Month: August 2015

Fringe review: The Adventures of Les Kurkendaal

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By Wendy Carson

Many of you may remember Les Kurkendaal from his past IndyFringe performances. His storytelling abilities are well known on the Fringe circuit, and in this year’s presentation, which played at the IndyFringe Indy Eleven Theatre, he admirably upped his game.

It seems that his boyfriend, Mike, has made the list of “Top 100 People from Bakersfield” due to co-producing the film, “Thank You for Smoking,” but has also decided that Les should accompany him to his 20-year class reunion.

While Les is hesitant, not only due to their being gay, but also as he wonders how Mike’s classmates will react to his being black as well. Mike reassures him that he had a single black classmate, George, and that nobody will really notice.

Les’ jealousy at seeing Mike living out his own dreams of success is a struggle, but he does make the best of it. There are plenty of laughs here, many coming from the fact that everyone in attendance thinks he is the aforementioned George.

This show is definitely the best one that Kurkendaal has brought to IndyFringe. I was delightfully impressed by how his charm and skill have developed and greatly look forward to his next visit.

Fringe review: 4Square

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Fringe review: 4Square

By Wendy Carson

In “4Square,” by AV Productions of Ohio, which played at Musicians Union Hall, we have four short stories of Karma and it’s repercussions on one’s life.

First, there is a mother and son reminiscing about the highlights of their past while he dreads the inevitability that is next chapter of his life.

The second, and shortest piece, has a woman facing fears of her future while internally being reassured that everything will work out for the best.

The third story surrounds a trio of girlfriends. One is very recently divorced and miserable, the second is happily married but feels she is in a rut and the third is wild, free and living life to the fullest. We find out that their lives are even more intertwined than they initially seemed and their friendship may not survive this.

The final story, and weakest one presented, involves two bored office workers trying to liven up their life in any way that they can think of.

I will say that when watching this show, the stories felt week and humdrum. However, when reflecting back on it the next day, they were much more enjoyable. In fact, the more time that passes from your viewing, the more these stories resonate and entertain.

Fringe review: The Traveling Tap Dance Super Show

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By John Lyle Belden

TapMan Productions of Chicago and Circle City Tap Company of Indianapolis present “The Traveling Tap Dance Super Show” at the Firefighter’s Union Hall. Since like me, many had seen TapMan perform at a previous IndyFringe, I must note that TapMan himself is not part of this show. In fact, there are no men at all.

A cast of nine women, two from TapMan, present a series of tap performances. The music is mainly jazzy, including a version of the pop hit “Crazy in Love” that sounds like it was done by a 1920s ensemble. We open with darkness, then lights only on the feet, letting the rhythm and sound carry us without visual distraction. Two other numbers feature the TapMan dancers with one in a balletic modern dance style (in slippers) while the other taps with amazing virtuosity, providing both contrast and harmony. While most have original choreography, the last couple of dances are historic pieces passed down from past generations.

The show ends with the traditional “Shim Sham Shimmy,” during which anyone with a desire at all to hoof it is invited to join the cast on stage.

I personally preferred the past year’s show, with its narrative running through the dances. But for those who like percussive dance, dance in general or shows like “Stomp,” this show could indeed be super.

Fringe review: Threads

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By John Lyle Belden

Tonya Jone Miller presents “Threads,” the story of her mother, Donna Jean Miller, whose life took her from Indiana to Vietnam in the 1960s and ’70s.

Donna married a sailor, which meant traveling, including to Hawaii, where she studied at the University to become a teacher in the Far East. While her marriage collapsed, she found love with a fellow student, a Vietnamese man. This leads to a teaching job in Saigon in 1968.

While the war raged elsewhere, the effects were often felt in the South Vietnamese capital. She deals with teaching while shells crash outside the building, and helping care for orphans who have little hope of survival. Years after her return to the States, with the fall of Saigon imminent, she goes back to make a desperate attempt to go help her boyfriend’s family, in spite of being nine months pregnant (with Tonya).

Miller tells of the threads, figurative and literal, that bind people and lives together, and how we affect one another. We get a fascinating look into a war-torn city, and through Donna’s brother, a glimpse of how war changes those who fight it. The story is non-linear, but easy to follow, as we trace the threads of time back and forth across two decades. Every tale is well told, fascinating and revelatory. We feel through Miller the love for her mother and what she went through and gratitude for the little events that led up to her own creation.

“Threads” unspools at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre.

Fringe review: Kill the Column

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By John Lyle Belden

Written by former Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press columnist Garrett Mathews, “Kill the Column,” presented by mamaproductions on the Theatre on the Square second stage, presents aging veteran columnist Grinder, played by Mark Atchison, who has just been demoted to beat reporter, as the paper will no longer run his column.

In fact, in a reflection of the state of many newspapers today, Grinder isn’t the only person seeing his job picture change. Numerous other staffers have lost their jobs altogether, and from the inside it looks like the paper itself is doomed. One of the few remaining newsroom denizens is Marilou (MaryAnn Mathews), a society writer resigned to adjusting with the changes and enjoying her work while she has it. She even refuses to take the bait when grumpy Grinder gets more surly than usual with her.

After Marilu exits, Mathews returns minutes later as a much different character – one able to help Grinder escape his grind. But the decision will come at a cost, and not just to him.

This twist drives the subject of the decline of newspapering to the background, as the plot is revealed to be more about family, love and what is truly important. So you don’t have to be an ink-stained jaded journalist like me to appreciate this little comic drama with a surprising amount of heart.

By the way, Garret Mathews told me that some of the odd things that Grinder relates happened in his career are based on actual events that happened to Mathews or his journalistic peers. It’s an interesting life, trust me.

Fringe review: Sarge

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By John Lyle Belden

In this one-woman play by Cincinnati’s Clifton Performance Theatre, “Sarge” is the nickname of Dorothy Sandburg, the wife of a popular football coach who is facing allegations of sexual assault by his players and boys who he cared for in his youth foundation.

If this sounds familiar, playwright Kevin Crowley says the plot is based on the recent Penn State scandal. However, the focus is not on the indicted coach but on the woman who stood by him, firmly entrenched in her state of denial. Christine Dye brilliantly plays Dot as a woman who can’t feel anything but devoted to the man who had for decades been the keystone of her world – without him and the myth of his virtue, it all falls apart. And we can’t help but feel her pain and her struggle to maintain her fragile reality in the face of mounting evidence that she is wrong.

This may be the most intense drama of the Fringe. I highly recommend this show, playing at Musician’s Union Hall, but brace yourself for a very dark ride.

Fringe review: Acting My Age

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By John Lyle Belden

In “Acting My Age” at ComedySportz, stand-up comedian Matt Holt reflects on how age is as much an attitude as a number.

Holt relates that others always want him to act “older,” unless his parents want him to lie to get children’s admission. He admits that his apparent immaturity has given him problems in relationships. And then there’s the issue of whether to man up and go to Birmingham again.

Holt makes you laugh a lot and think a little, as he reveals the secret isn’t what age you act, it’s how you act at whatever age you assume. There is mature language, but you can decide for yourself the maturity of the speaker.

Fringe review: The Comedy Magic of Oscar Munoz

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By Wendy Carson

Firstly, I must admit that when I attended “The Comedy Magic of Oscar Munoz” at the IndyFringe Indy Eleven Theatre on Thursday night, I had confused my times and thought I was seeing, “Hannibal, ‘LIAR!’” By the time I figured out I was in the wrong show, there was no way for me to get to another one, and since I hadn’t been able to fit this into my schedule, I figured I’d go ahead and watch it, and I am glad I did.

The tricks are fun, but not too elaborate, and Munoz works the crowd beautifully. Since there were some children in the audience they were happily recruited to assist him with his illusions. In fact, much of the audience became involved in one way or another.

Rabbits and birds appear out of thin air and even the simplest tricks are presented with such aplomb that you can’t help but be charmed by it all. So bring the whole family to this show and catch a wonderful evening of magic and humor.

Fringe review : An Indian Comedian: How Not To Fit In

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By Wendy Carson

In “An Indian Comedian: How Not To Fit In,” a delightfully straightforward stand-up show, Krish Mohan is just plain funny. His insights on racism and alienation are presented with a light-hearted touch, which can be very difficult to pull off, especially in our current climate.

There are many things to learn here, most important of all is that you should visit the Grand Canyon lest ye be reincarnated as a bedbug, or worse. I especially recommend this show to anyone missing Phil van Hest and his style of humor.

So head on over to the Firefighter’s Union Hall and check out this performance. You’ll be glad you did.

Fringe review: Who Run the World: A Madwomen’s Cabaret

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By John Lyle Belden

In “Who Run the World: A Madwomen’s Cabaret,” by Darrin Murrell, presented by Main Street Artists at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre, Julie Lyn Barber plays all the roles (except for Murrell as Lizzy Borden, our accompanist) including a certain woman running for President next year on the Democrat ticket.

As the candidate prepares to accept her nomination, other famous and infamous female leaders from history appear to her to give encouragement and advice in song. For example, Cleopatra croons “Cry me a (Nile) River” and Queen Elizabeth I sings “Like a Virgin.” The visitors come from all over time and the globe, from Chinese empress Wu Zetian to British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

The performances are wonderful and witty, but the show is problematic in that a bright strobe light sits center stage and flashes straight at the audience during every character transition, which happens at least a dozen times. Also, I found the voice-over introducing each character before she appears sounding distorted and hard to hear.

Aside from the flaws, this cabaret is an interesting and entertaining musical history lesson.