Ian Federgreen

A 1920s radio adventure with a loose and festive atmosphere. The script is fun, and the entertaining (and jauntily costumed) cast play their parts- British explorer, femme fatale, soused detective- perfectly. I'd say things bordered on too loose, given the cast had apparently never seen their scripts before. But with an excellent live band, audience participation, and heavy improvisation, the script was almost secondary. This was their solitary Fringe performance, but I'd definitely attend a futu... full review

I am not at all sold on this play, another where two characters are trapped together. They are prone to rambling confessional monologues and- as directed- yelling a lot. The good news is that Riley Rose Critchlow is absolutely breathtaking and fully believable in a really difficult role. fringeblog.webs.com... full review

This is an interesting concept- combination bioplay and magic show. It tells the story of a magician's life by showing performances from various stages in his career. It is a credit to the writing that I thought the character portrayed was a real person (though I also figured a fake life would be more eventful). The actor is fairly successful at portraying a wide age range, but really excels with beautiful renditions of some classic magic effects (and a few I'd not seen). fringeblog.webs.com... full review

And now for something completely different- 5 short operas based on Aesop's Fables. I can't imagine this would convert the non-opera-inclined, but the music is beautiful and the singers are pros. fringeblog.webs.com... full review

A profoundly damaged brother and sister await the return of their missing nephew in a Godot-like mall. These are two great performances, especially from Leslie Murphy, who imbues her character with a beautiful fragility and sad longing. The direction is spot on, but the play is still two lost souls on a bench for an hour. The lady to my right said it was brilliant and the lady to my left fell asleep- I'm somewhere between the two. fringeblog.webs.com... full review

I want to be clear that this is not because I can't "handle" incest jokes, homophobic jokes, or anti-Semitic jokes. It's because none of them are funny. Here's an example of a Roger Mathey zinger: "Fuck you faggot." If you don't find that funny the first time, maybe the 50th. Let's not forget the Jewish character (wearing a clown wig and yarmulke) who keeps threatening to sue people- how delightfully Jewish. Roger Mathey's script is Godawful. Roger Mathey's direction is Godawful. Roger Mathey's c... full review

Willfully and purposelessly bizarre. The cast literally jumps around the stage shouting gibberish. Rivals Philosophy in the Boudoir for actors masturbating onstage. fringeblog.webs.com... full review