Benjamin Schwartz

Doused in zany frivolity, "Public Domain: The Musical" combines puppetry, totally unexpected characters, and seriously hooky melodies.... full review

A high concept, clever spin on amateur one-person shows. While the proverbial mirror to the Hollywood Fringe audience certainly hangs and reflects truth, it doesn't rely on that device or a working knowledge/participation in the industry to laugh at the material.... full review

Borrowing from classic Hollywood comedies like the Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy, 45 Milligrams takes these physical comedy elements and sensibilities, drops in a heap of dark absurdity, and blends it into a weird little 35 minutes that fits right into its own category. A great piece for fringe!... full review

A tragic drama about three people who are wounded as a result of war. Intense performances. Clean, digestible writing. One of the most well-received plays this year. Everyone was talking about it during the festival so I had to see it; glad that I did.... full review

'WPD' was a steady slurry of taboo topics, philosophy, pop culture, social media, and social commentary guised as a classic dinner party. I was amazed at how many different conversations were brought up during the duration of the play. Pair that with the rapid-fire dialogue and direction- making the play whizz by like a flick of a thumb on our instagram feed. Writer Dan Sugimoto is clearly a man who has a talent for analyzing the world around him and being able to articulate those sentiments ... full review

One of the most hilarious, absurd, and flat out inane shows I've ever seen. Excellent, excellent comedic performances and timing. A guaranteed crowd pleaser.... full review

A very polished show from beginning to end. Tight blocking and transitions. Exceptional comedic performances. By the end it's a bloodbath of laughs. I specifically loved all of the nods to classic Christmas films. This ends up becoming much more than just a parody of Die Hard. You have to have a heart of ice to not have a good time.... full review

Holy shit. Talk about a ride. Brechtian. Epic. Surreal. Theatre. Let's get the first thing out of the way. Do I know what actually happened onstage? Like a plot... no, no, no. No plot that I could keep track of. Characters? Yeah. Sure. Kinda. There are people on stage. Dialogue? Not really. Well, yeah. But... okay, I give up. I can't really explain this show to you. What I can say is that I'm positive every single person will walk out of that theater with a completely different viewpoint, ... full review

The show has a wonderful message and shows how far we have come as a society to break down the social constructs concerning who and how we love another. Playwright Brandie June has quite the knowledge and love for Wilde, which tremendously shines through. Many of Wilde's most popular quotes find themselves nestled into the dialogue to round out a thought. Or just because. The cast is stellar and I particularly enjoyed Cyanne McClarian's heart-crunching performance. Looking forward to see what ... full review

A behind the scenes docudrama that brings the unpopular story of negro league baseball business to focus. Matthew Robinson, with this offering, demonstrates his level of commitment to the importance of dramaturgy and command of naturalistic dialogue. The play takes time to expose the fallacies and correct some of the common "knowledge" that we have about the negro leagues and the first African-American MLB player. It's informative, encapsulating, and intrepid. The script is also clever to show a ... full review