By Ernest Kearney — The onset of Alzheimer’s and the devastation it wreaks on lives has been oft chronicled and the ravages of illness upon the gay community has been examined to near excess in the phalanx of AIDS centered plays; to the extent that any new entry into the arena is encumbered by comparisons to their legions of predecessors.
Made For Each Other by Playwright Monica Bauer, directed by John D. FitzGibbon and performed by John Fico has, however, in a fusion of those separate niches achieved a moment of pure originality with heart-shredding impact.
Vincent, a self-described fat, 50ish, non-fairy ho-mo-sex-ual, opens this short, smart drama with the startled announcement, “Someone just proposed to me over the f**king phone!”
Vincent’s life is a lonely one, punctuated by visits to the facility caring for his mother who has been consumed by advanced Alzheimer’s.
There he meets Jerry, a nurse ten years his junior who he catches watching him brush his mother’s hair.
Soon – very soon – they form a relationship.
But the two lovers are not alone in their budding romance.
Damiano, Jerry’s late grandfather, has resided in his grandson’s head since his passing, where he serves to inspire and encourage the little “fairy” child who was the delight of his life and the inadvertent cause of his demise.
Vincent as a dweller in his head as well, his often-married mother who, while technically not dead, has squatter’s rights due to her condition.
She constantly reminds Vincent she would have been on Broadway but for his nine-month interruption to her career. She also incessantly harangues her son not to frighten off Jerry the caregiver by confessing he is showing signs of Alzheimer’s.
Fico flows and I do mean flows, from character to character with the naturalness of a swiftly moving stream coursing a path between earthen embankments with FitzGibbon’s skilled guidance; assuring his performance never spills over or seeps out.
But the current driving this production is the sincere, insightful and exceptionally intelligent script by Bauer. Intelligence reflected further in her selection of Fico for whom she wrote it.
Fico’s performance is masterful, and one which it would behoove other artists to see.
His ability to surge from character to character and establish their presence with a minimum of fuss is a challenge I’ve seen several other actors fumble this year.
Made For Each Other forces us to examine a very human quandary: Is truth ever love’s crucifixion or are lies its resurrection?
In choosing their answer to that question Bauer and Fico offer audiences a joyous celebration of the salvation the 
human heart may both earn and deserve.
For that answer The Tvolution bestows it’s second
Hollywood Fringe Festival 2019 —
PLATINUM MEDAL.
♦ ♦ ♦
Made for Each Other playing during The Fringe at
Studio C (Studio C)
6448 Santa Monica Blvd.
For Complete Show Information: http://hff19.org/5978
For Events, Plays and Other Fun Fringe News and Info: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/
Beth Surdut | June 15, 2019
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Monica bauer is a consistently insightful writer with a flair for believably engaging dialogue–in this case monologue–that leads us in a dance of laughter, sadness, and, ultimately, deeper understanding and compassion.