What I liked
Mallie deftly moves between 30+, well-characterized and distinguished characters. Her comedic timing is superb. One particular highlight is her characterization of Jack as a late-90s cool-guy — with the cadence and hair smoothing that could only be of that era. When the show turns personal, Mallie shares some of the trials of her life with restraint, not pathos. She does not beg for pity or indignation — she simply admits to the chasm between who we all hope we’ll be when we’re 11 and who we have become by 40. The tenderness and the generosity was astounding. We all come to see art in the hopes that the artist will sacrifice a small bit of themselves, their soul, to us so that we know ourselves better. This is rarely achieved — but Mallie goes there, and the rewards for those who come to watch are tremendous.
On a separate note, it was also nice to see such excellent stage-craft and command of design, lighting and staging within the limited resources of the fringe.
What I didn't like
I had the smallest bit of trouble distinguishing some of the early lines, in part from speed and in part from the accents — but the performance was so strong that I leaned in anyway and, after a few lines, the pace slowed down, and I was 100% with it the rest of the time.
My overall impression
This 90-minute tour-de-force made me laugh and cry. Mallie is a charming, hilarious and engaging performer. It represents the very best of what the Fringe festival has to offer — wildly inventive, fundamentally theatrical, fun and moving. This is a must-see.
