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Lost & Found

Solo shows are a good chance to show off one's talents. It's also a great opportunity to put some truth up on stage and bare your soul. Nikki Brown is a wonderful performer, we all know this immediately from her lovely singing voice at the top of the show. What follows is a compelling story told with strength, vulnerability, and humor. It's a wild ride that leaves you thoughtful and inspired! ... full review

Speed Merchant (of Venice)

Excellent music, direction, performances. It was the best (and certainly the most efficient) adaptation of Merchant I've seen. Everything worked in the modernization of this piece; nothing was a stretch. Comedy next to cruelty; love, loyalty, and friendship next to bigotry and intolerance: it was executed perfectly, with nothing forced and all believable. Well done!... full review

VOICES IN MY HEAD: A LIFE***

I laughed, I cried, I was fascinated and drawn in for the entire ride. Bill Ratner is at ease, a master storyteller, carrying us along with him on this well-crafted journey from childhood to Hollywood, with peeks into many worlds and places we may never have been. Bill's story is richly contextualized throughout so it becomes much more than the deeply personal story it also is. As when reading a great book, I felt a reinvigoration of my imagination. Ratner is articulate and multi-talented, mu... full review

Richard Parker

Wonderful! A contemporary existentialist play with a touch of John Cleese. Pleased as punch this won the International Award. ... full review

That Old Black Magic

Thoughtful, witty, and charming: Jacquetta has it all! Truly engaging characters, the struggling underdogs of 1950's Las Vegas. I agree with Colin that the Harriet Tubman dance made the whole play. I can't wait to see the remounted production next year! ... full review

Speed Merchant (of Venice)

Another fantastic and clever concept from director, Tiger Reel, although perhaps not up to par w/ most of his other work. Granted, "Merchant of Venice" is not necessarily Shakespeare's strongest or easiest show to put on. Overall, direction seemed strong, although the cast didn't all seem to be on the same page in terms of acting style (some people were big and presentational, while others were subtle and unemotional). In terms of performances, Jack Young (as Shylock) was probably the strongest i... full review

Pat Burtscher's Patopotamoose

A piece that lays somewhere between standup comedy and a philosophical debate, making for an original style of performance. Pat muses on babies, poop jokes, and how to save the world. Endearing and genuine. Hope to see him again! ... full review

Feeding Time

Two people are sleeping on stage in what looks like, yeah, kinda RV's. Guests are a little puzzled, what's wrong, should we go in, is this part of it, are we too late, are they drunk or what? Relieve, it's part of the Gesamtkunstwerk, we can sit down. RV inhabitant No 1, male, scruffy, yawns his way out of his rolling home to see another one parked right there, where yesterday must have been nada. Mmh. So? He fetches something from his rummage and - measures the space between his and, as we see... full review

Jennifer Aniston Stole My Life

This play is one of the funniest at the Frindge Festival this year. "Jennifer Aniston Stole My Life" is an examination of fanatic celebrity culture, through the eyes of Rue Murphy and her Daughter, a once-upon-a-time child star. Rue is desperately trying to make it in the "Bizz" but can barely pay her rent. Her daughter has a mental disability of sorts and spends most of her time on stage creating celebrity collages. But their luck seems to take a turn for the better when a positively blond Holly... full review

Love Is a Battlefield

Intriguing, poignant and full of angst, Love is a Battlefield achieves an air of nostalgia while pulling us into a story of star-crossed lovers. Part Paul Thomas Anderson, part Saved By the Bell: The College Years; the “battle” here is one of contrivance vs. creativity. The winner? Storytelling. Every so often we get too comfortable with the world and human progress in concerns to prejudice. Then something happens to remind us that the world is full of hate, and there is always growth to be ma... full review