TOWN (Jolie Darrow & Jack O’Keeffe/PHIT Comedy): 2017 Fringe review

town-phit-philly-fringeTOWN feels like a writer’s first draft.  Ultimately, nothing seems to be at stake.  Except, perhaps the soil which the professor never gets to expound upon, accompanied by shallow characterization that evokes nothing of substance.  They could live or die, you really don’t care.  Even at the end, it’s hard to grasp the overall meaning of the play, or to understand what happened and why.  Despite these obvious shortcomings in plot, character development and motivation, the brilliance of performance is commendable.  Using minimalistic props the actors rely upon narration and pantomime to set the stage.  Their chemistry and command of craft often has the audience rippling in laughter.  While the ghastly makeup of the grim reaper character is nothing short of memorable.

TOWN serves as a reminder that quality talent cannot compensate for a weakly woven narrative.  

[The Adrienne Theater Second Stage] September 13-17, 2017; fringearts.com/event/town/

5 Replies to “TOWN (Jolie Darrow & Jack O’Keeffe/PHIT Comedy): 2017 Fringe review”
  1. How is it that someone with such little imagination has come to review theater? Who are you writing this review for? You give no information about the show at all, but rather waste your words on your high-and-mighty opinions. You’re reviewing a piece of comedy and you dismiss the show achieving its goal by admitting that it “often has the audience rippling in laughter.” So, even you can see that this comedy made the audience laugh. Why so negative, oh reviewer? Did this show not meet your lofty Fringe artsy-fartsy expectations? Speak louder reviewer. You’re hard to hear clearly from up on your high horse. Also your poetry is shallow.

  2. Hey I’m really sorry. I left a review of this review, and, in review, I feel that I was senselessly mean. I reacted to your opinion by getting all personal, and that stinks and I’m sorry.

    1. Thanks for that rethinking. It is often the case that comments on an art review protesting the content of the criticism can be way more mean-spirited, selective, and ad hominem than anything a reviewer would write.

      I’m sure there’s room for dialog, disagreement, and improvement in any critical opinion, but that can only happen if we maintain mutual respect.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.