2024 Audience Reviews

Company: The Feral Theatre Company
Show: Mae West's The Drag
Venue: Theatre in the Round

Not a very engaging piece

It's hard to leave a review like this, but I don't recommend this play. The blocking was fighting the TRP space, the actors were fighting the older text, and the drag interludes were fighting the drama of the scenes. Why were the three queen's songs so disparate? What direction were they given? It was confusing going from Chappelle Roan to a drama set in the 1920s (?). Every performer could've benefited from clearer direction.

Company: Loom Lab
Show: old growth
Venue: The Southern Theater

Mesmerizing!

I loved letting the movement wash over me. Fantastic use of puppets, props, and lighting design. I really enjoyed the score. There was a crazy cool puppet (though perhaps under utilized). However I never felt like I 'got' what was happening. I also think the movement could've benefited from some more specific choreography moments before melting back into the free form soup. Still loved it!

Company: Linnea Bond
Show: Heart Ripped Out Twice And So Can You!
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance

Fantastic!

Beautifully done, funny, moving, emotional. The best props and AV I've seen so far in a fringe show as well.

Company: Shambles Theatre Company
Show: Good Ones
Venue: HUGE Improv Theater

Must see!

Loved it! Very funny and engaging and uncomfortable in a good way. However I was quite turned off by some of the sexual humor (most notably the lipstick smear in the first scene). It felt designed just to make the audience uncomfortable, not in a thought provoking way, but just in a shock value way. In an otherwise carefully constructed piece, it was a strange misstep. Would still highly recommend this play

Company: Bugalug Ink
Show: What You Need to Do Is!
Venue: Phoenix Theater

Creative and heartfelt!

I came into this show with no expectations and had a WONDERFUL time. Please come planning to share some truths- the creators have made a calm, welcoming, safe, funny space for EVERYONE to contribute. Highly recommend!

Company: Wet Splat Productions
Show: One Tree HELL
Venue: Open Eye Theatre

Solid Improv!

Another fun themed improv show from Wet Splat! The live guitar did so much to flesh out the scenes. A fun way to spend an hour.

Company: Transatlantic Love Affair
Show: 5 x 5
Venue: Open Eye Theatre

Incredible!

Fantastic, inventive, joyful, energetic, all with a fantastic musical backdrop. A must see!

Company: On Whee Puppet Theatre
Show: Teen Wolf Killed My Grandma: A Memoir
Venue: Open Eye Theatre

Hard to Recommend This Play

This is clearly a very emotional play for the creator. The death of her grandmother is clearly still fresh. I think this play could've been fantastic, if she had more time to process her loss. As it stands, it feels more like an exercise for her than a play for an audience to enjoy. There were many refrences to her grandmother's overbearing nature (or the elephant in the room) that everyone on stage knew the context for, but as an audience member i was just left confused. The Teen Wolf interludes could've been moments of energy to break up the slow pacing, but they didn't do anything to keep the story or my engagement going. Some jokes at the end required prior knowledge (or the ability to read a screenshot from the show on a laptop onstage)

Company: an alleged Theatre Company
Show: A First-Class Comedic Revue… Featuring the Reanimated Corpse of a Wright Brother
Venue: Phoenix Theater

Classic alleged!

Another hilarious play by alleged! Loved Danilo as Orville and strong performances all around. I wish there had been more Orville-isms, it felt like he could've been replaced by any fish out of water. There's plenty of comedic material to plumb in the early 20th century, but it feels like the creators didn't do any research