Last night was the final night of Office Hours for HFF19. All five of the May sessions were held at BLACK, with the finale at Thymele Arts. Last night was also Fringe Runway, with participants showing off their amazing costumes, followed by a round of live band karoake with the Moon Units. It was a very interesting evening and signaled today’s start of preview performances. Before we head out tonight for our first three “official” Fringe previews, we wanted to tell you about another show that we saw back on June 1. The show opened in May, but will run through Fringe so it is considered part of HFF19.
TITLE OF SHOW: Roots: An Evening of World Premiere Shorts
VENUE: Theatre of NOTE
REVIEW: This show gave me an excuse to return to where it all started for me in 2010 – the Theatre of NOTE. I fell in love with this theater and its company then and have tried to see at least one show there every year. I had run into one of the actresses, Channing Sargent, at Office Hours on May 22, and she talked me into attending. I am so glad I did, as these four shows were so different yet similar, and each one featured a stellar cast, although they were all directed by Lee Hannah Conrads and stage managed by Aaron Saldaña and Zachary Burch.
The first show was Deadpan by Phinneas Kiyomura, and featured truly gifted actress Jennifer Flack in the role of Winchester, a bride-to-be who gets wasted on her wedding day because she is uncertain about her future. She was supported by Sierra Marcks as her best friend Heckler, Dan Wingard as Koch, and Brad C. Light as her fiance, Colt. Patricia Canale also made a cameo appearance as the parent of Colt. This one was hysterical from start to finish, with a surprise ending that kept it fresh.
Next up was Big Ones by Lisa Sanaye Dring, and featured Sargent as one of three characters dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake. She was supported by Tony DeCarlo and David Guerra, and all three turned in a united effort that made this a true ensemble piece.
The third show was Rand! by Bill Robens, and was the most complex and dynamic, and eerily similar to an opera, with Canale leading the charge as Peter the Great. This was the showpiece of the four shorts, and featured Cat Chengery in the title role, with dynamic support from Alysha Brady as Natasha, DeCarlo as Vlad/Keynes, Kelby Jo McClellan as Rhodia/Hopkins and Jaxy Boyd as Anna/FDR. Tying it all together were Boyd, Brady, Flack, Light, McClellan and Wingard as the Suitcase People, a dynamic chorus that were stunning to hear. and also contributed some hilarious transitions between the stories.
The final story, The Smell of Something to Eat by Erik Patterson, featured Chengery and Marcks as a couple that hook up only to discover some interesting truths about each other afterwards. We won’t betray those surprises, but assure you that you will be pleasantly shocked by them.
All in all, it was a wonderful show that had what we truly encapsulated what we call “the NOTE experience.” The entire show is about 90 minutes long with no intermission.
RECOMMENDATION: Don’t miss this show. Remaining shows are June 8 at 6 p.m., June 9, 15, 16 and 23 at 7 p.m. and June 22 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available on their Fringe project page.
