What I liked
I had so much fun watching this piece. Rinaldi and Tyson are masters of specificity. The characters they’ve built are beyond real and the writer/performer duo’s natural chemistry shines bright. The script is really solid and line for line hilarious. I loved the dash of absurdity; it kept me guessing but each next moment always felt like the correct choice.
What I didn't like
I guess (MAYBE) there is a version of this that could allow for some harder hitting commentary? But honestly that’s never really the point. It’s very much at home at the festival. To move beyond Fringe Fest I think it would just need to transform a bit and I have no idea what that looks like.
My overall impression
Writer/Performer team Zoe Tyson and Louie Rinaldi have become two of my new favorite “creators to watch” in this community. Yesterday I had a blast watching their show: Fuck Julie. I had no idea what to expect and I, like others, assumed it was a new comedic take on Strindberg’s MISS Julie. Happily I was met with an hour of cringe-worthy comedy that would’ve been right at home in the Search Party (HBO) writer’s room.
I’ll be honest that I saw this with a pretty light crowd. They weren’t super vocal, which is fine, but it felt a bit like they weren’t fully in on the tone. One fellow audience member and I had a knee-slapping good time. Heck, he was even laughing when there was nothing happening at all. I’d like to believe he was remembering a great line from before (lol). By the end, however, the rest of the audience seemed to really have enjoyed it.
From the beginning I was invested in the characters and fell in love with how much I liked to dislike them… but by the end I was totally rooting for them… but then I’m like…. “wait no don’t do it!”
Great performances, solid direction, and a script that I’m excited to read again. It is definitely going on my short list for the Theatre Theater Playwright Award. Highly recommended.
