Hollywood Fringe 2016 Dairy—

Hollywood Fringe Festival 2016For the Hollywood Fringe 2016, I employ a rating scale that should be familiar to my readers. For newcomers, I’ve inserted the scale below.

GOLD: These are the “Oh my God!” shows. Leave your rich dying aunt’s bedside, cancel the conference on world peace at the U.N., and tell Rhianna or Chris Hemsworth, “Sorry Sweetie, not tonight I’ve got theatre.” Just go. These shows won’t disappoint.

SILVER: These are the “wow” shows. Solid work, solid performances and shows well worth seeing.

BRONZE: The “okay” shows. Read the reviews but make up your own minds. If the show sparks your interest in some way, well check it out. One man’s “bronze” is another man’s “gold.”

NO AWARD: This is a new category. Look, there’s a heck of a lot of shows to see and our time is limited. Sorry, but in the brutal triage of theatre these shows are set outside the tent with red crosses drawn on their foreheads.

EAR WAX: Okay, villagers, we’ll all meet at the castle, don’t forget to bring your torches and pitchforks, at midnight we march. Death to the abomination!

The coverage continues…

AMY SNOWDEN IN CASTING CONFESSIONS FROM LA TO LA


amysnow2.jpgSnowden tells the tale of a small town girl coming to Los Angeles seeking to be a star and winding up a toe whore at the beck and call of those whose deviant desires are met through a web site called footnight.com.

It is a rocky, raunchy, ribald, rollicking ride recounting abusers, users, casting couches, and missed opportunities as her memories share the stage with a cardboard alligator, cardboard cow and inflatable male masturbation dummy.

sribbon.jpgSnowden, a veteran of the L.A. comedy circuit has not given her audience a one woman show, but a stand up routine that feels like blatant shot at convincing the Comedy Network of her worthiness for a special.

But the audience I saw it with laughed a lot.

And for that: SILVER

(For an indepth review on Casting Confessions click HERE)

 

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THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED)

Daniel Singer, Adam Long and Jess Winfield’s classic bit of utter silliness has been pleasing audiences around the world for three decades plus.

Thesps Tracy Eliott, Anna Quirino Miranda and Patty Jean Robinson only manage to snatch about 30 percent of the humor, and never succeed in transposing what is essentially “testosterone soaked, Three Stooges dumb guy” tomfoolery into “frantic Absolutely Fabulous” Thomasinafoolery.

This Richard Tatum produced version, directed by Hallie Cooper garners: NO AWARD

Click HERE for more information.

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NILBOG: THE UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY OF TROLL 2

In 1990 the film Troll 2 was not so much released as managed to escape. A perfect storm of bad film production and, perhaps, cursed from the outset by all the Gods residing in movie Valhalla Troll 2 tells of a vacationing family being pursued by evil goblins who seek to turn them into plants so that they can devour them. Plants, you see, because while evil, the goblins are vegetarians. And despite the title, there are no trolls in the film’s vegetarians or otherwise.

Don’t ask, it’s a long story. However the film ranks up there with The Room, Nudist Colony of the Dead: The Musical, and JFK as one of the worst films ever. It’s so bad it was even featured in a 2010 documentary – aptly entitled: The Best Worst Movie.

bribbon1.jpgNilbog: The Musical by Tiffany Asta, Kristen Boule and Kate Bowman rivals said film. It is a big goofy mess of goblins, cavorting through the audience, drinking games and pop corn flinging: BRONZE

Click HERE for more information.

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ALL THE BEST KILLERS ARE LIBRARIANS

Rough, silly theatre as a shy librarian (Lauren Van Kurin) finds her true calling as a professional killer for an evil mysterious organization out to rule the world. (I think it’s the Committee to Elect Donald Trump.)

The high point of this enterprise is the combat choreography which manages to be both exciting and quite fun. Bob Derosa’s play feels like a wanna be screenplay and the long, unnecessary blackouts between scenes smothers the fun: BRONZE

bribbon1.jpgFor scheduling and tickets click HERE.

For all things Fringe check out the Fringe website and make sure you catch all of my Fringe coverage by clicking on the subscribe link in the upper right corner.

There’s lots more to come.

Written by

An award-winning L.A. playwright and rabble-rouser of note who has hoisted glasses with Orson Welles, been arrested on three continents and once beat up Charlie Manson. His first play, "Among the Vipers" was a semi-finalist in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition and was featured in the Carnegie-Mellon Showcase of New Plays. It was produced at the NPT Theater in Ashland, Oregon and Los Angeles’ celebrated Odyssey Ensemble Theatre. His following play, “The Little Boy Who Loved Monsters” was produced at The Hollywood Actors Theater, where he earned praise from the Los Angeles Times for his “…inordinately creative writing.” The play went on to numerous other productions including Berlin’s The Black Theatre under the direction of Rainer Fassbinder who wrote in his program notes of Kearney, “He is a skilled playwright, but more importantly he is a dangerous one.” Ernest Kearney has worked as literary manager or as dramaturge for among others The Hudson Theater Guild, Nova Diem and the Odyssey Ensemble Theatre, where he still serves on the play selection committee. He has been the recipient of two Dramalogue Awards and a finalist or semi-finalist, three times, in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition. His work has been performed by Michael Dunn, Sandra Tsing Loh, Jack Colvin and Billy Bob Thornton, and to date, either as playwright or director, he has upwards of a hundred and thirty productions under his belt, including a few at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater as puppeteer. Kearney remains focused on his writing, as well as living happily ever after with his lovely wife Marlene. His stage reviews and social essays can be found at TheTVolution.com and workingauthor.com. Follow him on Facebook.

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