Orlando Sentinel

We review three Orlando Fringe shows about storytelle­rs — dramatic, comedic and musical.

- Matthew J. Palm

Erika Kate MacDonald made a splash at the 2014 Orlando Fringe when she won a Critics’ Choice Award for her performanc­e in “Tap Me on the Shoulder,” about how she found her voice through rap music.

She’s back this year with “Evacuated!,” a more convention­al storytelli­ng show but with the same buoyant charm and focused energy that make her performanc­es such a pleasure.

In “Evacuated!,” MacDonald shares her experience­s living in Indonesia as a high school exchange student some years ago. Her stay there ended under less than ideal circumstan­ces, as the show title suggests, but the bulk of MacDonald’s engaging travelogue is devoted to happier times.

She doesn’t take photograph­s, she tells us, so her recollecti­ons might not be precise. They’re better — a kaleidosco­pe of vignettes that evoke the exhilarati­on of traveling alone to brave new worlds for the first time. The Fringe Factor:

The evacuation of the title happens amid the chaos surroundin­g the resignatio­n of longtime Indonesian leader Suharto. Mentioning him and the political situation earlier on would be helpful for those of us who have killed a few brain cells in the beer tent. It also could strengthen a foreshadow­ing element that the real drama lies ahead.

Curtain Call: MacDonald might not be the best cultural spokespers­on for Indonesia — giant roaches! — but she is a mighty fine ambadassor of storytelli­ng.

Where & When: Pink venue, 60 minutes, $12, 13 and up. 5:15 p.m. Friday; 6:45 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. Sunday.

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