BINGING ON FRINGE
7 shows I have my eye on
It has to be said right off the bat that it’s generally impossible to get a full impression of a Fringe show from a two-minute snippet. So when I review these shows at the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival this May, my opinion might be completely different.
But with more than 100 shows at the festival, May 15-28, you have to start somewhere, right? So here, alphabetically, are seven shows from Monday night’s preview that in their two-minute presentations made me sit up and take notice. There’s no guarantee they will turn out to be the best of the fest, but they are on my radar.
‘AquaDance’
■ By: Voci Dance (50 minutes, at a local home)
■ Attention grabber: Three dancers traveling with their own plastic kiddie-pool. The actual show, which will blend modern dance and synchronized swimming, will take place in an in-ground swimming pool, so the company had to improvise for its preview.
■ Especially good: The dancers combine humor and grace in their movements — and that’s on dry land.
■ Million-dollar question: Can this sense of fun translate to a full-size pool?
‘Callbacks’
■ By: Rogue Stage (60 minutes, Brown venue)
■ Attention grabber: This comedy with bite takes a look at the lot of theme-park performers.
■ Especially good: A top-notch cast, including Jay T. Becker, and laugh-inducing dialogue by Thom Mesrobian, writer of “Simpleton: The Legend of President Trump,” a spoof of Broadway hit “Hamilton” that won the 2016 Critics’ Choice Award for best musical.
■ Million-dollar question: Will this resonate with folks outside the theme-park working world?
‘For Love, Sir: Letters of Life, Love and Sacrifice’
■ By: Bent Book Productions (60 minutes, Red venue)
■ Attention grabber: A serious topic amid the frivolity of the Fringe. The show uses actual letters to follow three members of our armed services and their families.
■ Especially good: Emotion is most authentic when it is drawn from real-life situations.
■ Million-dollar question: Can this show avoid being too maudlin?
‘Frogpig’
■ Joel Swanson (60 minutes, Red venue)
By:
■ Attention grabber: Love the concept of the title character’s lineage — a frog father and pig mother.
■ Especially good: The puppet is especially welldesigned, and the fact that we see Swanson’s facial expressions alongside the puppet’s adds to the fun.
■ Million-dollar question:
Can this be successfully stretched from two minutes to 60?
‘Muttnik’
■ By: Pipsqueak Collective (60 minutes, Blue venue)
■ Attention grabber: In a bout of refreshing honesty, the performer admitted the preview performance was not actually in the show, about the first dog sent to space by Russian scientists in the 1950s.
■ Especially good: Many a Fringe show has found success through the charisma of the performers, and this troupe demonstrated likability and creativity with their canine adaptation of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”
■ Million-dollar question:
What will show actually be?
‘Shakespeare’s Ghostbusters’
■ By: Homicidal Orphan Productions (60 minutes, Green venue)
■ Attention grabber:
What kind of madness is this? Re-telling ’80s hit “Ghostbusters” as if it was written by Shakespeare.
■ Especially good: The delivery by the performers and the flashes of recognition at the “Ghostbusters” plot points.
■ Million-dollar question:
Will Shakespeare fans appreciate the silliness? Will “Ghostbusters” fans appreciate the Shakespeare?
‘Wanzie’s Monorail Inferno’
■ By: Wanzie Presents & D Squared Productions (90 minutes, Silver venue)
■ Attention grabber: Michael Wanzie’s campiness mixed with a disaster-movie parody and set aboard Walt Disney World’s iconic “highway in the sky.” Plus, it has a history: This is a revival of a musical comedy first presented in 1986.
■ Especially good: The vocals sounded polished, and the musical number performed immediately pulled you into the story.
■ Million-dollar question:
Will the story live up to its lead-in?