Entering the Black venue on Virginia Drive we were greeted by the music of Miss Laney Jones and her band, Bill Jickell on mandolin and Chris Campbell on upright bass. Their sweet bluegrass music wove its way through the whole show. Onomatopoeia, written by Anthony Bolante, is a bitter sweet story set in 1929. On a back lit screen, a young couple meet and fall in love in a small mid West town. The title came from a conversation the young couple had about how two words could join together to have a whole new meaning. The analogy being, that two people in love could weather any storm.
At a town celebration and dance, the boy played by Adam Scharf proposes to the girl, played by Melina Countryman, by hiding a ring in a red balloon. Their fates change when the stock market crashes sending the country into the great depression. The boy has to leave the town and his girl with hopes of finding work. The girl returns his ring saying he might need to sell it. He leaves with his possessions in a satchel on a stick and he learns how to survive as a hobo.
There are odd jobs and comic moments. The boy looses his voice and has to communicate in mime. Audience member Michael Poley was called on stage to help him stack boxes. He had to learn the boy’s hand signals to comic effect. The young hobo never manages to find his fortune and ultimately returns to his home town, defeated. All the while he held on to the hope that his girl would be there when he returned. His town was situated in the dust bowl and everyone, including his girl, had suffered. She blames him for not being there when she needed him most. Dejected he leaves his satchel behind and walks away. She opens it and finds nothing but a red balloon.
The music of Laney Jones and the band really makes this show shine. I’ve been a fan of her music ever since I heard her play on a rainy day in a parking lot in College Park. Over a dozen songs punctuated the show. Many were written by Laney, one was by Chris Campbell and several others were by Anthony Bolante along with several classics. Elisabeth Drake-Forbes was the Music Supervisor and Producer. I drove the whole way home humming “It’s Only a Paper Moon.” Two thumbs up for this production. You only have one last chance to catch this show.
When:
Saturday May 25 at 11:15PM
Where:
Black Venue, 511 Virginia Drive
$11 plus a Fringe button
Weekend Top 6 Picks
Saturday May 25th 2013
11AM – Midnight FRINGE! Both Days. http://orlandofringe.org/
Noon — 5PM FREE: Food Truck Fiesta for People and Pets at Fleet Peeples Park, 2000 S Lakemont Ave Winter Park FL 32789 Live music, great food, pet-friendly!
INFO: (407)296-5882 www.foodtruckcrazy.com
2PM – 4PM March Against Monsanto, City Hall 400 South Orange Avenue. https://www.facebook.com/notes/march-against-monsanto/mission-statement/579359972082527
10PM – Midnight FREE: FRINGE Toast Off, Outdoor tent, Lock Haven Park. Is it poetry? Is it a drinking game? Is it improv comedy? Is it some unholy human centipede of all the above? (Poetry is the 2.) Find out when host Tod Caviness gets Orlando’s finest comedians (and a few Fringe favorites) drunk for your amusement on the outdoor stage at the Orlando Fringe Festival. Did we mention that it’s free? We probably should. You’re going to need the money for the beer tent.
Sunday May 26th 2013
9AM – 4PM Kiwi Camera Swap, Kiwi Camera Service, 18808 Kentucky Avenue Winter Park I’m pretty sure this photography thing is a passing fad. Prime sketching of photographers and their large lenses.
Noon- 2PM Broadway Brunch at Hamburger Mary’s! Hot buns and Broadway tunes. Need I say more? 110 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801
