Show reviews by Lynn Cross
GRRL!
Kaleidoscopic Visionary Romp
by Lynn Cross
Rating: 5 kitties
Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin, and Lucille Ball meet up in the body of a little girl from the Lake Wobegon area. Hilarity ensues. The world starts to get saved. Hard to ask more than that from a Fringe show!!!
2 Sugars, Room for Cream
Mocha Frappe for the Mind
by Lynn Cross
Rating: 5 kitties
A highly caffeinated mocha frappe for the mind -- well-crafted, sweet, sassy, and totally delicious!
June of Arc
Better Than Betty
by Lynn Cross
Rating: 5 kitties
A much more compelling treatment of the topic than, say, Betty Friedanâs, in my opinion. Gorgeous acting from Heather Stone. Juneâs tragically disappointing husband and sons donât require much more chops from the actors than, say, a sack of potatoesâalthough they do that quite well. The actors get a better chance to shine with their admirable commercial-break portrayals of some of the 1950s perfect-world fantasies that have seduced Joan onto her life path â a perfect world that has so cruelly evaded her grasp. This was my first exposure to the work of Sandbox Theatre (my bad).
Concord, Virginia: A Southern Town in Stories
Panegyric Reinvented
by Lynn Cross
Rating: 4 kitties
Panegyric: a public eulogy, a literary tribute to the past. (In this case, the past is fairly recent, but with overtones of our most ancient southern cultural heritage.) Mr. Neofotis has reinvented this genre, and, despite his young age, I must think of him as an old soul for the depth of his observation and insight. In a style reminiscent of shamanistic ritual, Neofotis completely captures audience attention and creates the most vivid mental pictures, like the master storyteller he already is. I am holding back a kitty just because I thought both of the stories resolved to fairly conventional happy endings too easily. I was hoping for something a little more in keeping with their overall southern gothic tone. But thatâs just me.
Tragedy of You
Will's Secrets Revealed
by Lynn Cross
Rating: 4 kitties
As an English major, I took a full year of Shakespeare â early, middle, and late. I was in awe the whole time. Never knew how he did it until now! He had a recipe book! Except Scrimshaw is a master chef and so I guess I wonât be trying this at home after all.
Sex, Lies and Social Security
Love for Lunch
by Lynn Cross
Rating: 3 kitties
This show was put together like a sandwich â bread - filling - bread. I devoured the bread, a spot-on, touching, hilarious recreation of the minefield that is the quest to âfind the one,â complicated by the snakepit that is online dating, further complicated by the social downsides of aging. I give the bread 5 kitties. The filling, two relationship-themed skits, not so much. Well-performed and cute, but not as genuine, compelling, and tasty. I will take off another kitty for the actors not getting off book in time for the show. That is really distracting. Age is not a good enough excuse for that. Itâs a tribute to the rich material, performance ability, and personal charm of these two that it worked so very wellâand I know it didâeverybody was laughing almost the whole time.
10.10 Post 9.11: Laughter in the Aftermath
Lotza sound 'n' fury
by Lynn Cross
Rating: 3 kitties
Not overly original political/social commentary, but the sparkling performances do signify something: great futures for the performers. Dubya was particularly winsome, in his own special way.
