Archive for the ‘Guest Blogger’ Category
Hip Shot: ‘Uncorseted’
Uncorseted
The Shop at Fort Fringe
Remaining Performances:
Saturday, July 25 @ 6:30 p.m.
They say: “Destinies of a European countess and a humble American chambermaid collide at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Swords of steel penetrate gender norms, true identities are freely explored, and one man discovers it is better to receive than to give.”
Hilary’s take: I’m not sure if the Shark Tank Players’ production is the worst play I’ve ever seen or the greatest gender-bending burlesque send-up I’ve ever seen. It’s likely both, and it’s undeniably good, dirty fun.
At the Chicago World’s Fair, BFF’s and fearless shemales Penelope (Lacey Carriage) and Felicity (Goober Cemetery) cross paths (and cross-dress) with Countess Cornelia (the sublime Monti Gilmore), a Dionysian figure the size of Saturn much beloved by her loyal lesbian sex vixens whose breasts she names for the planet’s moons. The Countess knows her way around a sword, and Felicity seeks her fencing expertise to seduce Douglas (Peanut Norway), Penelope’s brother.
But the way to her man’s heart is not so simple. Read the rest of this entry »
Hip Shot: ‘The Teacher’s Lounge or One Child Left Behind’
The Teacher’s Lounge or One Child Left Behind
The Shop
Remaining Performances: July 22 at 7:30 p.m.; July 26 at 1:45 p.m.
They say: The personal is political. First-year teacher Carli negotiates the pressures and personalities of an urban charter school. But when a student’s questions put her personal and professional lives in conflict, will she sacrifice her ideals to save her career?
Suzyn’s take: First off, I have to note that the question asked above isn’t ever actually answered. At one point, it seems clear what the first-year teacher intends to do—but events intercede. And despite the play’s consistent tone and level of energy throughout, it nevertheless left one asking, “Wait, what?” when it was over.
That sounds like an unsatisfying ending, and maybe it was a bit. Also, the show begins with someone rattling the doorknob on the theater’s fire exit to find it locked, which is frankly not something anyone wants to see in these theaters. But between that beginning and the ending, this is a very strong and well-acted show that’s very much worth a look.
Hip-Shot: ‘Cabaret Carousel’
Cabaret Carousel
At the Source
Remaining performances:
None!
They say: Blues and Broadway, Latin Jazz, Bohemian Pop and Bossa Nova, our rotating carousel of three cabaret evenings features soulful songs from DC’s Fringe finest: Sally Martin, Richard Tappen, Detra Battle, Stanley Webber, Cecilia Esquivel, Tara McCredie, Pam Ward, Dani Cortaza.
Sheffy says: Monday night is traditionally the night theaters go dark. At the Source, though, one Fringe light was shining for Cabaret Carousel—and that light seemed to attract all the Fringe fanatic moths. For those expecting an old fashioned concert with no skits, dancing, or story, the music did not disappoint. Here, carousel refers to the constantly rotating program from Blues to Bossa Nova to Broadway music over the nine-performance run—really three shows under one marquee. I attended on Broadway night and was treated to 21 numbers performed by talented vocalists Sally Martin, Tara McCredie, and Richard Tappen and accompanied by pianist Alex Tang.
Hip Shot: ‘The A Cappella Party’
The A Cappella Party
Warehouse – Mainstage
Remaining performances:
Wednesday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 25 at 4 p.m.
Sunday, July 26 at 12 p.m.
They say: Young lovers, Tony & Julie, get caught up in the competitive world of college a cappella. Both audition for Timbuktu University’s most prestigious (and rival) groups. Will the intense rivalry and hatred between the groups be enough to tear young love apart?
Aaron’s take: Before I begin, I should confess that I entered this show with my fair share of biases. I sang a cappella throughout my time in college — all five years of it. I have participated in the genre at its most orthodox and its most subversive. I have serenaded royalty and national television audiences, and I have performed sans sartorial constraint in front of — well, too many people to count.
The point is, I expected “The A Cappella Party” to strike a chord with me — or, more likely, to hit a nerve. And it did a little of each. It was a stroll down that grimy stretch of Memory Lane that you try to avoid past a certain hour but that still has its charms. All the old familiar places were there: the endless auditions where you pray for decent singers but secretly prefer the comically tone-deaf ones; the intra-group incest and its peculiar aftermath; and the age-old inter-group rivalries (though lacking in the one-sided hijinks to which I’m accustomed). Read the rest of this entry »
Hip Shot: ‘Not Your Granny’s Revolution’
Not Your Granny’s Revolution
Goethe Institut
Remaining Performances: Wednesday, July 22 at 6:15 pm. Thursday, July 23 at 8:00 pm.
They Say: A storytelling play created by Laura Zam (“A name to know”-The Washington Post) and ensemble cast. What does it mean to be a woman in today’s world? Five females find revolution in a Paris tryst, a royal beheading, and fighting AIDS.
Ann’s Take: Long ago when I was in college, my good friend began embracing the term “chick” as an appropriate way to describe a new generation of feminism. I think “chick” is a rather brilliant signifier, describing female-specific content that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Plus, this coinage reclaims the word from its more demeaning form (an activity socio-political-activist-types adore). So, at the risk of scaring off male audience members and pissing off old-guard feminists, I’ve decided Not Your Granny’s Revolution is a chick show—that is, a show about chicks who have moved past the sensitive diatribes and onto the self-aware humor of personal discovery.
Hip-Shot: ‘Goodbye Love, Goodbye Joy, Hello Travis McElroy’
Goodbye Love, Goodbye Joy, Hello Travis McElroy
The Shop @ Ft. Fringe
Remaining performances:
July 23 at 9:45 pm; July 25 at 11:30 am
They say: You make your living pretending to be someone you’re not. Goodbye, love. Everybody else’s entertainment is your job. Goodbye, joy. So is it possible to work in Hollywood without your life turning into a sitcom? Hello, Travis McElroy.
Sheffy says: Jellybeans?! When staging a play gushing with stereotypes, the blubbering young woman who just lost her boyfriend medicates with chocolate ice cream. Even I know that. And there is plenty of blubbering (and jellybeans) in a play about three female roommates in Hollywood fighting over clothes, movie gigs, and men (meow!). There’s Kelly (Kristen Egermeier), the beautiful self-centered actress who’ll do anything, or anyone, to get her big break; Jessica (Teresa Spencer) the out-of-work actress who doesn’t seem to understand how to play the game in Hollywood; and then there’s the sweet Linda (Megan Dominy) with the big heart, yet sans boyfriend.
Hip Shot: ‘Skywriter’
Skywriter
The Shop at Fort Fringe
Remaining performances: July 25 at 9 p.m.; July 26 at 4:45 p.m.
They say: Frank Fletcher has a tough job as a DC public school teacher. He also thinks he’s a superhero. When another teacher uncovers his secret identity, Fletcher weighs whether his alter ego is a force for good or a dangerous delusion.
Annie’s take: It is tough to come up with more frustrating realities than the state of public education in American inner cities. One such reality, however, might be a poor attempt at satire of this problem. Set in a middle school that struggles to make Annual Yearly Progress, Angry Young Theater Company’s Skywriter posits that it takes a superhero to uplift the minds of the degenerate urban youth whom the school is struggling to serve. While the play’s resolution congratulates the hard-working and inspirational teacher (as well as an earnest principal with a letter of resignation stewing in a desk drawer), its trite portrayal of how one class-skipping, bad-mouthing pest can achieve academic transformation at the hands of an English teacher wearing superhero spandex under his tweed blazer comes off as mildly offensive.
Hip Shot: ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Mountain at Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church
Remaining Performances:
Thursday, July 23 @ 8 p.m.
They say: “Four adventurers step through a wardrobe door and into Narnia, a frozen land enslaved by the White Witch. When almost all hope is lost, the return of the Great Lion, Aslan, signals a great change and sacrifice.”
Hilary’s take: I haven’t the patience for children’s productions.
Looking at the Fringe guide, I wondered how C.S. Lewis’ best known work could be condensed into 42 minutes. Well, the production was actually 30 minutes. And it felt long. But I’m about 15 years older than the target audience and I left my stunt children at home. With no ability to gauge the play’s success on my own, I inferred from the sporadic giggles behind me that the Adventure Theater production had achieved its goal: to entertain the kiddies.
Hip Shot: ‘Irish Authors Held Hostage’
Irish Authors Held Hostage
The Bodega at The Trading Post
Remaining Performances:
Saturday, July 25 @ 11 p.m.
Sunday, July 26 @ 2:15 p.m.
They say: “It’s back! The war on terror takes a hilarious turn as Irish authors from the ages are kidnapped by terrorists of every stripe. Expect no victims in this wicked romp that lampoons beloved writers and hated terrorists, or vice versa.”
Hilary’s take: Perhaps—given this show’s 2003 premiere at the Washington Theater Festival and its 2006 stint at the Warehouse Second Stage—it wouldn’t be fair to the newer, unvetted Fringe acts to hail J.T. Burian Theatricals’ IAHH as the most brilliant (in the ‘cross the pond exclamatory sense) production of 2009’s fest. But in an era held hostage by relics of Dubya’s terror-mongering, “fair” is so last century. Besides, Oscar Wilde (John Morogiello) had me at “I don’t care what you do to me so long as it’s BEAUUUUTIFUL!”
Hip Shot: ‘The Girls Inside’
The Girls Inside
Bodega
Remaining Performances:
Jul 19th 12 pm
Jul 25th 3:15 pm
They say: You didn’t even know we existed. But now? Now. You do. A new play that tells the spirited stories of four ‘juvie’ girls living on the inside
Suzyn’s take: “The Girls Inside,” Leayne C. Freeman’s new play about teenage girls in juvie, is memorable and exciting from the first moments as the four girls run around in darkness with flashlights, soon getting caught by the police. The much-maligned Bodega, with its stifling heat and peeling paint, is the perfect venue.
This is not so much a play as a 45-minute slam poem, and the directing—the best I’ve seen at the Fringe Festival this year—is more like choreography. There are snippets about the girls’ lives; one girl deals with the drug-addicted mother she adores, another was essentially made to sign adoption papers that she couldn’t read. But mostly there is a sort of anonymity to the characters that the girls play, which allows lines like “The world didn’t want us the first time, so why would it change its mind if we got out?” to speak for everyone.
