Connor Buhl

IndyFringe: Operation!

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This is part of the 20th Anniversary Indy Fringe Festival, Aug. 14-24, 2025, in downtown Indianapolis. For information and tickets, see indyfringe.org.

By John Lyle Belden

This has nothing to do with the board game, though we do get a bit Medieval with a body lying on his back. The self-described “silly girls” of Disgusting Brothers Company created and perform this comedy set in the medical school of the University of Bolognia in 1303, where many had surgery done – some patients even surviving their procedures.

Also, that was a very eventful year for Pope Boniface VIII. Just saying.

Professor Alderotti (Elyse Rohn) and assistant Mondino (Elysia Justice) prepare for the day’s medical procedures, including surgery on a mysterious guest. Cardinal Francesco (Connor Buhl) arrives in full arrogance to announce the patient is his uncle, His Holiness Pope Boniface VIII (Vicci Simich). Months earlier, the Papal dispute with King Philip IV of France had led to Boniface being abducted and held briefly by the French, and he wasn’t doing too well. The 70-something year old Pontiff appears, shaking and mentally out of sorts, which his doctors have attributed to “melancholy.” Francesco insists that Alderotti perform a surgery to remove this condition; the Doctor and Mondino state it can’t be done; Francesco’s Vatican authority, and his dagger, say otherwise – prepare for surgery!

This show is a hilarious trove of historical humor. The set-up scene between Rohn and Justice already had us nearly rolling. The presence of the addled Pope, wonderfully portrayed by Simich, contrasted by the impatient menace of Buhl’s Francesco, only adds to fun. Elements of that era such as pomp and ceremony, and surgeons required to operate without looking upon His Holy body, also factor in the funny. Even pieces of flatbread become punchlines. Based loosely on actual history, this fantastic farce was written by Justice and director Hania Moktadir.

Performances in the IF Theatre Basile Stage continue Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Aug. 22-24.

IndyFringe: ‘Atlanta Burning, Sherman’s Shadows’

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This show is part of the 14th Annual Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, a/k/a IndyFringe, Aug. 16-26, 2018 on Mass Ave downtown. Info, etc., at www.IndyFringe.org.

By John Lyle Belden

“I do what I must, rather than what I wish,” laments Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union commander during the Civil War (in)famous for his scorched-earth March to the Sea in 1864, an effort to shorten the war (which did end the next year) by bringing its horrors to the civilian population of Georgia.

Playwright Lance Sherman Belville, a descendant of the general, presents an insight into the man’s thinking as he relates his plans to a trusted assistant and his general staff shortly before his fiery assault on Atlanta. We learn of his past relationship with Robert E. Lee (a classmate at West Point), his longing for his lost son, and his desire to not repeat what he saw as the greater tragedy of the siege of Vicksburg.

The show’s director, Lynn Lohr, plays the Major who Sherman uses as his sounding board, his “fool” to tell him what is wrong with the plans he is nevertheless determined to execute.

We also have a young Private, portrayed by Connor Buhl — who also plays a Union soldier in reenactments and at Connor Prairie. This, plus being the only player in full period uniform, makes him the most interesting and compelling character. He plays harmonica, and engages the audience without breaking character before the show, leading us in songs of the era.

The playwright plays his great-great uncle, holding and reading from the script that he (as Beville) says he is “still revising.” It’s a curious and brave choice, but he often stumbles over his own words, marring what is otherwise a highly-recommended living history lesson.

If you can ignore the papers in the playwright’s hand, or at least see them as reports or correspondence or maps in Gen. Sherman’s, sit back with some hardtack (provided) and get a new perspective on the story you may only know from a long-ago high school lesson or scene from “Gone With the Wind.” Performances are at the Indyfringe Basile (main) Stage at 719 St. Clair St., near the intersection of Mass Ave. and College.