What I liked
The premise; the casting; the absurdity.
What I didn't like
Schwartz is definitely onto something here, but the tension needs to be cubed, his characters need fleshing out and the vignettes demand elongation into a two-act play (it currently runs just under an hour at The Broadwater as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival). Projections on an upstage screen, including the infamous tongue video, add contextual significance. Directed at a fast-paced, high-pitched level, the whole damn thing is so thought-provoking and entertaining that I can forgive the direction of the actors — to a point (Jaz Dicey avoids histrionics). But, hey, this is Fringe, where ideas can be tested out. If Schwartz has the wherewithal to expand his play, and if he lets someone else direct these terrifically cast actors, I won’t be sticking my tongue out at anything.
My overall impression
In six individual vignettes that straddle the line between farce and reality, Schwartz examines not just the world of PR, but how our media-saturated world assumes one guilty until proven innocent, and how disparate beliefs fail to reach compromise (my favorite vignette was an interview by Kelly with the Dalai Lama, hysterically portrayed by an unnamed actress). Bohdi believes that sticking out one’s tongue is a sign of respect or agreement and was often used as a greeting in traditional Tibetan culture. The blasé Sam remains indifferent even as she is energized by influencers calling the incident “creepy” and “disgusting.” Gunner is the bull-headed Westerner. I’m thinking you definitely don’t want this crew handling damage control.
