The problem — and it gets to be a big one, after the first hour — is that those choruses, in true “The Song That Goes Like This” fashion, tend to consist of a given song’s title, repeated and repeated and repeated. That’s a good way to pump up a song’s earworm potential, certainly (you’re not gonna forget that “Across the Bay” refrain anytime soon, pal), but it serves to makes Hyndman’s songwriting seem flatter, thinner, than his agreeable melodies would indicate.

Still. I don’t know if it was her glitz-tastic club shirt or the result of a play-dream (which occurs when brains clock out mid-performance due to boredom), but I think Oktem’s capable of more than she lets on. Perhaps by next Fringe she’ll have gathered enough constructive criticism and convincing self-confidence for something bigger and better than this Elephant.

You think you’ve seen “the Fringiest” show? A Tactile Dinner is off the map (actually, it’s literally off the Fringe map, and there are no signs outside to help identify the building, so make sure you write down the address). This is no show, it is an experience, and one I exhort you not to miss.

November 4, 2008, was historic. African-American voters turned out in record numbers to elect Barack Obama. In California, that record black vote has been blamed for ensuring passage of Prop 8, where 7 in 10 blacks voted in favor of a measure that bans gay marriage. While both the black community and gay community have struggled for their civil rights, traditionally the two have not gotten along. So what if you’re both black and gay? Chances are “Beyond Dark Corners” is not just a metaphor for you.

Okay. One of the great things about Fringe is the way it gives artists a chance to perform before audiences they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Let’s not forget that allowing less-than-seasoned performers, directors and writers a chance to ditch the floaties and test themselves in open water is a Really Big Deal.

Self-Service
Warehouse-Next Door
Remaining Performances:
July 12th at 7 pm, July 18th at 9:30 pm, July 22nd at 8 pm, and July 25th at 7 pm
They say: “Like sugar in Carolina iced tea, Sheldon sprinkles a lot of comedy into his tale of a precious rural Southern boy, ‘sissified but dignified’ who transforms to an urban man looking [...]

At the center of this play is a family drama involving infidelity, both physical and intellectual. The marriage between two college professors hits a rough patch; while she’s in Gender Studies at Yale, he had to take a teaching job at a nearby inferior school and is perceived as an academic failure. The wife (who was inaudibly quiet, unfortunately, save for a pivotal midnight outburst) is uncompromising in her extremism and morally blind to alternative views—not to mention selfishly unaware of her husband’s sacrifices. As her husband searches for authenticity, she accuses him of losing his soul. In the world of identity politics, a sex affair is not grounds for divorce, but changing your political beliefs is.

It’s Not Easy Being Green
Redrum at Fort Fringe
Remaining Performances:
Saturday, July 11 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, July 18 at 10 pm.
Wednesday, July 22 at 7 p.m.
Friday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m.
They say: “Lock five playwrights in oversized compost bins, and demand plays about the expanding ‘green’ movement. What do you get? Mountains of compost, five smelly playwrights, [...]

An unconscionably bad reporter interviews a scientist who’s created a Large Hadron Collider that will soon bring about the end of the world as we know it (and yes, they do quote R.E.M.). For reasons unknown to the characters or the audience, this Prometheus fellow enters, spewing pompous drivel that induces his companions to scream and do push-ups and run circles around him backwards. Finally, the universe comes to a merciful end, and we’re treated to an inexplicable dance number.

It might sound as if we’re in unreliable narrator territory here, but that’s not a game that playwright Leonard Nimoy (I KNOW, right?) seems much interested in playing. No, we’re meant to see Theo’s passionate protestations as straightforward testaments to just how much he loved his brother. After a while, you might find yourself hankering for things to get a bit more juicy, a bit more shaded with unspoken meaning, but Stanley’s performance is so grounded and sincere you can’t help but take the guy at his word.