13th Grade

What I liked

.

What I didn't like

.

My overall impression

This show is something special. Something very special. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve never laughed as hard at any show in my life. I don’t even know where to start but here goes. The writing and composition are nothing short of excellent. Though the songs stick to the hilarious 90s theme they are more diverse than you could possibly imagine. Whether it’s with karaoke tracks, acoustic guitar, or a cappella each musical number is entertaining, hilarious, and extremely well written. Best thing about this play is the humor. It’s fast funny and ahead of the audience the whole time exactly the way it should be .
The singer/actors are all incredibly powerful and dynamic but the best parts of the entire performance was watching them work in unison. What an incredible ensemble of artists. It was very easy to tell that they clearly enjoyed working with each other and trust each other because they went to some very crazy outlandish places that resulted in the most humorous moments of the night. The pregnancy song by Meghan Allison and Lucas Alifano’s talk with his dead mother and katrina olkawicz’s descent into musical madness at the end are comedic genius stand outs. But everyone has a chance to shine and everyone does. Like a star.
Unlike other shows I’ve seen at the Fringe I also thought it was technically very strong. The set was very minimal and yet you had a strong sense of place and time for every scene and I think the tech guy probably had a lot to do with that.
After the show when I was outside in the crowd I overheard that 13th grade was the directorial debut for the director Andy Kenareki. I was shocked to hear that. This piece is so strong that I could not believe that it was directed by someone new to the directing game. Andy has a very promising career out of him. People are going to want to work with him. People will fight to work with him.
13th grade delivers comedic punches to the gut until you are literally gasping for air. The Cast had the audience in the palm of their hands and they took us for a wild ride filled with Precision, shockingly impressive talent, spontaneity, and artistic joy. Bravo