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

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

Titus and Andronicus Holiday Special at Fringe.

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Titus Andronicus is Shakespeare‘s bloodiest play. I had never seen the play but that didn’t stop me from seeing the Fringe Holiday Special based on the be headings and mutilations. Knowing nothing about the Shakespeare play was a definite drawback. I was quite honestly lost for most of the production. I sketched as the barest of set pieces were being assembled. Producer Albert Pergande whacked someone with a pole as they were setting up the makeshift fireplace. This sort of real life slapstick was also to be found in the play as several puppets with Beavis and Butthead voices raped and dismembered a female puppet. There were moments of laughter, but I suspect they came mostly from audience members who appreciated the references to the Shakespeare play.

An applause sign hinted at the desired audience response. Bloodshed was combined with Christmas Carols, but I’m not sure why. The production was so Fringe that I didn’t know what to make of it. I was happy for the opportunity to sketch people wearing togas. Now that Fringe is over, I kind of miss seeing people wearing sheets in public.

Commencement at Fringe.

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Commencement written by Clay McLeod Chapman was brought to this years Orlando International Fringe Festival by Beth Marshall Presents. Beth had wanted to bring the play to past Fringe Festivals, but it was never picked in the lottery.

The play began with the mother of the shooter (Beth Marshall) seated on stage among the ephemera of youth in the children’s wing of a hospital. A teddy bear leaned innocently against a plastic crate filled with toys. A jack-in-the-box sat on a small table next to her as she spoke. She recounted the tale of her son swallowing marbles to win the favor of a popular student. He nearly choked to death but his esophagus closed up forcing him to stop. It became clear that her son had been picked on his whole life. Beth was clearly emotionally shaken and on the verge of breaking down at any moment. She said she was sequestered away from the other moms, unable to share in their grief.

The mother of a shooting victim, (Jamie Middleton) took to the stage after Beth left. Jamie had lost a daughter. She was angry and bitter. Social workers and politicians had offered condolences but their words of comfort were not for her. She just wanted her daughter back. She had gone to the school commencement ceremonies to watch the other students graduate, she felt terror when her daughter’s name was skipped over. Her daughter had written an inspired commencement speech that she could never deliver.

In stark contrast, a student school library volunteer, (Rose Helsinger) bounced onto the stage with youthful vigor. She knew the shooter better than anyone else since he was well read. He used to write notes in the margins of books and she decided to become his friend by writing notes in response in the margins herself. They had a long clandestine conversation in the margins of multiple books throughout the shelves. It was a romantic meeting of minds, but she never acknowledged him in the halls. The thrill came from the mystery of their relationship. She recounted the fateful day when she heard a series of pops as she sat in class. It could be the drum corps but the rhythm was sporadic. She was surprised to see her mystery library pen pal enter her classroom. He wasn’t in her class. She thought he might have discovered who she was. There was an innocent thrill. But then she saw the gun and students dropped to the ground around her. She realized he didn’t know who she was and then she felt a tightness in her chest.

The young girl’s mom insisted that the shooter’s mom read her daughter’s commencement speech. In tears, Beth tried to read. This play is so powerful as it hits home in a community still recovering from the Pulse Nightclub shooting. The number of students shot was never clear but one number always came to my mind. The sadness was overwhelming. The performances stellar. A sobering show like this proves that the Fringe Festival isn’t all about fun and games, it also is a showcase for inspired serious theater.

Evacuated at Fringe.

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Erika Kate MacDonald told an unforgettable story of her time in Indonesia as an exchange student at Fringe this year. She recreated the bustle and excitement of the crowded city, often stopping to explain what some exotic word might mean. She was so well versed in the language and culture that she might forget to explain every nuance.

To explain the beauty found in the culture she decided to sing a song about a popsicle.  The song was so lyrical and moving but was only about walking with a frozen desert. 

Erika described an evening as she tried to go to sleep. In the corner of the room was a strange scraping sound; something was trying to climb the wall. it would get half way up and then collapse back down to the ground. She lay in bed terrified not sure what to do. So, she decided to research what it might be. She never found the answer but the book fell out of her hands and crushed whatever it was. 

She described an evening swimming in the pool with friends and seeing what looked like shooting stars. The flashes came at regular intervals until she finally realized that they weren’t stars at all. The flashes were actually bats flying through the spot lights. There was magic and mystery all around her.

Then came a day when all the TV stations showed news of uprisings in Jakarta. In a particularly jarring scene with flashing colored club lights, Erica recreated a plea of a woman telling everyone to get out of the country, that foreigners were not welcome. Foreigners had to be evacuated. The exchange students went to the airport as fast as they could with the help of others, but flights were booked. They returned day after day trying to escape. The uncertainty and fear of the students and parents became visceral in her telling.

This show had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. This kind of straight forward storytelling is why the Fringe Festival is so magical. Personal experience can come alive when played out on the stage.

Uncertainty at Fringe.

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Eric Pinder wrote and stars in Uncertainty, in which he goes back in time to give advice to his younger self, Blake (Clark Levi). Clark has an uncanny similarity in appearance to Eric and he manages to mimic Erics every Mannerism. Blake’s demanding mother (Jessica Hoehn) is determined to see her son go to Princeton to become a lawyer but he has more artistic ambitions. The house lights flashed as Pinder returned to his past to confront his younger self in his 1960s tie die shirt. His first advice to himself was to moisturize his skin. Of course Blake doesn’t believe he is speaking to himself so Pinder had to convince him by remembering very specific  events form his past.

In a very convincing scene, Blake confides in a boy friend that he is attracted to him. The feeling is mutual and there is nothing quite like seeing young love bloom. When his mom finds out he is gay, she is confused. It doesn’t fit into her grand plan for her son. There is a lovely scene in which her husband comforts her and the love between the married couple feels tangible. That level of affection used to seem unreal but I’m starting to appreciate it. The mom as the antagonist was on stage for only brief moments, yet she must have been a huge influence on young Blake. Why did she project so many ambitions on her son?

At on half hour, the show flew by leaving me wanting more. I barely had time to get my tiny sketch on the page. I imagine that going into your past could be useful, but the only tangible message seemed to be to stay true to yourself. The visit from the future must have prompted the ability to come out to his parents. Hiding who you are must have lasting future repercussions, but they were never discussed in the play. Friends and family accepted him for who he was. Most already knew.

Black in the Box at Fringe.

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Black in the Box starring Marlon Andrew Burnlet was held in the red venue. The screen at the back of the stage flickered with static, and the actor suddenly was thrust out from behind the screen. He would recover and make his way back only to be trust our again. Audio of slave auctions and viscous bidding filled the room. Whips snapped.

Ultimately he dragged out a large wooden box wrapped in chains. It was heavy judging from his gestures and the sweat that flowed down his back. He struggled to unwrap the box from its chains and then he looked inside and froze in horror. The audience couldn’t see what was inside. He stepped inside and the screen flickered backwards the dates jumping back decades and hundreds of years at at a time. In this was he immersed us all in the world of his past ancestors, reliving the lives of those who came before.

Slaves struggled and toiled with whippings and starvation as their only reward. Families were ripped apart. Ultimately the Civil War brought with it the hope of freedom. The actor wore a tattered uniform and fired a gun at his oppressors. However this hope of idealistic freedom was short lived as racism meant that jobs weren’t much better after the war.

Just being able to wear shoes was a luxury and as soon as he put the shoes on he began to tap dance, feeling the rhythms of his past. Vaudeville offered a place to earn a buck through dance but it was grueling work. Hecklers from the audience treated him like a dancing monkey, an oddity. Between performances he took out a hip flask and sipped booze. His pants were piss stained. Throughout, the actor wore masks that were grotesque visions of how blacks were seen by their oppressors.

This was serious and strong theater. I felt uncomfortable at times, perhaps guilty of my white privilege. I glanced around the audience to see that there were no black reporters in the press preview. The actor threw himself into the rolls, sweating profusely and exerting himself in every way. Historic photos reminded me of every phase of my country’s inhumanity to man. Several hundred years later that inhumanity remains. An insane man can use an assault rifle to gun down dancing patrons a dozen at a time, blacks, whites and Latinos.  Progress is slow and painful.