Writer: Ernest Kearney
Jacaranda Presents the Concert Premiere of ARKHIPOV
In Cicero’s ancient admonition of the dire consequences which great power imperils, the sword dangling above Damocles is suspended by a single strand of horsehair.
In Arkhipov we are shown, that lacking the support of even the thinnest thread, salvation must depend on a single heart beat.
Smile
Osborne has provided each of her characters with their own thread, but all these are mere snippets, incapable of guiding the audience to an understandable conclusion, and so thin as to slip out of sight through the floorboards.
Crude
Doctor Zomba’s Ghost Show, David Lucarelli’s loopy homage to late night television horror hosts, was plainly rooted in his appreciation for the hi-jinks of Jeepers Creepers, Elvira and others.
Lucarelli reveals himself as a dedicated “Metalhead” with his new production, Crude.
Animal Farm
This is an appreciatively fine production of superb stagecraft and plain merit who’s only failing can be described as having stayed too stringently within the lines of the original material.
A Terrible Show for Terrible People
I am a self-confessed sucker for good clowning and Bonnie He offers that up. Better still she offers up “nasty” good clowning!
Ayano
Versteeg, who also wrote the play, manages to convey Cooper’s slow unraveling succinctly and with great sympathy while capturing both Cooper’s physicality and performance persona to perfection.
Valley Song
Fugard’s plays are celebrated, and justly so, because they awoke in audiences worldwide a righteous indignation over a government’s cruel and unjust maltreatment of an entire people.
In Valley Song, there is no cause for indignation, only an appeal for acceptance
CAMP GINGER
Though told with both sweetness and sincerity, the tale itself is one in which we are all very familiar, by now. However, while the tale may not be that exceptional, the teller most certainly is.
Blood Pig
I’m not sure if Playwright Devin Arnold has watched a little too much League of Gentlemen or not anywhere near enough. He may not even have a clue what I’m talking about should he read this —…
Mr. Malcolm’s Music Factory
Ritchey’s show is a clever conceit that combines an education to the basic elements of musical composition, an introduction to the global musical styles and most important of all the value and potency of music for smoothing a troubled mind. Even if that troubled mind belongs to a six-year-old.
BREED OR BUST
This seems to me Raven’s greatest strength: that her forthright and direct approach to story-telling, with its heightened sense of honesty and effortless infusion of humor creates a sense of intimacy with an audience.
The Undiscovered Country: A Skeptic’s Guide to the Afterlife
Larry Davidson’s show about his near death experience is best when he drops the excess and is just just himself….
Camp Ginger: An Original Musical
Protean faced Steve Trzaska shows a flair for performing and a talent for characterization that is perfectly prodigious to behold.
Dying for Our Voices
I believe that Raven Kras who wrote and directed this work is sincere in her passion for this cause, but she needs to pull her ego out of this enterprise. She needs to engage and exploit the talents and abilities of others if she truly wants this effort to succeed.
DI Lady DI
Within the constraint of a single hour Munson takes us through Diana, Princess of Wales’ whole twisted history of a fairy tale gone horribly wrong….
THE TANNER
Alex McSherry takes his clue from Historian John Keegan’s classic work The Face of Battle, in his rousing narration of the battles of William Wallace (Braveheart) …
Vincerò – The Italian Opera Experience on the Fringe!
Germán Gholami, Diana Silova, Asuka Uchida and Natalja Sticco are the real deal, and frankly I cannot remember when I’ve heard such stunningly powerful singers on a stage the size of the McCadden Theatre.
Cassandra
Cassandra has a good deal going for it. The notion of creating a musical about the tragic heroine of Greek myth Cassandra employing the music of Patti Smith is immediately intriguing.
Too Big For Her Britches
Pezik’s transitions from character to character are dynamically delineated facilitating both the dramatic and comedic aspects of her story.
Call Me Elizabeth
The production, directed by Erin Kraft is exceedingly well mounted, and Boye captures Taylor to perfection.