available.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Transference

VENUE:  The Broadwater (Black Box)

REVIEW:  Certain Fringe actors have earned their reputation by consistently delivering quality work.  Two of those particular performers are Esther Mira and Lisa K. Wyatt.  They have brought this show to life which was written and directed by the equally brilliant Jim Blanchette. In what might be one of the most challenging roles of their lives, they play a therapist and her client, who is unintentionally “made aware” of her past lives during the therapy.  I will not give away the great story, but suffice it to say that this one is definitely worth your time and money, making it one of the best dramas of HFF19.

RECOMMENDATION:  This was their last performance, but if they do an extension, we strongly recommend that you attend.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Hell’s Kitty

VENUE:  The Broadwater (Main Stage)

REVIEW:  After hanging around the Plunge for a bit, Kimleigh showed up from a long day of work and we shared dinner from the food truck before heading in to the movie.  I had previously met Nicholas Tana at Starbucks and he invited me to see this show because of my history with horror films.  He had also invited Kimleigh, so we thought it would be a great chance to catch a memorable show.  It was that, although not the type of memories you necessarily want to remember.  The show was very campy and dark, and will probably be enjoyed by a much younger demographic.  It also seemed like the cast was not quite up to the challenge, as their were serious vocal issues.  The one shinning star was the over-the-top performance of Maeve Thompson Osgood as Lisa Graves.  Although not a total bomb, it could use some additional rehearsal time and maybe some recasting before going forward.  i truly see the potential in the show, but felt it was not nearly as strong as NMI‘s other entry, The Bully Problem.

RECOMMENDATION:  This was their last performance.

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Fringe Shows Hollywood Fringe Festival Reviews See it or Skip it

HFF19 day 2 (part 1) – see it or skip it

Day 2 of HFF19 was an interesting day that started off very promising before taking me on a roller coaster of an evening.  At least it ended up in the company of friends for a truly inspiring show.  Here are our reviews for Day 2.

TITLE OF SHOW:  The Mayor’s Debate of Tranquility, Nebraska

VENUE:  The Complex (Flight Theatre)

REVIEW:  If you’ve spent much time at the Fringe, then you’ve probably seen Jim Hanna in at least one show.  If you haven’t, then this is the show to see.  Not only is he part of the amazing cast, but he also wrote this masterpiece that mixes politics with the supernatural.  The magical cast of Hanna, Emily Dorsett, Kate Hellen and Lucie Beeby will whisk you away and provide a thought-provoking look at small town politics.  There is so much great humor in this show, and the chemistry of these four is palpable.  Suffice it to say that it stands as one of the best comedies at this year’s Fringe, and definitely worthy of your time and money.

RECOMMENDATION:  This is definitely a don’t miss show, so get your tickets before it sells out.  Remaining performances are June 22 at 8:30 p.m., June 23  at 12:30 p.m., June 26 at 6:30 p.m. and June 29 at 4 p.m.  Tickets are available on her Fringe project page.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Temple Tantrum

VENUE:  The Broadway (Second Stage)

REVIEW:  If you’ve seen my solo show Livin’ the Dream (a journalistic journey) or have spent much time with me at Fringe, then you know that Kimleigh Smith has been my inspiration and muse since 2010.  She has directed a very interesting story of survival from a cult that led to freedom for Nicole Steinwedell.  The show felt like Steinwedell was the poster child for ADHD, as she told her story in short bursts of non-stop energy.  Thank goodness she summarized it all during the final 10 minutes, because it was hard to keep up as she hopped from event to event in a truly non-linear approach.  She definitely kept her sold-out house intrigued and engaged, and for that alone she should be praised.  See it for  yourself and you’ll know what we mean.  Thanks for shedding light on this important story of triumph over emotional abuse.

RECOMMENDATION:  This one is truly worthy of your time.   Remaining performances are June 16 at 4 p.m., June 19  at 6:30 p.m., and June 22 at 1 p.m.  Tickets are available on her Fringe project page.

 

 

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Fringe Shows Hollywood Fringe Festival Reviews See it or Skip it Theatre Women in Entertainment

HFF18 day 11 – see it or skip it

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.