Sub-Total
2024 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Cherelle-Renee Childs
Company: TROMPE L'OEIL
Show: Gasthaus
Venue: Phoenix Theater
This group clearly knows what they're doing!
Everything about this show: the acting, the staging, the directing, the script, is very professional. I can tell everyone involved has done this before and knows what they're doing. I feel the story itself might have worked better as a 2-act play to further explore some of the elements on a deeper level. But I still found it very engaging, and I liked how even with the characters we don't want to root for, we get to see into their perspective and understand why they're doing b what they're doing.
Company: Beta Fish Productions
Show: Welcome To The Food Chain
Venue: Strike Theater
Energetic, fun blend of cabaret and science
A one-person a cabaret show featuring apex predators is a premise that could either be brilliant or fall completely flat. In Rob Ward's hands, it's absolutely brilliant! He clearly spent a lot of time researching his subject matter, and he gives it an engaging, energetic performance. I didn't know about a lot of the incidents that were referenced in the script, but that didn't take me out of the performance at all.
Company: an alleged Theatre Company
Show: A First-Class Comedic Revue… Featuring the Reanimated Corpse of a Wright Brother
Venue: Phoenix Theater
Delightfully absurd and Fringey
This one made me laugh. A lot. Enough that I was glad I had an inhaler in my purse! I particularly liked Danylo Loutchko's deadpan, spot-on portrayal of Orville. The nerd in me would have liked a few more obscure or weird historical references, but even without that, I really enjoyed this show!
Company: Emily Boyajian
Show: Transition: A Story of Two Trans People Becoming Themselves
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Great work by a talented local composer
There were a lot of things to love about this show: the two leads with their beautiful operatic voices, seeing the chamber ensemble onstage with the actors, the emotional journey of the characters, the insight into the trans experience, and especially Emily Boyajian's stunning score!
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Company: Ken Takata
Show: Musical Settings for Shakespeare
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Shakespeare nerd approved
As a composer and a Shakespeare fan, I had to see this one! And it did not disappoint! I particularly liked the pieces that contrasted the characters of Ariel and Caliban in The Tempest. The performers are all extremely talented, and I loved the contrast between the two singers: one a lighter, more classical soprano/mezzo, and the other a sultry, earthy alto. I would have loved to hear them sing together, though!
Company: Tennessee Playwrights Studio
Show: That Woman - The Monologue Show
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Great script, stellar performances
Each of the actors in this show delivered a very natural, believable performance. It felt as though the actual people being portrayed were there in the theater telling their stories. I also thought the script was really well written and how to see me productions from this company.
Company: Theatre On The Rocks
Show: A Horse Walks Out Onto the Stage and Dies
Venue: Phoenix Theater
Had a lot of good stuff, but some parts dragged a
Overall, I liked this show. It had a lot of great meta stuff, absurd humor, dark comedy, all stuff I like. The horse was engaging and likable. I felt, though, that the pacing of the show could have used a bit of work. The parts when the horse was trying to figure out what to do sometimes felt a bit like the story itself wasn't sure where to go, not just the character, if that makes sense. In some of those moments, I just wanted something, anything at all, to happen. Again, I did like it, and there were a lot of hilarious moments. I just felt that sometimes, the pacing of the story could have been improved.
Company: Just Me Productions
Show: A STRONG HAND AND AN OUTSTRECHED ARM
Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl
I had a good time and learned a thing or two!
Max definitely knows how to tell a story, and I learned a lot of things I didn't know before about Jewish culture, particularly bar mizvahs! Max knows how to kero an audience's attention, and by the end of the show, I was really wishing I could meet his uncle!
Company: Kari Heistad
Show: Playing Dead
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Superbly acted
All three of the actors gave top notch performances! I also loved the exploration of complex family dynamics. I was never rooting for just one person, as I felt they all had a compelling point of view.
Company: Shambles Theatre Company
Show: Good Ones
Venue: HUGE Improv Theater
Uncomfortable, but in a good way
Examines the human need to see ourselves as "good," often to the point of overlooking our own weaknesses, limited perspectives, and cringeworthiness in a thought-provoking but humorous way. Definitely check this one out!
Company: MaMa Faerie Productions
Show: Show Me Your Wings
Venue: Squirrel Haus Arts
Experimental theater at its best
Loved the art gallery and experimental rooms, the visuals, the music. This is an audience participation show, but participation feels invited, not coerced. I loved the depiction of Mama Faerie's personal journey of feeling like an outsider, trying to find beliefs that made sense to her, and finding community. The musicians and dancers all played such a vibrant part in bringing the story to life.
Company: Mahmoud Hakima
Show: Two Bowls of Cereal and Some Bacon
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Compelling and vulnerable
If you see Mahmoud Hakima's name in the credits, you know it's going to be a good show, and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. The story itself kept me on the edge of my seat, and I felt that Mahmoud's creative use of the space and the chairs onstage really added to the storytelling.
Company: Loom Lab
Show: old growth
Venue: The Southern Theater
Beautiful and vibrant
Visually stunning with beautiful dancing, puppetry, and stage combat. If you're looking for a good non-verbal show or need something really beautiful and mesmerizing that doesn't require you to figure out what's going on, but still gives you something to discuss and analyze if you want to, this is a good pick for you.
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Company: Sugar Throw Theatre
Show: Once Upon A Pine: The Adventures of Pinocchio
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Meant for kids but also fun for grown-ups
I love the energy this cast brought to the show! Many of them were children and teens, and all have a top notch performance. I particularly liked Davey Cricket! A big shoutout as well to the costume, props, and puppet designers for their beautiful work!
Company: Team Rand-McKay
Show: Dream of Me
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Intense and suspenseful
The talent of the cast alone was enough to make me want to see this, and I was not disappointed. I loved the concept, the characters' struggles with the circumstances they found themselves in, and the stagimg in general. I wish it could have has more time to explore some of the darker elements further, but with the format and the amount of time they had, they still definitely made it work.
Company: The Project Factory
Show: Pants on Fire
Venue: HUGE Improv Theater
Delightful!
The premise of making an improv game of guessing if something is true or not definitely works well in the hands of this talented cast! There were a lot of genuinely funny moments, especially when they had to come up with a convincing lie and when they started grilling each other.