Cincinnati Cultural Inceitement
After reading the premise of this production I had something in mind. I expected to see a show that hit hard on the writer’s fundamentalist Christian upbringing. It would illustrate how he lost he faith. The show would inevitably how all of the Fundamentalists were insane nut cases.
Much to my pleasure and surprise, Jim Loucks gives a character driven examination of his childhood. His preacher father and church family are not caricatures, they are human beings filled with flaws.
Hope in the face of never ending war, bigotry, and ignorance is the quill that stuck with me after “Empire of Feathers” from Giant Bird. Experimental theatre gives each audience member the chance to take away something unique. I took away many wonderful things: fun musical whimsy, quaintly charming props robbed from a child’s play room, and great physical humor.
It’s difficult to "review"Empire of Feathers, in that it’s exactly what you go to Fringe to see: aggressively experiemental work that pushes the boundaries of theatre and of conventional thinking.
Although it starts out with the actors talking to the audience, once the action starts, the play has a relatively linear narrative. Of course, advancing that narrative involves projecting images on the ceiling and behind the audience, the use of old toys and found objects, and some pretty catchy songs, and other performance tricks.
The tone? Think Dr. Suess crossed with Howard Zinn. It’s not for children, but they do a commendable job balancing the subject matter with the tone.Maybe they take the twist too far at the end…but you’d have to see it for yourself to make up your own mind about that.
My prediction for this show: it may or may not win any Festival prizes, but it will one of the most talked about of the Festival.
Why would T. S. Eliot and Groucho Marx meet for dinner? That is Harold Bloom’s profound question. The why is left to the audience. The why it would be odd comes from Bloom’s contention that T. S. Eliot was an anti-Semite, something there is debate on in the real world, but for this production, look past that.
Continue reading “Fringe Review: A Perfectly Wonderful Evening”
Before the festival starts it is very difficult to know what are going to be the stand out shows. You can base it on buzz, on prior success, on reputation, or you could just be a fool and trust me. In case you’re a fool, here are my Pre-Fringe must see shows (in no order):
1. April Fools
2. 7 (x1) Samurai
3. The 4 Food Groups
4. Guns and Chickens
5. Body Language II: PHYS. ED.
6. Brother Bailey’s Pageant of Moral Superiority and Creation Science Jamboree