Hollywood Fringe Diary Week One—Part IV

Hollywood Fringe, Week One —Part IV Fringe-2016.jpg

The main stays of any Fringe are the solo performances; one-man shows, one-woman, one-whatever shows. There are a whole slew of them, so I’ve divided them into categories.


HISTORICAL/BIO SOLO SHOWS

Bloody Beautiful-710

BLOODY BEAUTIFUL
Another presentation of the Proboscis Company, featuring Erica Flor as Countess Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614) Hungarian noblewoman and perhaps the most educated woman of her time. Who was tried and convicted for the murders of perhaps as many as 650 young girls who came to her castle seeking a better life in her service. An investigation of the woman and her crimes directed by Jeff Mills.

Click HERE and learn more.

 

stokely.jpg
“POWER!” STOKELY CARMICHAEL
That most individuals are unlearned on the subject of ancient history is barely inexcusable. That people are unacquainted with the men and women who within living memory fought, bled and in some cases died while struggling to create the society which those in it take for granted has no excuse.
One such personage is Stokely Carmichael, who played a role in nearly every political movement that shaped this nation through the turbulent sixties and beyond. He participated in the Freedom Rides organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), he lead SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, in its first efforts to end the draft and the War in Vietnam. In this one man show staring Meshaun Labrone, the audience assumes the role of the marchers that Carmichael is preparing to lead against the state police outside Canton, Mississippi in 1966; a unique opportunity to experience the burden of history for yourself. Directed by Jennifer Knight.

Click HERE and HERE and learn more.

 

beingms.jpg
BEING MARTIN SHKRELI
You may remember Martin Shkreli, the little wimp who thought profiting on the suffering of others would get him on the cover of Forbes and so hiked up the price of a vital medication for those afflicted with AIDS from like $17 a pill to $750 a pill. Sarah Rosenberg uses his actual words to explore this charmer, the first known example of reverse evolution; from man to monkey to slime, and promises to bring us “insight into the asshole.”

Click HERE and learn more.

 

qaddifi.jpg
QADDAFI’S COOK—LIVING IN HELL, COOKING FOR THE DEVIL

 

Lance Belville tells us this fact based tale of a young chef who finds that working for Muammar Qaddafi, the dictator of Libya is a quick way to get his own goose cooked. The chef will apparently take breaks from running for his life, to allow the audience to sample from Qaddafi’s favorite dishes.

Click HERE and HERE and learn more.

 

binladen.jpg
BIN LADEN: THE ONE MAN SHOW
“My name is Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Aboud bin Laden al Qatani and tonight, ladies and gentleman, I am going to show you how to change the world” So begins Sam Redway’s solo performance, I’ll be curious to see where he takes us. From the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe.

Click HERE and HERE and learn more.

 

patriot1.jpg

 

PATRIOT ACT
Mike Schlitt’s The Jesus Ride, was a show so good that I saw it twice. Here he’s offering his version of “America – For Dummies”, and has made the claim that he will “restore your faith in American Democracy” in just 47 minutes. A one man show with puppets!

Click HERE and HERE to learn more about it.

ENTERTAINMENT BIO SOLO SHOWS

 

johnbel.jpg
LIVE FROM THE GRAVE: IT’S JOHN BELUSHI
Jack Zullo seeks to “share John’s story” from his beginnings with Chicago’s Second City to his tragic downfall. In helping us make this journey there’ll be digital and scripted vignettes, improvised scenes to the accompaniment of a live band.

Clcik HERE and HERE to learn more.

 

gilda.jpg

GILDA: A TRIBUTE TO THE BELOVED COMEDIENNE GILDA RADNER
Another SNL icon is paid homage to in Helena K. Cosentino’s one woman show that will share Radner’s valiant battle against cancer as she tried to make the Grim Reaper a little less grim.

Click HERE and learn more.

 

mccready.jpg
MCCREADY

A musical based on Mindy McCready, a country superstar whose life twisted into a Greek tragedy. Jennifer Blake plays McCready, Robert Glen Decker directs.

Click HERE and HERE and learn more.

 

ENTERTAINMENT BIO — THE REAL DEAL SOLO SHOWS

 

dooley.jpg

PAUL DOOLEY: UPRIGHT AND PERSONAL
“What’s it about?” According to Paul Dooley, “Well, it’s about 90 minutes.” If the name isn’t familiar to you, trust me, the face certainly will be. The veteran actor will look back on his sixty year career as a character actor and supporting player, and the most challenging performance he ever faced, the staring role in his own life. A celebration of his nearly sixty years in show biz and of comedy the life blood of his career and his passion. This should be a must see for anyone interested in the history of the entertainment industry in Los Angeles.

Click HERE and HERE and learn more about it.

 

PERSONAL BIO SHOWS

 

horse.jpg

A HORSE WITH A VIEW

Comedian and storyteller Christopher Piehler gave last year’s Fringe one of the true crowd pleasers with his Reserve Champion, the story of how he came to love horses and riding as a child. Now he gives us a show that seems to validate the old saying, “The best thing for the inside of a man, is the outside of a horse.” Tales of a man fighting the disappointments in life by returning to the solace he finds in horse back riding. From Ireland to Australia tales of the remarkable world one can only view from the saddle.

Click HERE to learn more.

 

PERSONAL BIO SHOWS WITH A RELIGIOUS BENT

 

metafam.jpg
METAFAM: A SOLO SHOW BY DEANA BARONE

The talented Deana Barone blends dispersed theatrical schools such as improv and story theatre in an experimental solo show that explores the characters from her childhood spend in a religious enclave.

To learn more click HERE.

 

squeeze.jpg


SQUEEZE MY CANS

For 14 years, most of her young life, actress Cathy Schenkelberg was immersed in The Church of Scientology. Her attempt to leave it brought the power of the church down on her and she endured five years of its orchestrated harassment and insidious assaults. Now she plans to reveal to all why they should never trust a supposed messiah with the first name of “Lafayette.” Shirley Anderson directs.

To learn more click HERE or HERE.

 

testimon.jpg
JUST ANOTHER TESTIMONY
Itai Yasur’s one man show about “gods, pencils and just a few things in-between.” Following the death of a friend, a young man sets out on an odyssey across America retracing the path following a religion whose rudiments begin to overwhelm him along the journey.

To learn more, click HERE or HERE.

And finally….

 

alamo.jpg
MY ALAMO WAR
The true story of one man’s crusade against the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation, an organization that used their converts as slaves, abused children, and sold designer jackets to L.A.’s elite. A meditation on the nature of warfare and faith by Ernest Kearney. Oh wait, that’s me!

To learn more, click HERE.

Well that’s a mere 45 shows out of about 268 (at last count).

If you go on line to hollywoodfringe.com you’ll find ticket information about all 45 shows mentioned here and listings for all others I just couldn’t get to.
I’ll be doing weekly reviews of the shows I see which as of this writing stands at 52.
Am I out of my mind you ask?
Well, if you’re asking then obviously you’re a new reader.
But don’t live vicariously through my verbal pearls.

Come to the Hollywood Fringe, and feel the rumble and shake of L.A.’s theatre and artistic community and a few friends from around the world.

Trust me, you’ll find something that will pull the ground from under your feet and knock you on your hindquarters.

The Hollywood Fringe
Epicenter Theatre Row on Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood (Duh!)
June 9th through June 26th
Previews begin June 2nd
Official Start on June 8

Expect a 9.8 on the Richter Scale.

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.

No comments

LEAVE A COMMENT

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