Corsets and Cuties – Harlots at Fringe

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The opening number alone makes this show worth the price of admission.The entire cast danced on stage in lavish Victorian attire as if at a party for Marie Antoinette. I was upset that number was over so fast. I only had the time to catch the MC, Lady Jaimz. But the cast gyrated and dances suggestively and the Corsets and Cuties were in their true top form. This burlesque company combines humor with their routines in unique and unexpected ways. Barbie Rhinestone started her routine off with sock puppets, but this was no kids fringe show.

Nicki Jax has a Cat Woman like way of moving that is fun to attempt to draw. My favorite routine for the night was set to the song, This is Me, written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Members of the cast wore t shirts that carried labels set by bullies. Nicki’s shirt had the unlikely title of UGLY. NERD, CUNT, BITCH, the words had little meaning as they sang their anthem. I had never heard the song before and I was moved. Now I need to see the film, The Greatest Showman. All of these men and woman are great showmen. they were born to sing dance and entertain. Granted there was some lip syncing but there are also some very strong voices in the cast.

Harlots strip away the surface fashions and bear all with humor and heart.

This Fringe show is in the black  venue which is in The Venue, 511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL 32803. Tickets are $12 along with a Fringe button which is need to get into any Fringe show. 

Remaining sow dates are:

11:59 PM 

10:30 PM

Taurus Faeces at Fringe

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In Taurus Faeces, Deanna Braunstein shared the gift of her mothers many stories in this solo show. These were tales of Life,  Love, truth and some crap. One daughter became a playwright and the other an actress proving that their mom passed along her love of theater and story telling. The title comes from the fact that mom didn’t like her kids to ever curse. Instead she insisted that they learn to curse in Latin and Bull Sh*t translates into Taurus Faeces.

The Red venue was crowded to overflowing so I  used my art stool and sat on the sidelines. Press has shown up in droves indication that there is a high interest in this years Fringe Festival. Reviews, commentary and an excited buzz have begun.

The most visual story involved mom learning that a child will create with poop if given the chance. She entered a room with poop speared walls, floors and even ceiling. Apparently there is a trick in tying a diaper which makes access to the creative substance impossible. She had to clean her child multiple times to erase the memory. However she didn’t learn her lesson because the incident was repeated. The compelling stories were related with emotional theatricality. Her mom’s every nuance was brought to life.

Deanna ended the show saying that everyone has a story to tell, and if you ever plan to have children you should talk to your elder relatives and learn their stories. Those stories will want to be heard someday by the generations to come. Listen, live, love and share.

Tickets to Taurus Faeces are $12. The show runs 60 minutes and is in the Red Venue on the second floor of the Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803. For ages 13 and up with some mild language.

Remaining show dates are:

Monday May 21, 2018 at 7:30pm

Thursday May 24, 2018 at 6:00pm

Saturday May 26, 2018 at 3:00pm

Sunday May 27, 2018 at 8:00pm

Along the Way at the Orlando Fringe Festival

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Mertz Productions, of Orlando, FL presents Along the Way at this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival. The musical takes a glimpse into the lives of 8 people and how they are intertwined through travel. Each of them travel for different reasons, but along the way, all are faced with the question of what spurs them towards adventure and what those journeys mean to them. An original story featuring popular and contemporary pop music. Featuring lovable characters, comedy, romance and some powerful singing.

Set in an airport, the stage is set when a flight is delayed. Passengers must pass the time resulting in new friendships and some romance. The airport janitor breaks into a dream sequence in which everyone has a mop to dance with. The stewardess checking passengers in at the gate was Michelle Knight who performed as Snow White in Disenchanted, a Fringe show that made it all the way to off Broadway in the Big Apple. She brought the same saucy delivery to this role creating a character who could face down the most distraught crowd of passengers. A one point she broke into song, and cut the scene short apologizing, saying, “I forgot we cut that one.”

A holistic healer fell for a business traveler, and serenades him with her Ukulele. A stewardess wife wants to get on the flight so she could be with her husband, the pilot, for their anniversary. Some numbers hit home with absolute delight and others were just stirred into the mix not yet forwarding the story or serving a purpose. There was some real singing talent in the cast. Overall however the show had me bobbing my head as I sketched, a pleasant way to spend 55 minutes at the Fringe.

10:00 PM

1:30 PM 

6:45 PM 

6:45 PM 

8:30 PM

Weekend Top 6 Fringe Picks for May 19th and 20th.

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Saturday May 19, 2018

1 p.m to 2 p.m.  $12 plus a Fringe button. For Love, Sir: Letters of Life, Love, and Sacrifice. Bent Book Productions. Red Venue, upstairs in the Orlando Shakes 812 E. Rollins St Orlando, Florida 32803. Ages 13 and up. “For Love, Sir” is a
beautiful and poignant play following the lives of three service
members and their families as they experience the hardships and
lifestyle of active duty. This story is told through the medium of real
letters either written by or inspired by real soldiers and their
families over the course of American History.

2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. $12 plus a Fringe button. Taurus Faeces. Deanna Braunstein. Red Venue, upstairs in the Orlando Shakes 812 E. Rollins St Orlando, Florida 32803. Ages 13 and up. We all accumulate tales and experiences that follow us to the very end.
In “Taurus Faeces,” Deanna Braunstein unpacks the gift of a lifetime of
stories and memories left by her mother, a fiery word slinger. Deanna
brings to life her mother’s literary voice and skewed sense of humor,
telling tales of life and love, truth and…Taurus Faeces.

11:59 p.m. to 12:59 p.m. $12 plus a Fringe button. Corsets and Cuties – Harlots. Corsets and Cuties, LLC. Black Venue 511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL 32803. Ages 18 +. Sponsored by Premier Couples Superstore, Corsets & Cuties – A
Burlesque Cabaret returns for another scantily clad romp through the
Orlando Fringe! Voted 2 years running among the best of burlesque in
Orlando, there’s something for everyone in this show. Come visit the
Black venue and see why patrons say these Harlots are among their
favorites at Fringe!



Sunday May 20, 2018 

 Noon.  $12 plus a Fringe button. In Tandem. The Explore Composite. Blue Venue in the Shakes 812 E. Rollins St Orlando, Florida 32803. Ages 7 and up. What would you give for an escape? For freedom? For complete liberty?
Inspired by the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, The Explore Composite
examines the complexities of humanity and how we came to develop the
relationships we have today. What bonds us? What drives us apart? How
far would we go to protect the ones that we love?

1:45 p.m.to 2:45 p.m. $10 plus a Fringe button. LUNA. Ana Cuellar. Pink Venue in the Shakes 812 E. Rollins St Orlando, Florida 32803. Ages 7 and up. Join Ana Cuellar, a Cirque du Soleil artist, who brings us 8
internationally acclaimed dances to Fringe this year through her
creation of LUNA. Come and let LUNA’s emotional forces draw you in to
experience her creative spirit channeled through the movement of dance.
Featuring Cirque and top professional performers. Let LUNA light up your life!

9 p.m. to 9:50 p.m. $12 plus a Fringe button. AQUAdance. Voci Dance. SITE-SPECIFIC The Aqua Venue, 1314 Chiester Street. Orlando, FL 32803 a few blocks north of Lock Haven Park. All ages. Dive into the waterful world of AQUAdance, the first water ballet in the
history of the Orlando Fringe! Inspired by Esther Williams’ classic
aqua-musicals, Voci Dance presents a unique blend of modern dance and
synchronized swimming. At an off-site venue with a pool and bar only 1
mile from the beer tent. Brought to you by the award-winning company
behind 2016’s Paint Chips (Orlando Sentinel ‘Best of the Fest,’ Orlando
Weekly ‘Best of Orlando’).

F*ckboys: The Musical

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F*ckboys: The Musical written by Savannah Pedersen is so far my favorite show that I have seen at Fringe this year. Presented by Infinite Productions, founded by Kayla Lopez and Savannah Pedersen, of Orlando, FL, this musical took me by surprise. The title had me thinking that I might be walking into a flashy cross dressing cabaret. Instead I got to meet some very real women with very real issues and concerns. These women meet at a local bar for karaoke night. One loves to sing and the others drink and commiserate. Their goal as stated in the opening number is to educate the audience about F*ckboys who are clearly a roadblock to any single girls peace of mind.

You know them. You love them. You love to hate them. Whatever the case
may be, you’ve probably run into a F*ckboy at some point in your life.
This is a haphazard guide to navigating the dating scene as told through
the eyes of a bunch of twenty-somethings. A musical extravaganza you
won’t want to miss. In a musical number about the history of F*ckboys, Shakespeare is roasted. “Billy Shakes referred to women as strumpets. If I hear another high
school freshman rave about how her relationship is JUST like Romeo and
Juliet because she thinks that that is an accurate depiction of romance,
I’m gonna go back in time and murder him myself. Also, he just looks
like an asshole. Classic f*ckboy.”

This show has just the right balance of real world difficulties mixed with humor. You learn to love and care about each character in turn as you learn about their strengths and weaknesses. Boys throw weak pick up lines at them like wet noodles. When one new man enters the bar everything freezes as the women size him up and come to the conclusion that he might not be a F*ckboy. Sure enough he talks one woman through her difficult break up without hitting on her when  she is down.

Woman 3, (Meghan Mitchell) was a corporate competitor whose career was skyrocketing.
She can rock a Power Pantsuit like nobody’s business. If she doesn’t
become the next Oprah by the time she’s 30, she would consider herself a
failure. She seemed to have it all in check but even she go sideswiped by romance.

The songs are well  written and the show moves at a lively pace. The fourth wall is broken to hilarious effect. Very serious life choices have to be made and in the end they band together singing that they are strong as long as they have each other. If you know a single 20 something, they need to see this show. Hell, I’m a 50 something and I loved every minute.

F*ckboys is in the Green Venue inside the Orlando Repertory Theater 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803. Tickets are $12 plus a Fringe button which is needed for every venue.

May 17 8:45PM
May 19 11:00PM
May 22 11:30PM
May 24 9:15PM
May 27 10:45PM

For Love Sir: Letters of Life, Love, and Sacrifice

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Mikael A. Duffy of Bent Book Productions wrote For Love Sir: Letters of Life, Love, and Sacrifice and she invited me to a rehearsal at Dragonfly Studio and Productions, (133 W McKey St, Ocoee, FL 3476.) This Fringe Production was built around real letters home from service men and women.  “For Love, Sir” is a beautiful and poignant piece following the lives of
three service members and their families as they experience the
hardships and lifestyle of active duty. This story is inspired by real soldiers
and their families over the course of American History.

Two young lovers have to separate as he goes off to service, a mother has to leave her daughter behind and a son leaves his loving mother. Their stories unfold as they write home. Ideals turn to the gritty reality of the senseless violence to the point where the son can no longer write the truth of his new reality. Though staged in modern day fatigues and uniforms, the language has the romantic flair that existed when people wrote letters rather than 140 character tweets. Only at the end of the play does it become clear that these letters were written during the civil war, World War I and Vietnam. It became clear that the overriding themes of love and loss never change with time. The sacrifices remain the same.

When the mother and daughter tearfully ran towards each other to be reunited, a chair got in their way and they couldn’t decide which way to get around the obstacle to embrace. It was a funny but very real accident of staging that I hope remains in the final run through. Being an early rehearsal there were a few kinks yet to be worked out. But it was was very clear that this production has heart.

Tickets are $12 along with the purchase of a Fringe button which is needed to get in any play during this 13 day festival that runs from May 15th to May 28th. For Love Sir: Letters of Life, Love, and Sacrifice is in the Red Venue inside the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (812 East Rollins Street
Suite 300 Orlando, FL 32803).

The remaining show dates are:

1:00 PM 

8:00 PM 

8:00 PM 

8:45 PM 

6:30 PM

Do you Fringe? If so, I will see you on the Loch Haven park Lawn of Fabulousness. Let me know which shows I absolutely HAVE to sketch.

LUNA

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Ana Cuellar, a Cirque du Soleil artist, brings  8
internationally acclaimed dances to Fringe this year through her
creation of LUNA. The show’s emotional forces draw you in to
experience her creative spirit channeled through the movement of dance.
Featuring Cirque and top professional performers.

A young woman sat at a desk writing in her journal with a large feather pen. As he wrote, different performers came on stage performing dances that expressed the various sides of her personality. IF she took a step back so would the dancer. Performers expressed passion, yearning and some amazing acts of balance and dexterity. What the write imagined, came to life. One performer did amazing things with close to a dozen hula hoops.

On particularly strong piece featured spoken word that was about overcoming a lifetime of bullying. The performers realized their inner beauty despite the history of abuse. Megan Crawford, a local dancer sailed light as a feather in her muscular partners arms. The powerful spoken word and the graceful dancing was truly moving. Another couple danced a flamenco inspired dance with romantic flair. I give the show 8 out of 10 hula hoops.

LUNA is in the Pink Venue. Tickets are $10 plus a Fringe button which is needed to get into any show.

Show times are:

Friday, May 18, 2018 5:30 PM

3:00 PM 

1:45 PM 

8:45 PM 

5:30 PM 

1:30 PM 

7:00 PM

Unloading Pulse Memorial Items at Off-Site

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After clearing memorial items away from the Pulse Nightclub,we drove to the onePULSE Foundation storage facility. While all the staff and Barbara Poma went upstairs to the air conditioned storage facility, I remained behind with the truck in the entrance bay. Call me paranoid but I didn’t want to leave the truck unattended. In Parkland, Florida where 17 students and faculty were killed in a mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, there was a memorial set up outside the high school with thousands of flowers, banners, teddy bears, and pin wheels. A drunk and disorderly couple were seen by a witness taking items from the memorials of the Parkland shooting victims and putting them in their truck.

A witnesses said they saw 37-year-old Michael Shawn Kennedy and
40-year-old Kara O’Neil taking items from a fence outside the High School. When police arrived they found the items in the couple’s car. A deputy also saw Kennedy placing a box of pinwheels in the vehicle. They claimed they were going to set up their own memorial. One deputy noted that Kennedy said, “I ripped down the anti-gun banner because I am pro-gun.”

According to the incident report, these items from the memorial were
found in their car: a Parkland athletics trophy, a shadowbox with photos
of the 17 victims, 17 white metal angel pennants, dedication plaques
that say “The Mighty Seventeen” and “MSD Parkland Strong”, 3 white teddy
bears, an anti-gun banner, 25 pinwheel lawn ornaments some with the
victims’ names, American flags, and a red stone that says “Never Again.” It is hard to imagine what was going through their drunken heads.

After leaving the onePULSE Foundation facility, the Orange County Regional History Center staff went to the off site facility for their museum collection. After Hurricane Irma, that storage facility suffered damage when an air conditioning hatch blew off and gouged multiple holes in the warehouse roofing. Water soaked drop-ceiling insulation and tile panels, until they were so heavy that they crashed down exploding on the concrete floor like bombs.  All of the inside walls in the warehouse had to be replaced to keep the historic items from being over run with black mold. Dehumidifiers ran for weeks to suck moisture from the air. Pulse memorial items still on the floor were once again subjected to water, but a heroic effort was made to dry and restore everything and not a single item was lost.  The new Pulse memorial items were paced on palettes. With the two year exhibit opening on June 2, some of these memorial items might end up on display, which will be up much longer that the 7 days that the One Year Later exhibit was open last year. That exhibit had to come down to make way for a wedding reception. This year’s exhibition will focus on the new stories the History Center has learned and on what has changed for Orlando since last year.

AquaDance Fundraiser

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Genevieve Bernard of Voci Dance has always wanted to choreograph a water ballet. A week before the Orlando International Fringe Festival got underway, she held a fundraiser for her show titled AQUADance. The audience sat in lawn chairs on the back patio. Pam and I ended up sitting in a cactus garden in the corner of the pool enclosure. My hope was to sketch some of the audience as well as the dancers. Neighbors stopped by and brought along their lawn chairs because more people showed up that expected. A wind blew down the screen set up house left which acted as the dancers green room where they could dry of between sets. A Swam and large flamingo float acted as the background set.

AQUADance is the perfect Fringe show. It is sufficiently retro and weird while being absolutely adorable. Dancers came out wearing floral pink swimming caps while holding pink balls that they moved in undulating patterns. They all jumped in the pol gracefully and then began a Busby Berkely inspired number with kaleidoscopic patterns created as the dancers circled one and spun. When it came time to dis guard the balls they were thrown into the cactus garden where we sat.

Dancer Sarah Lockard was smiling ear to ear the whole time. Each dancer’s unique characteristics came out at various times in the show. It was clear that despite the hard work they all were having a great time. Genevieve shed a tear because she was so happy to see her dream of a Fringe Water Ballet finally become a reality. The most funny routine came when all the dancers became flamingos by holding a hand over their heads that was moved like a flamingos head. The dancers moves in distinct and quirky bird like ways, strutting and moving like a regal flock. Their facial expressions, with wide eyes and pursed lips had me laughing out loud.

This production first water ballet in the history of the Orlando Fringe! Inspired by
Esther Williams‘ classic aqua-musicals, Voci Dance presents a unique
blend of modern dance and synchronized swimming. At an off-site venue
with a pool and bar only 1 mile from the beer tent. The hand crafted bar has been in more shows than many actors. I had a coconut rum pineapple flavored tropical drink with an umbrella and I could have sipped that drink all night.

Brought to you by
the award-winning company behind 2016’s Paint Chips (Orlando Sentinel
‘Best of the Fest,’ Orlando Weekly ‘Best of Orlando’). It will be staged at Al’s home (The Aqua Venue 1314 Chichester Street Orlando, FL 32803) a few blocks north from the green lawn of faboulousness. Trust me this unique show will be worth the trek.

The show is 50 minutes and Tickets are $12 along with a Fringe button which is needed to get into any show.

9:00 PM

7:30 PM

9:30 PM 

9:00 PM 

11:00 PM 

8:00 PM 

10:00 PM

KNPR Radio Interview in Las Vegas

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Pam Schwartz and I took a trip to Las Vegas where she was attending a National Council on Public History conference. This scheduling coincidence brought memorial experts to Las Vegas as their museums are continuing to collect and catalogued the items of remembrance that people left after the October 1, 2017 shooting that took 58 lives and had over 500 injured treated at area hospitals. With breakout segments like  “Documenting Resilience: Condolence
Collection Projects in the Wake of Violence,” the national gathering of
academics plans to discuss how communities such as Orlando, Newtown, Connecticut, and Isla Vista, California responded to mass casualty trauma.

KNPR Radio interviewed a panel of individuals who have had to collect in the wake of tragedy. Melissa Barthelemy is a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara who worked on efforts there. Pam Schwartz is chief curator of the Orange County Regional
History Center in Orlando, Florida and created and led the effort to manage the collection of items left at the scene of
the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. Cynthia Sanford is the registrar at the Clark County Museum. She is
heading up the effort to collect and catalog many of the items left at some of the
memorials in Las Vegas.

I sketched as the three fielded questions. Producer Doug Puppel set the tone of the interview. Barthelemy said the collection, archiving and exhibition of items from pop-up memorials are a new area of history research. These
kinds of memorials really only started to appear in the last few
decades. She said people point to the many impromptu memorials left
in the wake of Princess Diana’s death as a contributor to the rise of
spontaneous memorials. The fact that these mass memorials are visible on TV and social media contribute to the rise in items left in the wake of tragedy.

Schwartz said not every community is impacted the same way by a mass
casualty event and therefore not every community reacts in the same way. Those differences change what is collected and how it is exhibited. “The
biggest thing for people to understand, especially people who have not
been through a similar sort of situation, is that one size doesn’t fit
all,” she said. The focus of any exhibition should be on what will help the community with its healing process.

Sanford explained that her museum already has between 15,000 and 20,000 artifacts from the memorials. “Our
role as a museum is to preserve the history of Southern Nevada,” she
said, “Unfortunately, this event is now part of our history.” She
said the museum is planning an exhibit for the one year anniversary of
the shooting, but there is not a plan for a permanent home for the
items. 5,000 items have been catalogued so far. 50 years from now, 100 years from now those items will be in storage. Every item you work on is someone’s story. Sometimes when you get home, that is when it hits you. The three interviewees all explained that they are honored to be able to collect these events for their communities. You have to find a way to get through it.