Daniel Johnson

Entertaining, though needed another re-write or two before it was production-ready.... full review

This likable collection of four comedic one-act plays are based around the premise that somewhere, a guy named Rick died, though it's not necessarily the same Rick in each piece. Each skit was written and directed by a member of the 4-person ensemble (Maddie Dial, Danny Gendron, Caroline Levich, and Charlie Laud.) The one-acts are incredibly varied for such a specific premise using a recycled cast. "Human Resources" finds self-absorbed Charlotte meeting with her HR manager, put off that Ri... full review

Hollywood Fringe mainstay Theatre Unleashed returns with the World Premiere of Sleeping Around written by Cesar Abella. Abella and Theatre Unleashed have stunned at the Fringe twice before in 2012 and 2014's productions of 25 Plays per Hour, featuring Abella's knockout monologue "White Satin. Clean Lines." This new full-length work centers on a chain of sexual encounters. Each new encounter features one of the characters from the previous scene – Angela sleeps with Donnie; Donnie sleeps with E... full review

The Hollywood Fringe website describes Diversity Auditions as a narrative about a diversity competition in which “winners obtain an agent, a spot on a reality show, pay and the chance to continue their dreams…. The Diversity Auditions get messy when someone asks the question, ‘What is diversity?’” It’s a fascinating concept. It’s also a complete misrepresentation of the show. Instead, Diversity Auditions is actually a collection of unfocused autobiographical monologues by 8 queer comics who... full review

Fringe Warning: Show goes 20 minutes beyond its advertised runtime. In The Mermaid Wars, tritons (the gender neutral word for mermaids/mermen) have surfaced throughout the world. Some are captured and studied, while others are worshiped and admired. Everyone seems to be waiting for something to happen. Even ten years after the first triton appearance, it's unclear the level of threat - if any - they pose. This sets the stage for the show as we follow no fewer than 5 storylines revolving t... full review

Classic sitcom conventions collide with a modern understanding of love and sex in this fun mashup, presented as a "lost" 1950s TV pilot. Gay Beau (Matt Austin) is happily married to straight Dottie (Fiona Gubelmann), but an anniversary gift mishap with a nosy neighbor threatens to out Beau and ruin the Jones' standing in the community. Austin and Gubelmann embody their roles with the right balance of parody and depth. We believe them as sitcom characters and as the real life human beings ... full review

In Rachel Axler’s Smudge, eager parents Colby and Nick’s expectations are dashed when their baby is born deformed – limbless, one-eyed, purple/gray skin. Not quite a baby. Closer to a smudge. Some might even say inhuman. Would you? While Nick (Jesse G. Louis) is immediately taken by his daughter - lumps and all, Colby (Whitney Wellner) has a much harder time tapping into her maternal instincts. Her resentment of the smudge is palpable. A lesser play would have made Colby a villain and ... full review

You really couldn't ask for a better premise. In this parody of the campy 1960s Batman TV show, Wombat Man investigates a string of cereal icon murders (Tony the Tiger, Lucky the Leprechaun) at the hand of the Trix Rabbit, who has just about reached his breaking point after decades of being denied a taste of his namesake cereal. Wombat Man, as dumb as he is sincere, bumbles along searching for clues and trying, like so many before him, to stop that rabbit. In this throw-everything-at-the-wal... full review

In this modern take on Jane Austen’s lesser-known work Northanger Abbey, our heroine Catherine has been transported to present-day Los Angeles. A stranger in a big city, Catherine is just beginning to carve out her space in her newfound home, encountering a broad range of characters of varying degrees of integrity. Good and kind Catherine learns to stand on her own feet and live by her convictions. Adaptations of this sort have the unique task of satisfying two audiences: those familiar with... full review

Jim Hanna's spirited take-down of solo shows is the perfect antidote to any Fringe binge of this notoriously self-absorbed genre. In 7th Annual, four regional finalists must compete to be named the best in the "tourney of the journeys." The show highlights all the earmarks of a bad solo show and makes them requirements for entering the competition: Shows face disqualification if they do not contain a spiritual and geographical journey and struggles with sex, amongst other increasingly specific ... full review