FRINGE: Your Camp, Mein Kemp: The Musical Political Satire

Your Camp, Mein Kemp, The Musical Political Satire is a Rrump era musical. The youth of America are indoctrinated into detention camps that promote Friendships, sing alongs, crafts, and dystopian MAGA re-education.

Vulva Va-Voom and Shane Mayforth who created the show, played the camp counselors. Vulvain her green tee shirt, was a former lesbian and she had to educate the children on straight binary male female roles. Her and another counselor could not change the camp system themselves but she felt they were doing good as long as they reported about that was happening in the camps to the outside world.

A large poster showed the moment the play acting began with Rump pretending to be shot in the ear my an assassin’s bullet. The theatrics needed were garnered from WWE wresting. Secret service acted as side players who gave the candidate a moment to raise a fist rather than keep him safe.

Polio has made a comeback among children thanks to the anti science rhetoric.  A small puppet played the part of a child camper who ends up in a polio pressure chamber to try and save his life. In a dance number two dancers were behind one another and they bent their arms at the elbows to create a swastika. A camp sign to the Eagles nest refereed to Hitlers Swiss mountain top retreat.

The original lyrics sometimes built around existing show tunes were a strong way to showcase the hypocrisy and chaos of modern MAGA times. No one was safe unless they towed the line and parroted the party lines.  The fact that dark political fascist intentions have crept into a Fringe musical are a clear sign that all Americans need to wake up to the horrors that are soon to follow.

FRINGE: Improv Erotica

Molly M. Brinkman from Vancouver, British Columbia presented Improv Erotica in the silver venue. Some erotic romance novels were scattered on the stage. She had a comfy 1960s era lounge chair but she only sat down for a brief moment.

Before the show audience prompts had been collected which would inspire her erotic fantasies. Unfortunately her production manager had not arrived from Vancouver yet and Molly didn’t use many of the prompts.

Molly had an amazing ability to build an erotic story in just moments. The star crossed lovers would be drawn to one another unable to resist a magnetic force that pulled them together. Each story had a conflict or misunderstanding then a glorious climax.

To build another story, romance novel covers were projected on the theater screen in quick succession and the audience was asked to shout out when they wanted to stop on a title. I love listening to stories about visceral animal heat, and Molly had a real talent for quickly tying together passionate tales. In other FRINGE shows she empowered women with Woman’s Guide to Peeing, My Body of Work, and Pack Animals. If you are looking for some hot literary entertainment, then Molly Brinkman’s Improv Erotica could fire up the loins.

FRINGE: Cult Classic, A New Musical

Cult Classic: A New Musical is in the Pink Venue at the FRINGE. A young daughter took over a struggling video store after her father died. The store carries classic films but can not keep up with the demand for recent block buster releases.

When one of her staff is tasked with restocking recent releases he instead brings in obscure independent films he feels the people should be watching.

When an enthusiastic Jehovah’s witness enters the store looking for a christian film, the idea is hatched to turn the video store into a place of movie worship thus evading having to pay taxes.

Staff start wearing black hooded robes and skulls appear on the shelves along with candles.

A representative from Blockbuster Superstore hears of the small video store’s financial troubles and he swoops in to buy up the struggling store. He finds himself a potential sacrifice to the new cult.

The music in this production has promise and the premise is reminiscent of one of my favorite musicals, Little Shop of Horrors. I would actually love to see this idea fleshed out further to make a full length play. It has so much potential. The quite neighborhood Video store spirals into chaos.

Tickets are $15 with a FRINGE button. Remaining show times are May 23, 6:45pm, and Sunday May 25, 3:55pm.

FRINGE: Giselle’s Florence Silver Foster Jenkins Schuberlade Review

Giselle’s Florence Silver Foster Jenkins Schuberlade Review was a strange tribute to the infamous soprano Florence Foster Jenkins. The young singer Giselle Bellas had a really good voice but she expressed her doubts while getting encouragement from the disembodied spirit of Florence Silver Foster Jenkins. The spirit of Florence would be projected on the screen as an undulating light form.

Various acts such as dance and other solo singers would perform and I became confused as to how it all was meant to tie together. Perhaps the chaos was the point.

This was the very first FRINGE show I saw and it was very fringe.

The show centered around a single recorded performance by Florence in which she was absolutely tone deaf. Critics of the time thought the performance was a prank. She was described as having great difficulty with such basic vocal skills as pitch, rhythm, and sustaining notes and phrases. Her performance was so bad that it added up to quite a good evening of theater. The young singer laughed at the recording and then Florence scolded the young singer for her callousness. Despite the tiff, the spirit of Florence was always encouraging the the talent of the aspiring Opera singer. There was so much talent on the stage, but the overall impression was scattershot.

Tickets to Giselle’s Florence Silver Foster Jenkins Schuberlade Review in the Pink Venue are $15 with a FRINGE button.

Remaining show times are: Wednesday May 21, 8pm, and Saturday May 24, 5:10pm.

FRINGE: Breakup Variety Hour

The Breakup Variety Hour was a solo show themed around a six point recovery program after a hard breakup. Ariana and the rose had some rather hilarious accounts of her experiences dating followed by some incredible singing. She reminded me of Lady Gaga, just with bad audio.

The lyrics to the songs she sang however I could not make out. The volume was up so high in the venue that the speakers buzzed and vibrated making the acoustics garbled.

Ariana with a red rode pinned to her right breast, had a great singing voice but it got lost in some horrible volume levels. Hopefully tech will resolve this issue before the full run of the show.

Tickets are $10 with a Fringe button. Show times: Sunday, May 18, 3:35pm, Wednesday May 21, 9:50pm, Friday May 23, 7:45pm, Saturday May 24, 11:05pm, Sunday, May 24, 4:05pm.

Fringe: Liquid Sunshine

My favorite FRINGE show so far has been Liquid Sunshine featuring Internationally known local singer-songwriter Zelda Grey.

She was quietly strumming her guitar and singing as the audience made it’s way into the Brown Venue. Zelda has a way of acknowledging every person in the room so that you feel like she is singing just for you.

Her song, “I’m not playing by Your Rules” felt like an anthem for living life with absolute honesty on your own terms.

After finishing the sketch, I decided to put the sketchbook aside and lean forward and listen intently. I hung on every word. She music spoke to me in a way I didn’t expect, mesmerizing me. Her acoustic music has a way of seeping deep into your soul.

This small little venue is the perfect space to experience her music since the intimate room allows for a chance to escape the noise of life and focus on her words. Her final song, “10,000 Tiny Birds” was written while she was alone in the woods. She allows herself to feel deeply and that shines through in every song she sings. This humble folk singer is my FRINGE Crush for 2025.

Fringe: Get a Clue, A Murder Mystery Who Dunnit Stage Combat Extravaganza

At the Orlando International Fringe Festival some venues are not inside a theater. This show put on by Live Action Novelty Combat Entertainment (LANCE) takes place between the Orlando Science Center and Princeton Street.

Most of the audience was seated to my left. One man shouted out to me, “Are you doing a courtroom sketch of the performance?” I shouted back, “Yes, You all are the jury.”

In the show, a corrupt businessman is murdered along with two others. The narrator set the scene for the audience. As she spoke, 3 members of the cast dropped to the ground. Then she said, would you kindly move to where you actually died? All three got up and moved to a new spot.

The premise of the show is that the murders are recreated using objects that are set about the stage. There is plenty of staged fighting and murder. Once the scene was complete and the three actors lay in their spots, one would lean up and point out that the murder as described was completely wrong.

The whole scene would be reset and the scene would be replayed with a new villainous soul committing the murders. At times the stage fighting was quite unnerving with loud hits and narrow misses. The emotional impacts were helped by cast gasping and reacting in horror.

But the end of the show it had started to drizzle. I put away my unfinished sketch and popped my umbrella. If afternoon rains persist, the number of shows might be impacted.

Show times are:

Saturday May 17, 6pm, May 17, 8:30pm, Sunday May 18, 6pm, May 18, 8:30pm, Saturday May 24, 6pm, May 24, 8:30pm, Sunday May 25, 8:30pm.

The show is 45 minutes and tickets are $8 along with a FRINGE button. You need to be prepared to witness plenty of violence.

Orlando Fringe: Danny Feedback to the Future

The Orlando International Fringe Show, Danny Feedback to the Future was unexpected. I think the premise was that Marty and the Doc from Back to the Future are playing guitar and at one point Dick Tracy performed on the drums.

An interactive component of the show consisted of passing out tiny vials that contained a scent. Since I was sketching I never picked up a vial. Besides I was wearing my trusty N95 mask, so that last thing I needed was to removed the mask to take a big whiff of community breath.

At one point doc was stripped down to his drawers. I am not sure why. The Feedback in the title refereed to a shrieking guitar performance where lots of foot pedals on the floor amplified the guitar feedback.

I think the show was part comedy. The audience definitely wanted to laugh. I am not sure what I experienced. It was certainly an unexpected assault on the senses. So, Back to the Future is a great movie, definitely worth seeing again.

I didn’t sketch the Fringe Awards ceremony since I am crunching on next season’s theater poster art for the Shakes, but I am so happy to see so many of the vibrant talented artists I got to sketch winning awards. Fringe is a wrap.

Orlando Fringe: Eleanore’s Story, Life After the War

Ingrid Garner is such a dynamic force as a story teller. Actually she is more than a storyteller, she is a cast of thousands.

Eleanore’s Story: Life After the War follows a show I got to experience and sketch back in 2018. In that show we followed the life of an American family who were stuck in Germany as World War II broke out because one member could not return to America.

In this sequel we got to feel the relief as the family prepared to get out of the largely leveled Berlin which had been carpet bombed into oblivion. Somehow every member of the family had survived.

However the United States would not pay for Eleanore’s mom to return. The family agonized but her mom insisted they go and she would find a way out later.

The steamer trunk was packed and the family left with mom still in Berlin. The view of the statue of Liberty brought tears to the eyes of every one. Americans were so different that the Germans they left behind. They were well fed and moved with drive an purpose.

In the American high school the bell announcing the change of classes reminded the young girl of bomb warning sirens. Flashbacks happened in quick succession. I might have drawn Ingrid in a quiet moment as she face the audience but se was in constant motion, reenacting every horror and joy.  A kiss from an American boy brought back a memory of Soviet soldiers kicking in the front door and making themselves at home. Every woman knew what would happen. Eleanore tried to avoid the possibility by looking sickly. Her mother on the other hand, took pride in her beauty. When the inevitable moment came her mother shouted that they were all Americans. Amazingly the threat of raping American allies, diffused the situation.

The show is based on a published memoir by her grandmother. I really want to read it now to learn more.

Orlando Fringe: The Estate Sale

The Orlando Fringe pre-show for The Estate Sale was pure genius. Kelly Dee had several folding tables set up with estate sale items for sale. Everything was for sale and people purchased items on mass. Genevieve seated in front of me had purchased more items than she knew how to carry.

This one woman show covered 40 years working with her mother in estate sales. Kelly left Central Florida multiple times to go to the big cities like New York and LA, but she kept getting drawn back.

Oh, and if you are wondering what she is holding in my sketch, that is an item everyone would want if they knew it existed. It is a beautifully carved dildo with an inlay  sculpture of Jesus Christ up the shaft. Lets face it every bed stand needs one.

I loved the big ceramic Owl lamp base. The home-studio I am renting has an owl sculpture on a garden wall in the front yard and it would be nice to be further surrounded by owls. I heard one the other night hooting from across the lake. I think it was hooping at the planes flying overhead.

As they say, one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure and Kelly shared her love and life lessons in this hilarious one woman show. I wish I could promote the show, but The Estate Sale has cum and gone. If you do happen to see a Jesus dildo at an estate sale, do let me know. I might be starting a collection. I give The Estate Sale 4 Big Jesus Dildos.