‘Cross My Heart’ – Crosses It and Touches It
By Ernest Kearney — This Hollywood Fringe (HFF23) has not had a sweeter show, and the ingredients that went into making a success of "Cross My Heart" are few but well-selected.
‘Dream Big’ – Doesn’t Measure Up
By Ernest Kearney — We have seen these types of shows, wherein one character is contemplating suicide; “Every Brilliant Thing,” “Suicide, Incorporated,” “'Night, Mother” and others
‘Five Years In Amsterdam’ – De Slaaf Van Het Lot*
By Ernest Kearney — You could say Brendan Hunt’s tale of leaving Chicago is, very, similar to the adventures of Dorothy in "The Marvelous Land of Oz."
‘Sonnets From Suburbia’ – A Little Bard in the Night
By Ernest Kearney — Lady Penelope (Writer/Performer Penny Peyser) prances out on stage in her Elizabethan gown and red Kid sneakers. Apparently, during our long national quarantine, she was perfectly snug with her cat, composing sonnets while in blissful solitude. Lady Penelope abhors modern free verse,
‘Wounded’ – Shows That Vengeance Is The Great Salve
By Ernest Kearney — "Wounded" is an engine firing on all cylinders with a strong script by Jiggs Burgess, under the deft direction of Spencer Frankeberger.
Good News: Bugs Didn’t Bug Me!
By Ernest Kearney — Take one-part Discovery Channel, one-part Hair, two-part Monty Python, mix well and you have "Bugs!" (HFF23)
‘Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute’ – Well Worth The Taking
By Ernest Kearney — Australian Singer/Actress Rainee Blake builds a time machine in the Three Clubs Stage Room for her homage to Joni Mitchell, then manages to herd all of her audience into it to be transported back to 1976
‘Waiting For The Show’ — Is Not Time Wasted
By Ernest Kearney — Filling in for the regular stage manager, Miles sweeps the floor, readies the stage, and tries to placate the impatient audience while it waits for the late and very unprofessional Blake to arrive and start his one-man show.
‘A Retrospection’ Reveals The Wonders Of Its Creator
By Ernest Kearney — My passion for the art of clowning constantly comes as a surprise to most people, while I find the general public’s dismissal of “clowns” as annoyances depressing and even distressing. (HFF23 coverage continues)
‘Sinatra: Raw’ Is Exceptionally Well Done!
By Ernest Kearney — Writer/Performer Richard Shelton’s "Sinatra: Raw" is, in a fashion, the mirrored opposite to the other musical homage of HFF23, Performer Rainee Blake’s "Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute."