What I liked
Even if she doesn’t survive the apocalypse, Olivia Wilde should be pleased. The show within the show reminds me of childhood neighborhood plays when we’d plant our parents on the couch or into lawn chairs to watch us perform a special show just for them. And even the set changes are entertaining. (I’m looking at you, Chris Bunyi!)
What I didn't like
There were some minor pacing issues in an early show, which I’ll attribute to opening-night jitters. Like many Fringe shows, this one pairs well with a cocktail. That’s not a bad thing, I just thought I’d add that because it is true. I hear the show on the 26th will be accommodating.
My overall impression
Fan’s of veteran Hollywood Fringe producer, director, and writer Matthew Robinson’s passed shows might see this campy farce romp as a departure. Fans of dystopian apocalypse tropes will revel. Fun, in tune with celebrity culture, and occasionally quite silly, the show is a nice romp for the sci-fi nerd in all of us.
As with the film “Idiocracy” (2006), the what-if’s may sound ridiculous and absurd. But with where we are now in society, in current politics, and in the increasing rise of celebrity culture, you may be laughing a lot less at the absurdity but laughing because–if we don’t–we might cry.
