Month: May 2007

For daily reviews of Fringe shows, check out CityBeat’s Fringe Blog.

Their day 1 reviews includes a Grade A for The Kid in the Dark and a Grade D for Extreme Puppet Theatre.

There is a god and his name is Zeus. He has provided us proof that Luke and Adam are not the same person.

It is almost 10PM and no one has taken the stage yet to sing. I’m disappointed. I think Jeff is a little ticked off too that he ‘s been banned from singing his favorite N’Sync song.

Jen Dalton has more courage than any playwright in Cincinnati. Putting part of her life on stage with the subject of mental illness is something few would do as openly.

I can’t express in words the level of emotion put into this play. The “voices” made you feel like you know how being schizophrenic feels, but not really. I can’t imagine anyone can know what it is like to have voices in your head, unless you have voices in your head.

New Stage Collective has a great space, there is just no other way to put it. The transformation to deal with the open window design was well done, along with reducing the seating.

It was interesting to see Michael McIntire in the cast. He is likely better known as the main person behind the Marmalade Brigade. He’s formerly of Foxy McCoy, another good local band that ended before its time.

The crowd was older than I expected, it was close to being mostly over 50 years old. That isn’t bad, but where is young crowd? I guess seeing the 7PM show on a Wednesday may have thrown the younger set off? I’ll judge that based on who comes out to Fringe Karaoke tonight.

UPDATE:I was a bit rushed last night in posting this and I neglected to add some more comments. Hats off the entire cast for a great performance, especially to Andrew Bernhard and Sue Breving who portrayed the love of a son and mother with a warmth wrapped inside a cover of pain.

Also a little advice to those going to the show, I would sit in the upper sections. Make sure you can see around the people in front of you. The second row on the audience left is not a good place to sit. I think I would have been able to appreciate the lighting affects more if I had been sitting up higher.

Got my press pass, got my first beer, working on the second as I sit here in Courtyard Cafe using Lily Pad (Yea Lilly Pad). Well this is my first post after my first show. I’m out of my first show and I am excited! It was a great show and I’m working on writing up a review on, so look for that post soon.

I’m working on how this blogging fringe thing is going to work out. I am glad I have place where I can blog and eat. Eating is very important at Fringe. I’ll be eating often here.

Below is my tentative list of shows to see at this year’s Fringe. It is a long list. I don’t know if my ass can take sitting in uncomfortable chair that many times, so I seriously doubt I will make all of them. After the reviews start to come in, I’ll be switching things in and out. Not everything is going to be good, so with time an issue, I have to trim the fat at some point.

I have no great science to what shows have caught my eye. My picks are based on word of mouth, past history of the performers/companies, and the descriptions. At this point I don’t know if there will be any run away hits like Catholic Girl’s Guide was last year. This year’s schedule has several shows that are placed well to fill the seats if the momentum can work in their favor.

Well here are my picks, in alphabetical order:

1. Alone Together
2. Calculus: The Musical!
3. Christmas in Bakersfield
4. Extreme Puppet Theatre
5. Girlfight
6. How to Fake Clinical Depression
7. I Do… I Think
8. I Take it Back
9. iLove
10. Mad
11. Public Espionage!
12. The Kid in the Dark
13. Tommy Nugent’s The Show
14. True + False
15. Wet Dream

Via the Cincy Fringe website we learn that Mr. Pitiful’s is no longer a venue for the Festival and the performances of the two shows scheduled there, Contains Adult Themes & Think Fast, Go Slow, have been moved to the 1201 Jackson Street Theatre. What is that space? I think I know the building, but not sure about the space. Check out the location on Google Maps.

The Fringe Staff Blog is up and fringing

The Cincinnati Fringe Festival still has many open shifts and can really use your help. The more you volunteer, the more free tickets you can earn. It starts this Wednesday and runs through June 9th. For full details and a link to the sign up page, hit the CincyFringe Get Involved page.

The Enquirer binged on Fringe today with a big preview story. Enquirer Theatre critic Jackie Demaline also listed her three “not to miss” shows at this year’s Fringe. She picked “iLove”, “The Kid in the Dark”, and “True + False.”

Continue reading “Enquirer Coverage of Fringe”