drama

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: Interrupting the Sermon

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By John Lyle Belden

“Interrupting the Sermon,” presented by First Hand Theatrical at Musician’s Union Hall, commemorates the late Wayne C. Olson, a minister who had congregations in New York state and Indianapolis, portrayed by his son Kevin Olson as well as John Kohan and Perry Hunt.

The show combines poetry, true stories and a sermon, all written by the elder Olson. The message, “My Bible: Then and Now,” is set up with “interruptions” of recollections from his life or verses of his poems. He tells of being awed by a dying girl’s enthusiasm for her faith, and appalled by the treatment others give an AIDS patient who seeks his help. And he relates how his dealings with others always have lessons for him, especially in how he relates to the scriptures on which, as a minister, he is expected to be an expert.

“Sometimes there is more grace and forgiveness outside the church than within it,” Olson muses, as he grapples with what that means in the bigger picture of his sacred mission.

This celebration of life and faith inspires and challenges us – as a good sermon should. Yet it’s not too “preachy” – no fire-and-brimstone or altar call. Kevin Olson does his father proud, and Kohan and Hunt smoothly stitch the show together into a satisfying whole.

Fringe review: Breakneck Hamlet

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By Wendy Carson

Tim Mooney has become synonymous with the Shakespearean soliloquy and for good reason. He has memorized so many of them and can spout them off the top of his head so quickly it can make your head spin.

In “Breakneck Hamlet,” playing at the Musician’s Union Hall, he deftly breezes through the bog than can be four-plus hours of the Bard’s best, giving us a rollicking version of the classic tragedy of “Hamlet” in just under an hour.

While he does gloss over a lot of the often tedious plot, all of the great speeches therein are saved and presented with such passion and skill that you will wonder why this is not the standard presentation of the show. In fact, if all of Shakespeare’s works were taught like this in schools, I feel that students would find it much more identifiable and embrace the works delightedly.

Whether you enjoy the play or not, you must do your best to see this craftsman’s work and behold his genius. It will have you reevaluating your feelings towards this great catalog of words and hoping that Mooney will return to enthrall us with more works like this.

Fringe review: Dancing in the Mist

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By Wendy Carson

When a parent suffers from dementia, the struggle to assist and deal with them can be overwhelming to the family, especially if her only son is the one the task falls to.

In “Dancing in the Mist” by Marcel Nunis, presented by RibbitRePublic at the Musicians Union Hall, Kurt Fitzpatrick plays Mike, who catalogs the challenges faced in becoming the primary caretaker for his mother, Gillie, played by Xan Scott. There are lies that must be told, bargains that must be struck, songs to be sung, various characters to be played and a wealth of sorrow for the both of them. Still, he does what he can to make the best of it for both parties involved.

Since she so often slips into memories of the past, he gets a surprising and tender glimpse into the woman she one was. He finds out much more of her history than he bargained for, including references to the mysterious “Max.” We also get glimpses into Mike’s highly-stressed mind.

Meanwhile, Scott artistically portrays a woman struggling to live with her malady and hold onto every piece of her past and sanity that she can.

This is an expertly crafted drama with gentle humor that can help serve as a guide and warning of how to behave if or when you are faced with this challenge yourself.

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John Lyle Belden contributed to this review.

Fringe review: The Shout

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By Wendy Carson

In “The Shout,” presented by In the Mix at the Marrott Center, two female activists are all who remain of a major protest. They have committed to stay, and shout every 15 minutes at the house of a cop who shot an unarmed young man, but are beginning to wonder if their efforts are still worth anything.

Meanwhile, a rookie officer has been watching them for them past few weeks to ensure they are operating within the law. Since he is considered by his law enforcement to be “too nice,” he has been told that if he can’t get rid of them and stop their protesting that he will be fired.

Both sides here are trying to do what they believe in and it seems that one of the women has developed feelings for him, while he is more interested in the other one.

However, when one protester finds out that he might just be acting nice to prevent them from following through, she pulls out all of the stops. What happens next shows everyone for who they truly are within themselves.

The show is a movingly insightful glance into the base nature of each person, and what they are willing to do for their beliefs.

Fringe review: The Invisible Man

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By Wendy Carson

The Homeless. We see them on the streets, but we disregard them as “bums” and ignore them as if they are invisible.

But do we ever stop to think how they came to this place? Are they disgusted by where they have ended up? Have we all forgotten compassion and can’t realize that these are people the same as you and me?

These questions are highlighted in “The Invisible Man” by What’s in a Name? Company from the island nation of Mauritius, playing at the Firefighters Union Hall.

This is the dramatic story of one man’s journey from a successful businessman to living on the street, begging for a few coins and eating out of a dumpster. The deft telling of his proud, sad, haunted, but hopeful plight is artfully crafted and beautifully conveyed without ever being heavy-handed or judgmental – which makes it all the more tender and bittersweet. Remember: No one chooses this as a career goal, and we all have the potential of being there, too.

This is a great show that, like many other shows in the Firefighters Hall, deserves a bigger audience. Please seek out this venue and support the shows performing here. They are truly worth your time.

Fringe review: The Yellow Wallpaper

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By John Lyle Belden

Based on an 1892 short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” presented by Earlham Theatre Department at the Marrott Center, tells of a woman confined for a “rest cure” in an upstairs room with bars on the windows and apparently a hideous pattern on the walls.

Our subject and narrator is presented by three actresses simultaneously, demonstrating her slowly fracturing mind. She starts to see odd, changing patterns in the wallpaper, eventually becoming sure that a woman is trapped within. At the back of the stage is a yellow wall, with subtle markings within its chaotic pattern that has us in the audience sharing in the growing madness.

The woman’s husband and physician, “John,” is a disembodied voice. This makes him seem at first godlike, but reveals him to be more distant and (despite or due to the state of 19th-century medicine) clueless until it is too late.

This haunting early classic of feminist literature, with elements reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft, clocks in at around 30 minutes, yet is intense enough to be worth your ticket. You could use the extra time to get something to eat before the next show – just, wherever you go, don’t look too closely at the walls.

Fringe review: Whisper in My Good Ear

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By Wendy Carson

“Whisper in My Good Ear,” by Vintage Players at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre, is the story of two old men overwhelmed with the hardships of their lives. Charlie’s wife has been institutionalized for 34 years and shows no signs of improvement or even any recognition of who he is. Max has lived a lonely life in which he would call random phone numbers just to hear another person say, “Hello” to him.

Since their outlooks are so bleak, they have made a pact to meet in this park and end their lives together. We are therefore witnessing the final conversation of their bleak existence.

In the hands of these two brilliant actors, this drama is uplifted into a level of brilliance that supersedes the dour subject matter. Lawrence Ripp brings a tender, joviality to Charlie and his hopefulness even in the face of his slow loss of everything that he loves in his life. Patrick O’Brian’s introspective take on Max and the unadulterated loneliness of his life makes his character’s sorrow even more poignant.

Watching these two seasoned actors bring this story to life is a delight that should really not be missed.

Fringe review: Ca-Ching

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By John Lyle Belden

As you enter the Theatre on the Square main stage for “Ca-Ching: A Modern American Religious Drama” by Nomads Collective, the actors are already on stage bantering. Yes, this is one of those truly “Fringe” shows where things get kind of odd.

In between the dance breaks, we get the stories of various characters affected by today’s economic struggles: a minimum-wage worker fixated on and frustrated by how little he makes for his constant labor; a couple faced with the choice of a leaky roof or no home at all, but the man has a talent he doesn’t realize could save them; Father Jobs, an idealistic innovator dismayed at how his world-changing inventions aren’t necessarily changing things for the better; an artist who discovers Jobs’ latest device, but she finds it easier to cash in than create; and Big Spender, who seems to embody the evils of capitalism in a single man. The big guy will get you ahead in life, but you might have to debase yourself.

The presentation is unusual – maybe not for everyone – but give it a chance. In the hours afterward, as I considered what I had seen, the message and meanings started coming through. And as another Fringer told me, if the show makes you think, isn’t that what this festival is about?

Fringe review: 4.48 Psychosis

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By Wendy Carson

“4.48 Psychosis,” by Savage at Last at Theatre on the Square Stage Two, is one of those edgy, artistic shows that makes the Fringe what it is. The performance is created to give you an insight to the constant suffering of psychotics. Aparently the 4.48 of the title is a reference to the 1 hour and 12 minutes of clarity that she experiences.

My best take on the production was, What if William Shakespeare wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”?

While the show’s disjointed narrative is necessary to drive whatever story that exists here, difficult and challenging are the best descriptors I can come up with. Plus, it has the strangest, most awkward ending I’ve ever experienced.

This show is not for everyone, but it is a powerful experience for anyone who attends. If you do add this to your schedule, I strongly suggest that you schedule a light comedy afterwards to keep our brain from being overwhelmed.