Graydon Schlichter

You probably already know know that you should see this. So short and sweet. I have almost zero exposure to The Hunger Games. I don't think this hurt me at all. I am a child of the late 80s+ video game era. This definitely heightened my enjoyment. The take away of the above is that I LOVED the concept, I was in from the pressing of *start*. The performances were quite good. In particular I enjoyed the Sheik/Zelda dynamic. But where this piece really shines (aside from its exc... full review

To start with I'm going to assume you have an idea of what this show is and go from there. At the bottom* I will fill in those of you who may not know. Yes. See this. The adaption is exquisitely executed. The performances manage to be faithful both to Shakespeare and to the characters of Breaking Bad. No, not everyone nor everything from the later is there, this show is only an hour. But there are no wasted moments, no gratuitously expended time, no unnecessarily pregnant pauses or bea... full review

The less I say the better in this review. Not because I didn't enjoy it, I did. Not because the performances of Rick Marcus and Nan McNamara were anything short of sublime, they were not one iota short. Not because the script was weak, uninteresting, or derivative. Indeed it was startling how well everything holds together. But on one hand this play is an exploratory journey, and I won't be the one to rob you of that first experience. Just go see it for yourself and then we can talk about i... full review

First things first, if this is what a pop opera is I need more of them in my life. The music was catchy, the lyrics did their job without getting in the way, and the voices, these performers have pipes! The down and out producer, the rising star, The Almighty himself all turned in great performances worthy of commendation. But there is no way to talk about this show without spending a little extra time on the Devil Herself. Saudia Yasmein (Satana) was simply incredible. Effortlessly boun... full review

You might think that all you need to know about this show is in the title, but you'd be mistaken. The title doesn't tell you how clever the lyrics are, how fantastic the vocals are, or how spot-on the performances are. One might be tempted to call them impressions but that doesn't do justice to how fully and three-dimensionalally these characters are lived (admittedly in some cases rather briefly). The on stage use practical lights works very well to convey a few different moods & elements... full review

Sometimes you can really luck out at a Fringe Festival without any plan whatsoever. Such was my experience when, on what amounted to a moment's consideration, I bought a ticket for a sketch comedy group I wasn't familiar with and sat down for a show about which I had no expectations. The seat was comfortable and the temperature pleasant, so the worst case would still be fine I thought. No sooner did the lights come up than I started laughing, not stopping for any meaningful length of time un... full review

Proof that hanging around a sold-out show sometimes works out. I am very happy that I was able to squeeze into a preview for the charming "33". One performer shares with us the highlights of a rather interesting life. Engaged throughout I must admit I'm curious about the bits that were undoubtedly cut for time or pacing. Charles Marina opts for a storytelling, approach aware of and connected to his audience. Rather than break the 4th wall, he simply dispenses with it altogether, the righ... full review

I definitely recommend this show, but I don't want to tell you too much about it, as the reveals and turns add so much to the overall enjoyment. I am very glad that I went into it largely blind, so I could take the journey one step at a time. Michael Lopez moves effortlessly through the narrative and the various characters inhabiting The Inside Edge of the World, and the simple staging heightens the skill with which he brings the audience along, transforming the performance space time and t... full review

If a freight train and a roller coaster, met and fell in love their child might grow up to be ALBUQUERQUE FRINGE 2025 or Al-Fri (as the kids are calling it) but only if it were then raised by a pack of irreverent jokers hell-bent on skewering everything we love (and love to hate) about Fringe festivals. The show is exactly what it says on the tin i.e. clips of the best of the fictional future festival of the piece's title. But knowing this does nothing to defang the humor that is to come. ... full review

So...where to begin. A series of almost magically interconnected vignettes that are as funny as you'd expect from the title and promo materials, but perhaps more soulful, rich and deep than you will be prepared for. The structural style of two characters on stage at a time, yet never the same two characters, creates currents and eddies that shift marvelously from scene to scene. You may think you have a character figured out, and you might be right, but I suspect you will be surprised by e... full review