Review by anonymous
June 18, 2026 certified reviewerWhat I liked
The songs were so fun! Some of these were true gems musically. (However the singing was at times out of key and made the experience less enjoyable. I’m very curious about listening to these demos).
The book was tight. It hit all the beats. It gave everyone a fun and appropriate death. And there was a clear through line about friendship and passion for the music vs wanting to be famous.
There were so many great one liners and throw away jokes here. It was a very good comedy.
Logan Horberg’s directorial eye for comedy was strong. A lot of the practical effect gags were so great!
Claire Jansen as Ruby was the emotional core of the show. Her performance was grounded and it was easy to root for her. Her singing was truly the best in the bunch.
Gabriella Certo’s Trinity added dimension to Ruby. And her singing was also pretty impressive. I really loved their duet.
Renee Cohen as Bobby Beelz was excellent! She was perfectly cast in the role and I loved her costumes! She had such a distinctive stage presence that commanded the stage whenever she stepped on it. You can tell she’s a seasoned performer. (Unfortunately it also highlighted Sophia Rizzo’s weaknesses as a performer as Renee’s most recurring scene partner because Renee’s charisma would eat Sophia up.)
Tasha Taylor’s, Joya Italiano and Britanny Hoza comedic timing were impeccable! They each stole the show when they would step on stage and deliver their crazy one liners!
Roo Spear and Kaylee Jaye were solid as utility players and dancers.
What I didn't like
I struggled with Sophia Rizzo as Stevie Nash. Her performance felt one note and flat. She lacked “Rock Star” charisma. Her singing was constantly off key and grating. It made it hard for me to get into the show at first. I think a different actress with a stronger vocal range and more stage presence would have made Stevie a more compelling character. Somebody charming who you wanna root for until it is revealed she is the ultimate villain.
I also struggled with Paulina Celeste’s performance and singing. Performance-wise, this character got lost in the shuffle. With so many funny and charismatic players on stage killing every one liner, it is hard to stand out and Pauline’s energy was too low that she kept getting lost. She lacked the intensity and comedic timing her character required. And then she had that really cool solo, and unfortunately her singing did not deliver what was required of her.
The AI videos were a distraction. Rather than adding production value, it made the show feel low tech. I feel like in this case less is more and with such great and thought out practical gags, the AI videos made this feel a bit cheap.
This is Fringe. So rehearsal time is limited but the fact that the guitar playing looked so incredibly fake took me out of the show constantly. With a premise like this it is important to believe they are musicians and given that from the very first scene we can tell they can’t play it takes you out of the show. It made it difficult for me to get into the show, as that opening number between the poor guitar playing and Sofia’s off key singing was one of the worse of the show. But they show got better as it went along.
Again, a symptom of Fringe and limited rehearsal time, but the choreography left a lot to be desired. It felt simplistic and repetitive and I wonder what a choreographer and trained dancers would’ve done with such great songs.
Ultimately, these notes are because the underlying material is super strong and I would’ve wanted the singing and certain elements of the production to be up to par with the music and book.
My overall impression
A fun, poppy, rock and roll horror comedy with really awesome songs and a strong book. Unfortunately a couple of the performer’s abilities were not at the level these songs and material required.
