REVIEW FROM SHOWMAG.COM

Interestingly, poking fun at the stereotypical over-sharing one-person show seems to be a recurring motif in Fringe shows. Even within one-person shows.

But while other productions are content to use solo shows as a one-liner, The 7th Annual One-Man Show World Championships focuses solely on the excesses in the genre, to hilarious effect.

Jim Hanna’s sharply satirical script reveals the dreams and desires of the four regional One-Man Show Finalists as they compete for the coveted title of One-Man Show Champion in Omaha.

Trent “The Soul Mirror” Isaacs (Darin Toonder) is the assured returning champ, facing off against three determined contestants. And it’s a sure bet that both angst and egos will fly.

Caitlin Rucker directs with a sure command of Hanna’s comedic style. As returning champ Isaacs, Toonder gives a wonderfully studied performance featuring omnipresent fog effects and a deliriously affected speech pattern. Watch also how his bratty inner child is released when it looks like he might actually see some competition. Tamara Lynn Davis is energetic and engaging as Ally Capri. At least until her show reveals her deepest secret. Sarah Chaney’s overbearing Shelby is so rude, angry, and outspoken that the tech person sabotages her show— a view of the world through the eyes of Sharon Tate’s unborn child. Hanna appears in the show as mild-looking Gary Tweeden, whose sordid tale of non-consensual sex and Mayor Villaraigosa threatens to topple Isaacs’ supremacy. Assuming that any of it is real. Finally, Forrest Lancaster’s good-natured Danny Westbrook is both emcee and fan boy.

At an hour, Hanna’s script is marvelously concise, keeps the laughs coming, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.

—Michael Van Duzer