Ernest Kearney

BLOOD, A VOODOO LOVE STORY (Platinum Medal) Michael Phillip Edwards has written and directed a dazzling, twisted, sensual, scary, strikingly clever, viciously funny, marginally pornographic and thoroughly original little morality tale about a man and a woman who meet at a sex retreat, fall in love, accidently enter into a manage a trois with an succubus from hell and are condemned to spend all eternity retelling their tale to audiences and having brain numbing magnificent sex. (Hey, it be... full review

PILLAR OF FIRE (Platinum Medal) Ray Bradbury’s Pillar of Fire was originally published in 1966, as part of “S is for Space” a collection of short Sci-Fi stories aimed at young adults, which was always one of the most page worn volumes in any junior High School library. In 1975, Bradbury, the constant creative tinkerer, adapted it for the stage. It is unlike anything else that Bradbury ever wrote, yet, paradoxically, it is a conflux of elements that would always be inherent to his style; the f... full review

HOUSE OF RABBITS CHARIVARI IN VOYEUR-VILLE (Platinum Medal) “House of Rabbits Charivari in Voyeur-ville” developed by Brandon Baruch and directed by Baruch and Kyle Johnston owes a great deal to The British Music Hall\rock band The Tiger Lillies and their musical reinterpretation of Heinrich Hoffmann’s 19th century children’s book “Der Struwwelpeter” or “Shockheaded Peter”. Hoffmann’s illustrated book of rhymes was intended to furnish German children with moral instructions, instructions which ... full review

“MARRY ME A LITTLE” (Gold Medal) Stephen Sondheim’s 1980 “Marry Me A Little” is akin to one those really excellent Japanese hors-d'oeuvre bars, where nothing is served but side dishes. The comparison is applicable because “Marry Me A Little” conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman René, is a review of songs culled from Sondheim’s major works – “A Little Night Music”, “Company”, and others, as well as a number of songs cut from Sondheim’s epic “Follies”. Songs that, like everything that... full review

REVOLUTIONARY LOVE (Gold Medal) This celebration of the life and work of Turkish poet and social activist Nazim Hikmet (Ryson Allman) is structured as an operetta of poetry. Director Fulya Diner expressed this was a labor of love, and that truth is proven by the stunningly beautiful staging of the show. Elif Savas fulfills a trio of functions, as Hikmet’s wife, as his muse and as the country he so loved despite his imprisonment in it and eventual banishment from it. This is a visually b... full review

THE THREE MUSKETEERERS – CLOWNS WITH SWORDS (Gold Medal) Mauricio Gomez as Pono, Jeff Heapy as Klaus, Alec Tomkiw as Hugo and Cassandra Gonzalez as Sookie are featured in this absolutely inspired broil of swashbuckling silliness and clowning in the truest sense of the word. As they gyrate and gambol about the stage, there is no missing in their performance the style and masterful physical tomfoolery of people who take clowning very seriously. Watching their antics one is almost intoxicated b... full review

RESERVE CHAMPION (Gold Medal) A sincere, heartfelt solo show by Christopher Piehler concerning the period of his childhood when he rode in youth equestrian competitions and the relationship he had with his horse “Atom Ant”. The show succeeds in touching the funny bone while tugging on the heart stings. An endearing work, with a delicacy and brevity of a haiku. Thomas James O’Leary directs. FOR MORE OF MY REVIEWS OF THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE GO TO: THE TVOLUTION.COM ... full review

THE DEVIL YOU SAY (Gold Medal – chiefly for the puppeteering) This is a beautifully constructed show that begins with a classic Punch and Judy puppet show and ends with a philosophical diatribe by the devil. The puppets are magnificently fashioned, and the puppetry is of the first order. Yet for all its visual splendor of the instruments and the skill of the performers, the show is basically a lecture to the audience by the devil done with poetic elegance. For more of my reviews of the ... full review

BOOZE, BALLS AND BLUEGRASS (Gold Medal) One of the mainstays of any Fringe is of course the solo show. Under that heading, there are many sub-genres, and the most frequent seen of those is the bio-presentation wherein the performer calls upon their personal history for the subject they hope to shape into a theatrically viable show. This is not as simple a task as many might think. But when successfully achieved, it can be among the most satisfying of any staging you might attend, by the p... full review

Talent is a lovely thing. Not the end all be all, but a lovely thing. Talent tempered with ambition is something all together different. Something spectacular. Sam Johnides and Tony Gonzalez have the promise of spectacular about them. “Annabella” harkens back to the golden era of operas. A travelling puppeteer, (Gonzalez) haunted by an unnamed guilt and tormented by the accusing voices of his puppets is driven over the edge of sanity where he is lost within the darkness of his own sou... full review