THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME . . . A MUTE PLAY captures the narrative, message, emotion, and beauty of its literary source without speaking a word
View More THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME . . . A MUTE PLAY (The Renegade Company): 2014 Fringe Review 35
Category: Fringe Festival
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SPEED DATING TONIGHT! (Poor Richard’s Opera): Fringe Review 34
“You don’t have to like classical music, but you have to like beer,” sings a lonely bassoon player in the charming SPEED DATING TONIGHT!
View More SPEED DATING TONIGHT! (Poor Richard’s Opera): Fringe Review 34
THE WINGMEN PRESENT: THE NEIGHBORHOOD (The Wingmen): Fringe Review 33
A combination of sketch, stand-up and improv comedy, THE WINGMEN PRESENT: THE NEIGHBORHOOD sets out to deliver a lively and fun night for its neighborhood audience.
View More THE WINGMEN PRESENT: THE NEIGHBORHOOD (The Wingmen): Fringe Review 33
STAND BACK I’M GONNA UKE: AN EVENING OF OLD-TIMEY MUSIC (Seth Reichgott): Fringe Review 32
Short, sweet, and a little bit uplifting. STAND BACK I’M GOING TO UKE is an enjoyable evening of old-timey music.
View More STAND BACK I’M GONNA UKE: AN EVENING OF OLD-TIMEY MUSIC (Seth Reichgott): Fringe Review 32
WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT (Nassim Soleimanpour, performed by Mary Lee Bednarek): Fringe Review 31
Each night, a new actor opens a manila envelope and reads the script for the first time. The spontaneity of the performance allows the author to engage with the audience from miles away and years ago.
View More WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT (Nassim Soleimanpour, performed by Mary Lee Bednarek): Fringe Review 31
TILL BIRNAM WOOD (John Schultz): Fringe Review 30
One way to focus on the extraordinary eloquence and drama of Shakespeare’s language is to eliminate all visual distraction, and that is precisely what John Schultz has done in TILL BIRNAM WOOD—a rapid-fire 55-minute adaptation of Macbeth that is performed before a blindfolded audience.
View More TILL BIRNAM WOOD (John Schultz): Fringe Review 30
BROKEN WING (Pantea Prodctions): Fringe Review 29.1
A morally ambiguous and deeply political tale of two cultures clashing when an American photographer comes to stay with a family in rural Iran.
View More BROKEN WING (Pantea Prodctions): Fringe Review 29.1
iHAMLET (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre): Fringe Review 28
Robin Malan’s iHAMLET, a stripped-down contemporary one-man adaptation of Hamlet, is performed in The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre’s Fringe production by one impressive woman. Actor/musician/composer Melissa Dunphy displays a remarkable command of the non-linear script, not once misspeaking a word of her 55-minute solo performance.
View More iHAMLET (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre): Fringe Review 28
HUMAN FRUIT BOWL (Andrea Kuchlewska and Harmony Stempel): Fringe Review 27
HUMAN FRUIT BOWL draws audience members into the mind of a nude model as they witness an open depiction of this model as an aware and vocal object.
View More HUMAN FRUIT BOWL (Andrea Kuchlewska and Harmony Stempel): Fringe Review 27
WOULD I LIE TO YOU? (RealLivePeople): Fringe Review 26
Compelling in its investigation of untruths, half-truths, white lies, omissions, and embellishments, WOULD I LIE TO YOU? left me with questions. What is a lie? Is something a lie if we lie only to ourselves?
View More WOULD I LIE TO YOU? (RealLivePeople): Fringe Review 26
TWENTY LOOKS OR PARIS IS BURNING AT THE JUDSON CHURCH (XS) (Trajal Harrell): Fringe Review 25
Trajal Harrell’s TWENTY LOOKS comes in a selection of lengths and sizes, and although the Presented Fringe version of his solo show runs extra small, at a mere 25 minutes to a 25-person audience (hence the XS in the extended title), you will be reminded that good things come in small packages.
View More TWENTY LOOKS OR PARIS IS BURNING AT THE JUDSON CHURCH (XS) (Trajal Harrell): Fringe Review 25
SPLATTER (Manayunk Theatre Company): Fringe Review 24
This Neighborhood Fringe show, directed by Sean Connolly, transpires in the murky basement of an old church in Manayunk. The space lends an ideal sinister atmosphere to a play which, like many psychological thrillers, is more intimation and suspense than action.
View More SPLATTER (Manayunk Theatre Company): Fringe Review 24
SEPHRO: EARTH’S REVENGE (Fantasy Weavers): Fringe Review 23
Imagine if Frank Herbert’s “Dune” had been adapted not by David Lynch but instead by the Mummers. That’s not too far off from what we get with SEPHRO: EARTH’S REVENGE.
View More SEPHRO: EARTH’S REVENGE (Fantasy Weavers): Fringe Review 23
EXPERIMENT #39 (The Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure): Fringe review 22
Those who dread audience participation should beware of the IPA’s work—this quixotic, immersive walking tour into the urban ether requires that you play along. On your personalized journey, friendly strangers lead you through memories, as well as your ties to the city of Philadelphia.
View More EXPERIMENT #39 (The Institute for Psychogeographic Adventure): Fringe review 22
NO PLACE LIKE (Kaleid Theater): Fringe Review 21
Part performance piece and part group therapy session, the self-devised offering is a soul-baring exposé of the growing pains of real people, in which an all-female ensemble of five creators/performers (Jess Brownell, Nina Giacobbe, Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez, Rae Bradley, and Samantha Rose Schwab) explores the concept of “home” through memorable events from their own personal backgrounds.
View More NO PLACE LIKE (Kaleid Theater): Fringe Review 21
THE ADULTS (New Paradise Laboratories): Fringe Review 20
Rhrough minimal, absurd dialogue and highly stylized, disjointed movement, the ensemble-devised work evokes the boredom and bad behavior of a privileged vacationing family of film artists and their guests.
View More THE ADULTS (New Paradise Laboratories): Fringe Review 20
THE RAPE OF LUCRECE (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective): 2014 Fringe review 4.2
PAC’s THE RAPE OF LUCRECE is not only the performance of a lifetime by Dan Hodge, but also a momentous socio-political statement and a stirring call to activism.
View More THE RAPE OF LUCRECE (Philadelphia Artists’ Collective): 2014 Fringe review 4.2
UNTITLED: WHAT YOU SEE OR WHAT DO YOU SEE (KrieArt): 2014 Fringe Review 19
This entry in the Visual Art category is an art exhibit based on the association between the person looking at the art and the meaning ascribed to the art itself. The artist, Krie Alden, who spoke to me at the event, is excited to be a part of FringeArts, and she loves the idea of “the Fringe being on the fringe, where they support the unexpected.”
View More UNTITLED: WHAT YOU SEE OR WHAT DO YOU SEE (KrieArt): 2014 Fringe Review 19
V (Butter & Serve): Fringe Review 18
With simulated oral histories, storytelling through creative movement, and naturalistic scenes of the women’s interaction, Butter & Serve craft an engaging and intelligible account of military service from a female perspective.
View More V (Butter & Serve): Fringe Review 18
OEDIPUS THE MUSICAL (Van.Martin Productions): Fringe Review 17
Van.Martin Productions lampoons the Sophocles classic with their silly OEDIPUS THE MUSICAL, which ties together Greek tragedy, #YOLO, and herpes into one madcap package.
View More OEDIPUS THE MUSICAL (Van.Martin Productions): Fringe Review 17