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 27WOULD 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 26TWENTY 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 25SPLATTER (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 24SEPHRO: 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 23EXPERIMENT #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 22NO 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 21THE 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 20THE 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 4.2UNTITLED: 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 19V (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 18OEDIPUS 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 17RAINBOWTOWN (Two Ducks Theatre Company): Fringe Review 16
This short musical is aimed at really young ones, but its message (and its sense of humor) is universal. Two actors and one musician run through a simple story, and model a gamut of moods and behaviors for their young audience. Queen Annie (the captivating Amanda Curry) is on a journey to find a new place to build her castle. She visits a series of emotionally-themed towns and connects with a local resident in each.
View More RAINBOWTOWN (Two Ducks Theatre Company): Fringe Review 16WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT (The University of the Arts): Fringe Review 15
You know that moment when playfighting becomes real? Everything is nice and amusing until a pulled punch actually connects, and then laughter gives way to the sounds of a struggle. Things become very serious awfully quickly once people start getting hurt for real. That’s the main thrust of WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE HERERO OF NAMIBIA, FORMERLY KNOWN AS SOUTHWEST AFRICA, FROM THE GERMAN SUDWESTAFRIKA, BETWEEN THE YEARS 1884-1915.
View More WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT (The University of the Arts): Fringe Review 15TWO STREET: A TALE OF STAR-CROSSED MUMMERS (Tribe of Fools): 2014 Fringe Review 12.2
Shakespeare meets South Philly in Tribe of Fools’ TWO STREET, a high-energy take on Romeo and Juliet through the perspective of a contemporary gay couple.…
View More TWO STREET: A TALE OF STAR-CROSSED MUMMERS (Tribe of Fools): 2014 Fringe Review 12.2The International Philly Fringe: A welcome to far-flung artists
Anyone who says that Philadelphia is provincial hasn’t attended the annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Here’s the latest sampling of shows, performances, playwrights, and artists from…
View More The International Philly Fringe: A welcome to far-flung artistsWHAT I LEARNED ABOUT OUTER SPACE (Pennsylvania Ballet, Curtis Institute of Music, FringeArts): Fringe Review 14
If dance is a language, it is spoken in a variety of accents. With WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT OUTER SPACE, FringeArts commissioning three contemporary choreographers—Zoe Scofield, Georg Reischl, and Itamar Serussi—to create pieces on PA Ballet dancers.
View More WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT OUTER SPACE (Pennsylvania Ballet, Curtis Institute of Music, FringeArts): Fringe Review 14DEEP BLUE SLEEP (Found Theater Company): Fringe Review 13
This year’s Fringe offering by one of Philadelphia’s most consistently impressive young collectives transports us through a maritime dreamscape of sailors and pirates, shipwrecks and skeletons, sea shanties and sea creatures, as two children drift into a fitful sleep filled with the imagery of bedtime stories and seafaring tales
View More DEEP BLUE SLEEP (Found Theater Company): Fringe Review 13TWO STREET: A TALE OF STAR-CROSSED MUMMERS (Tribe of Fools): 2014 Fringe Review 12.1
This love story, full of gags, comedic misunderstandings and lotsa heart, encompasses two smitten gay mummers, family devotion, and mummer-love.
View More TWO STREET: A TALE OF STAR-CROSSED MUMMERS (Tribe of Fools): 2014 Fringe Review 12.1THEOREM (Greg Kennedy): Fringe Review 11
Cirque du Soleil alumnus Greg Kennedy toys with the concepts of innovation, invention, and collaboration through circus arts in his new performance THEOREM.
View More THEOREM (Greg Kennedy): Fringe Review 11