Fly Tape

Smart, confident, and impressively lifelike

First of all, this show has the best poster in the festival this year, which is why it caught my eye. The play itself totally delivers on the style. Best dialogue of the festival too, so realistic and well-paced and nuanced. This production has such an assured sense of itself and really trusts its audience. All three lead performances are stellar, and the puppetry is hilarious and really expands the dark comedic dimensions of the show. It's really hard to write and perform authentic sibling relationships because they can be so unique, and evolve more constantly than the relationships between kids and parents, but they all ring so true here in a very special way. My favorite part of the whole show is Joseph Dinh's performance. Hilarious and touching, he develops such a real character. One note is that I don't know that I quite buy the ending moment of the show, it's a bit of an easy answer that doesn't live up to the nuance of the rest. But it doesn't take away from the overall experience being so enjoyable, this is such a promising team and I hope they keep making more shows together.

Mixed Bag tbh

The actual drama parts were 10/10, but it did feel like one of those fringe shows that had audience participation just bc it's fringe.

Exceptional Acting & Writing

This script is a tour de force of subtle details and unspoken tragedy. My wife and I were talking about the show well into the evening, discussing the many layers of characterization the actors imbued into the roles, the various behaviors and communication patterns they clearly picked up from their broken childhood, and a very bold final decision one of the characters makes. The audience interaction bit was unfortunately underutilized this evening, as no one grabbed the money used for bidding, but I spoke with an actor and they sounded like they had a plan to alleviate that for future performances. My wife and I might even go again to just really see the full extent of how that plays out. Who knows, we’ll probably even pick up on further details too, as some of the jokes didn’t even actually hit me until the scene had already passed. Definitely a worthy fringe show, especially if you’re in the mood for something real.

Good core, participation iffy

The central theme felt very real and honest, and I appreciated the way the dynamic between the siblings was written. Very well-acted overall, and I think the whole squad brought a lot of heart to the show. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what the point of the audience interaction portions was - did we have the capacity to change the story? Or was that just to fill the gaps and make it more “fringe”? If the former, a preface would be appreciated to explain. If the latter, as much as I appreciated the energy of the auctioneer (and he really was a delight), that could probably be dropped if the show is ever revised or expanded.

Great acting, set, and use of the Kilburn's space

The set and blocking made great use of the both-sides-audience Kilburn theater, which can be hard to do. There were a lot of relatable pieces in the show - figuring out how to deal with grief when it's shared with family, the complicated dynamics of siblings and history - and I thought the acting was fabulous. They've figured out how to make the gelt work and the audience interactions were fun and, if not always integral to the show, provided necessary lifts to mood and pacing (and were a lot of fun!). I'm glad I managed to see this!

Emotional and Comedic

Loved the comedy and emotion woven into the story. The actors did a great job! Fun use of puppets too!

A subtle and honest family drama about letting go

A subtle and honest story about three siblings unpacking their family secrets while sorting through their mother’s possessions. The skill and chemistry between the actors was excellent, and I found myself analyzing the family dynamics and wondering what might be revealed next. The unexpected use of the puppet as auctioneer for the hoard of belongings was fun for the audience and helped break up moments of emotional tension.

Very intimate and well done.

A very nice show about characters who know exactly what they want to do, but how to do it is trickier than it seems. I really enjoyed the auctioneer and bidding on the items. In fact, if they ever reprise this show somewhere I would like to maybe see even more of that element. Milk Rat always does such great puppets in their shows.

A down-to-earth story w/ a dash of meta-absurdity

The characters were so so strong. As an eldest daughter, this felt like a painfully real cross-section of adult sibling dynamics. The meta element is mixed in perfectly, elevating the main story without distracting from it. Overall, a rich and well-developed narrative that was entertaining from beginning to end

Honest, even if a Little Slow

First what I liked and why it gets four kitties: The honesty in the performances was wonderful and moving – nothing felt melodramatic or constructed, and I felt special to be included in this moment of the character’s existence. Also loved the staging – the space is alternative with seats on either side, and I thought the blocking used the stage well and kept the audience engaged. Also enjoyed the characters (mostly) and felt they were real people. My criticism is that the natural pace of the dialogue felt slow at times – while this is natural in real talk, it can dull the audience. I also didn’t fully understand the wacky puppet that came into the story. While I appreciate the attempt at something unique, I wasn’t clear on how to interact with the character and my confusion took me out of the story at times. Worth a watch if you’re around, but no need to go out of your way.

Heartfelt

Actors were outstanding everyone played their role fantastic. The puppet was my favorite part and made the show feel even more personal to the audience. no notes.

Mixed Bag

Overall, the actors did a great job showcasing dark topics, but the audience participation made it a little awkward. I don't think everyone even noticed the "gelt" that we were supposed to have collected upon entering, so it was confusing when the first auction started.

THE GELT ISSUE IS RESOLVED, THE DRAMA IS STILL A+

Hey hey, the reviews about audience participation with the auctioneer puppet from the first night are NO LONGER - says me, viewer of the Wed 10pm showing and friend of the writer. GET your GELT at the door and jump in to the HIGH STAKES bidding wars that happen for 4 brief cutaway scenes. As for the main meats and elements of the show, one of the featured characters is an Asian transracial adoptee of Jewish parents, and boy is he devout. Made me think about how skewed most adoptions are to Christian denominations, whatever that's worth. Each pair of siblings share unearthed and likely traumatic secrets, buried away by the deceased mother figure, about the relevant yet uninvolved siblings, deepening the unspokenness of the secrets themselves as well as the pressure to guard said secrets between each sibling pair. The dramaturgy around Jewish mythology as well as modern tensions of relating to faith practices that often fetter more than forges one's sense of self was deeply researched and expressed through the characters in personable, not overly textbook-ey ways. The emotional downward spiral, accelerated with each new guarded reveal of secrets to the audiences, pays off more as the show descends the characters into more and more of their parents' closeted and forgotten skeletons. At least the PUPPET AUCTION ISSUE HAS BEEN RESOLVED :)