Review by anonymous
June 19, 2012My overall impression
I really enjoyed this trio of plays. They were not written to be performed together and yet together they absolutely fulfill the “Fierce: L.A. Streets” category more strongly together than they might separately. I liked the framing of the Trio characters being onstage in the beginning, so that Tinkerbell, of “Dusted” is placed in the setting effectively as a classic Hollywood just-off-the-Greyhound new arrival. Corey Clifford nails the Tinkerbell role in Jan O’Connor’s fractured fairy tale epilogue. I believe!
“Dusted” and “Trio” call to [my] mind the old Concrete Blonde song “Still in Hollywood”—reminding you that the casualties on the streets each have their own stories. Tofte’s “Trio” is a kind of experimental dance/theater piece that worked most effectively for me when I didn’t try to comprehend every overlapping word spoken, but let it wash over me. It’s an artistic representation of the edgy energy and magnetic cacaphony of the Los Angeles streets.
All of the actors elevate the works here. Crystal Flores has an striking intensity and striking stage presence in O’Connor’s “Pool of Gold” and in Tofte’s “Trio”. I’ll see anything Jeffrey Wylie acts in, and after seeing his work in “Pool of Gold” with Wylie and Flores, I’m adding Stephen Spiegel to that list.