Michael Franco

My Mother Doesn't Know I'm Kinky

michael franco · June 11, 2024 certified reviewer
Smart - Fast and Funny... full review

Ronald

michael franco · June 09, 2024 certified reviewer
Non-stop tour de force - When it comes to clowning this is some major league clowning.... full review

The Day I Accidentally Went to War

michael franco · June 09, 2024 certified reviewer
A brilliant performance - A commanding new voice on the stage. GO SEE THIS SHOW!... full review

The Planet Earth Farewell Concert

michael franco · June 08, 2024 certified reviewer
Scathingly funny - We're laughing, but we really shouldn't be!... full review

Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute

michael franco · July 11, 2023 certified reviewer
There is a reason this show swept the Fringe awards and it deserves every award and accolade it's won. Rainee Blake's portrayal of icon Joni Mitchell is spot on - note perfect from start to finish. I saw Joni Mitchell live when I was a kid, my cool Uncle took me to the show, I think I was 15. It was 1975 and I remember it all. I teared up a few times because when I closed my eyes, I was back there again listening to her doing the songs, the tuning, the stage banter, all of it. Thank you for rem... full review

Hedda Gabler

michael franco · June 25, 2023 uncertified reviewer
It's Ibsen. Ibsen distilled down to a lean 90 minutes of ennui, boredom, sadness and a general malaise and dissatisfaction with the world as it is. Under McAfee's stripped down telling these characters are completely volitional, no extra hour and a half of buried plot and intention, it all right out front. Great performances by Madelynn Fattibene as Julianna, Tyler Bremer as Lovburg, Conor Murphy as Brack and Meg Cashel as Hedda who delivers dead pan daggers in a constant state of ennui, sadness,... full review

Iphigenia in Splott

michael franco · June 25, 2023 uncertified reviewer
It doesn't get much better than this. Hailey McAfee delivers a performance full of rage and hurt as Effie. From the moment we take our seats, she's there, holding her juice box, seething, we can feel it with every passing second. From the first lighting cue she is released, like an arrow being loosed. Her anger hits us right in the face, she's come to collect a debt, a debt that we owe her. She doesn't apologize for who she is. She passes her days by drinking to the point of debilitation and gene... full review

Calling In Love

michael franco · June 24, 2023 certified reviewer
This show is a must see. She has one more show on the 25th at 11:00.a.m. You should go! This is another winner of a show. Ms. O'Meara does not disappoint as we follow her through her mundane life of working in a sex phone call center where, "full ejaculation is guaranteed or your money back." She doesn't feel any connection to anyone in her life and it looks like she's about to throw herself into the ocean, she's being devoured by maggots anyway, when she spies a mannequin who is obviously tryin... full review

Nick Pupo: Addicted

michael franco · June 24, 2023 certified reviewer
Nick Pupo is charming. Really smart. Really funny. The show is both funny and sad, poignant and pointless. Honest to the point of brutality. One problem, Nick Pupo is a liar and in case you didn't know, it sucks to be a junkie. Pupo tells us, as audience the truths that he couldn't tell those he loves. To them he lies, because that's what junkies do, they lie. They lie to themselves and to everyone around them. This story is told with such grace and humor. We welcome the laughs, we need them.... full review

DETROIT

michael franco · June 24, 2023 certified reviewer
Just a great piece of theater performed by a solid and engaging cast. This was another show that just keeps you in it. Characters that you can't take your eyes off of. It sort of feels like an homage to Shepard or something out of a Martin Amis novel. ... full review

michael franco