Just arrived back in Montana, and realized we hadn’t published reviews for the final day of Fringe. We had a remarkable time this year, and can’t believe that we have to wait another year before we do it all over again.
TITLE OF SHOW: Yarn
VENUE: Broadwater Second Stage
REVIEW: This show applied for our sponsored award, so I was expecting a play that included music. Imagine my surprise to arrive and find out it was physical theatre with no words and limited to no music. Not only that, but it was supposed to be 45 minutes long, and when it reached 55 minutes, we had to leave to attend another show. It definitely had its moments of slapstick humor, but it seemed like they didn’t know when to quit, and it just went on and on and on. Needless to say, we were not impressed.
RECOMMENDATION: If we had known that this was not a play, we would have been better prepared, and probably enjoyed it more. As it was, the audience seemed to love it, and The Broadwater gave it an extension. It was not one of our favorites, but at least it has found its audience.
TITLE OF SHOW: Maddy’s Musical
VENUE: Three Clubs
REVIEW: Three Clubs has been running a show called Mimosas and Musicals on Sunday afternoons during Fringe, but decided to change it up for the final day of Fringe. They brought back their “MadLibs” game show from a couple of Fringes past, and called it “Maddy’s Musical.” The concept was for the audience to pick a collection of 10 songs (solos, duets and group numbers) and then the cast would have five minutes to create a narrative that would tie those songs together. The event was hosted by Le Phantom (Nick Rubando) with piano accompaniment and sidekick comedy by Cheedo. The cast contained original members Kate Bowman, Lauren Byrd, Nathan Ondracek and Reagan Osborne and had guest stars of Alli Miller and Adam Lau. Needless to say, it was pure chaos and magic, and the audience had a blast. This is the stuff that Fringe legends are made of.
RECOMMENDATION: If you ever get another chance to see these guys do what they do best – sing and improv, then you would be well advised to see it.
TITLE OF SHOW: My Own Private River Phoenix
VENUE: Asylum Studio C
REVIEW: For our final show of HFF18, we decided to see another Jessica Lynn Johnson directed show. This show was the perfect one to close out this year. Ai Yoshihara was hilarious as she explained how she had fallen in love with River Phoenix when she was nine years old, but had to change her plans when he died at the age of 23. She began her quest for her very own version of him, and with the support of her family, left Japan to seek him out in America. She used her unique humor, as well as cute audio-visual clips and fun character impressions to deliver a compelling story. We had a blast and so did the audience.
RECOMMENDATION: We would love to tell you that you still have another chance to see this remarkable show, but alas, she did not win an encore. Nevertheless, it was wonderful and we would gladly see it again.
We’ll be back tomorrow with our Best of HFF18 list, including our own award selections.