Tag: Play On!

Categories
Awards Hollywood Fringe Festival Theatre Women in Entertainment

Top ten shows at HFF 18 and Indie Voice Awards for Theatre

The 9th Annual Hollywood Fringe Festival has been put to bed (with the exception of those shows selected for encores) and we are safely back in Montana, so it is time to reveal our favorite shows of HFF18, as well as our winners for the Indie Voice Awards for Theatre.  You can find the “official” list of winners that were handed out on June 24 here.

We saw a total of 46 shows during the 13 days we were at Fringe.  So many of them were great, and we wish we could give credit to more, but here are our favorites.

TOP TEN SHOWS

10.  Met Again.  Once again, Theatre Unleashed delivered a breathtaking drama of infinite worth.  The duo of Julia Plostnieks and Michael Lutheran were stunning in their portrayal of a loving couple who had ups and downs during their lives.  This one left us with tears in our eyes.

9.  Blind Spots.  This was the only show we saw at the beautiful Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre, and it was definitely worth the trip.  The show was female written with an entire cast of females, and they demonstrated by their amazing performances that they are definitely forces to be reckoned with.

8.  The Parisian Dream.  Cabaret Versatile is the master at creating interesting shows, and this amazing French Cabaret was definitely one of their best.  It was told through mime, skits, song and dance, and it represented the historic Assistance League Playhouse well.

7.  With my Eyes Shut.  Esther Mira led a strong cast and told the story of two people with Asperger’s Syndrome who were learning how to function in life.  Through incredible dancing, music and physical theatre, they told the story as lovingly as they could, and made us proud to be part of HFF18.

6.  SQUIRREL!!  Jessica Lynn Johnson directed and Sarah Rose Reynolds delivered a stunning and revealing story of dealing with ADHD.  Reynolds even wowed us with her singing abilities, on top of her hilarious telling of her life story.

5.  Stripped.  Another great Johnson directed show featuring Julia Cavanaugh as the exotic dancer with a heart of gold.  Like Reynolds, she has an excellent singing voice, and totally tugged at our heart strings as she told the story of her life.

4.  The Word.  Victor Isaac is a comic genius and he puts it all on display in this comedic romp through the discovery of how to forgive yourself.  This one truly deserved its Fringe recognition.

3.  Doctor Nympho vs. The Sex Zombies.  The triumphant return of the Michael Shaw Fisher rock musical claimed three Fringe Awards, and was truly one of the highlights of HFF18.  Just seeing the entire cast safely navigate the small stage at Three Clubs was an event worthy of recognition.

2.  Play On!  A one-woman musical event, Laura Jo Trexler stole our hearts and our ears with these amazing original songs about the heroines of Shakespeare.  She also showed her stage presence and skills as she brought the songs to life, with nothing but herself and a grand piano.

1. The Women of Lockerbie.  We think it is a travesty that this show was not even nominated for a single award at Fringe.  This amazing cast brought the story of Pan Am Flight 103 to life by showing its effect not just on the passengers but those in the town of Lockerbie, Scotland as well.

INDIE VOICE AWARDS FOR THEATER

We agreed with some of the awards given out by the community, but not all of them, so here are the shows we would have given awards to:

In addition, we would also award these shows:

What were your favorites?  We would love to know.

Categories
Hollywood Fringe Festival See it or Skip it Theatre Women in Entertainment

HFF18 day 1 – see it or skip it

After 17 hours of driving, and an overnight stay in Las Vegas, we arrived in Los Angeles mid afternoon.  Our first show wasn’t until 7 p.m., so we had time to visit with friends, get situated at the airBNB and clean up before heading into Hollywood for our first night of fringing.

Our first stop was the newly opened Hobgoblin Playhouse (6520 Hollywood Boulevard), managed by the stellar team of Greg Crafts and Jenn Scuderi Crafts, who also manage Studio/Stage.  It was great to catch up with them pre-show, and to hear the back story about our first show of #HFF18, which was written and performed by Laura Jo Trexler.

Once they got the contract to manage the space, they discovered this beautiful grand piano inside.  They called Trexler to come and tune the piano.  During the session, she mentioned that she had written a one-woman show and asked if they knew where she could perform it.  Obviously, the response was “At the Fringe,” and the rest, they say, is history.

TITLE OF SHOW:  Play On!  A Musical Romp with Shakespeare’s Heroines

VENUE:  The Hobgoblin Playhouse

REVIEW: Trexler is incredible, both as an actress and musician.  The songs she has so skillfully created depict the true character of each of these legendary women as written about by William Shakespeare, including Juliet, Rosalind, Ophelia, Olivia, Beatrice, Viola, Adriana, Lady M, Gertrude, and the Dark Lady,   The production was in every way imaginable just perfect, and set the bar extremely high for this year’s Fringe.  Greg Crafts did an admirable job stepping in for the stage manager, who was under the weather, and perfectly executed the lighting plan.  Trexler’s performance had all that you would expect from a Broadway show, with just the right amount of theatricality added to the songs to make them come alive and memorable.  She even had recorded a soundtrack of the songs, and made the CD available for her patrons at a “pay what you can” price.  This was definitely the way to start our 2018 Fringe Experience.  Welcome to the Fringe, Laura Jo!  We’re so glad we found you.

RECOMMENDATION:  This one is a no-brainer.  You simply must see this show, especially if you love music and Shakespeare.  This one deserves a long run.  You can still catch it on June 15 at 10 p.m., June 16 at noon and June 24 at 11:30 a.m., or buy the soundtrack and listen it these great songs over and over again.  You can purchase your tickets here.

Our next show wasn’t for a couple of hours, so we headed over to Fringe Concierge to pick up our credentials and then stopped at Three Clubs for a drink.  It was wonderful to run into several of the Cherry Poppins ladies, including Alli Miller, Sarah Haworth Hodges, and Sarah Wines, along with their amazing cohorts including Michael Shaw Fisher, Cory Robinson and Schoen Hodges.  We even managed to find Laura Wiley there as well.

We headed back to The Complex for our 10:30 show at The Flight Theatre, and ran into Victoria Watson and Better-Lemons‘ own Enci Box.  Watch for our reviews on that website as well.  Before we knew it, it was time for our second show of the night.

TITLE OF SHOW:  The Rental

VENUE:  The Flight Theatre at The Complex

REVIEW: This one was a last minute addition to our schedule, and boy are we glad we went.  This show was impeccable, and wonderfully written and directed by Ben Ubiñas.  The show starred Jake Corvino and Ali Astin, the amazing actress daughter of Sean Astin, best known to millions as “Sam” in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  In today’s era of #MeToo, female empowerment and sexual politics, this show was right on point.  Both Astin and Corvino turned in Tony Award-worthy performances as a call girl and her virgin client.  The story takes you in one direction and then shifts into an entirely different one, with mind-blowing results.  Trust us when we say that you will walk away from this one with an entirely new perspective on the world’s oldest profession.

RECOMMENDATION:  This one is likewise a no-brainer.  There is only one performance left on June 14 at 6 p.m., and you owe it to yourself to attend.  You can grab your tickets here.

It was so good catching up with Ali after the performance.  We hadn’t seen her since 2012 when we worked at the Renaissance Faire.  We are sure the world will be seeing a lot more of this amazing actress.