Pollywood at Orlando Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Polly Esther had been through some pretty rough times, but no matter how bad things got, she could always listen to a Weird Al Yankovic recording and laugh. She addressed the Fringe audience wearing a Weird Al t-shirt. Her excitement was manic and contagious. She heard that Al would be getting a star on Hollywood’s walk of fame. This is an honor that has to be paid for, but it is still an honor.

Since she loves Weird Al so much, she decided she had to go to Hollywood to see him when his star was unveiled. The trouble was, she didn’t have the money for a plane flight or hotel stay. Deena Ronayne from Orlando Fringe advised her to start a Go Fund me page to raise money for the trip. Polly took her advice and was surprised when she actually raised the money needed for the trip. She actually surpassed her goal by a bit and decided to get a pair of sandals with plenty of bling so she would blend in on the Hollywood strip.

She hadn’t planned ahead for the trip very much, since it never seemed quite like a reality. The morning she had to leave for the airport she hadn’t packed a thing. She performed a manic mime of the frantic struggle to pack, which was quite hilarious. Polly’s 37 hour adventure was as fun and quirky as Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

The map taped to the back wall with green frog tape showed her trip route to Hollywood. She had the names of all her contributors and added them to the map alongside the route. When she was in Hollywood, she met one of Weird Al’s entourage and he invited her to a VIP party on the day of the unveiling. When she met Al, she was amazed that he looked her right in the eye and he loved her name “Polyester!” It wasn’t until that moment that it occurred to me that her first and last name, when said quickly, was a synthetic fabric used in cheap clothing lines. 


The bottom line is that this was a fun story about one woman’s dream coming true in ways she never expected. Dream big and sometimes you might just reach the stars.


Pollywood is in the Blue Venue inside the Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803.

Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe button. 

The remaining show times are:

10:45 PM

8:45 PM

3:30 PM

The Agony and the Ivories at Fringe

Posted on by Thor

Grown Man Productions, Chicago, IL, presented Bill Larkin behind the piano in the Brown Venue. I have to say right up front that this was the funniest show I have seen so far at this year’s Fringe. Bill was from Orlando working at the SAK Comedy Lab before he moved to Chicago. He is an actor, musician, and most defiantly a comedian. He feels the music and he feels your pain.

He sang a song about his twin brother. It was the first song he ever wrote when he was just 8 years old. The beautiful chord progressions that followed lead me to believe a Disney ballad might follow. Instead the ballad was about how the family only wanted one child. Then followed his dreams of killing his brother and how the world would be such a better place once he was gone. It was hilarious and unsettling all at once, a viscous and crazy childhood dream.

Another song about his childhood involved the lengths he had to go to to see some porn. It involved a long trip into town on his trust bike. His destination, six miles away, was the magical Davidson’s Pharmacy that carried a special type of magazine. Way in the back of that den of drugs were the magazines, from Time to Woman’s Day, but up above those behind an orange, plastic screen were the objects of his dreams – Playboy and Penthouse magazines. He was able to reach the forbidden fruit and he hid it inside a Life Magazine. Lost in the splendor of what he saw, his cover was blown when a proprietor tapped him on the shoulder. He ran for his life and biked home in the rain.

He then explained how easy children have it today. He asked a member of the audience to set the timer on their iPhone to see how long it might take him to find some porn on his phone. The timer was set and his fingers flashed across the screen. Within 14 seconds he found a site and screamed. It took 14 seconds. He shouted it out for all to hear. He then walked over to the outdoor stage door, opened it, and sunlight streamed in. “14 seconds!” he shouted.  I laughed so hard my sides hurt.

This is just a dry sampling of the hilarity that ensued. His songs tackled subjects such as aging, homosexuality, self-esteem, and social media.  Weird Al Yankovic himself is “a big fan.”

The Agony and the Ivories is in the Brown Venue at the Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803. 

Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe Button needed for every show.

Remaining show times:

6:15 PM

8:15 PM

10:45 PM

5:30 PM

7:00 PM