What I liked
The acting was superb and the use of those wire racks and cardboard boxes as moving set pieces/backdrops was a perfect solution to the limitation of the Fringe way of making theater (with load-in and load-out of each performance.) Also: The red laser string trick to enter Kevin’s robotics-lab was pure genius… sometimes the most simple theater tricks are the best ones!What I didn't like
The only thing that struck me as odd was the use of sound/microphones in the production. Perhaps this was a budgetary concern, but to have all the major players mic’ed and/or only some of the secondary characters mic’ed was distracting for me and in such a small space it felt unnecessary.
My overall impression
This was a delight of a musical and a poignant piece of theater that exemplifies themes that still plague the smart, dedicated, outsiders of society: The Nerds! The music was catchy but also smart in the arrangements and use of minor keys/melancholic tones. The energy was fantastic on stage, and the plot drove straight through to the end, hitting all those great “protagonist’s transition” narrative points, with a little help from the romantic interest and the “Friend from another world.” The bullies were fantastically hilarious and easy to both make fun of and feel sorry for, while the nerds were eclectic and loveable throughout.
