NUVO.NET - IndyFringe

THISWEEK
Vol. 25 Issue 23 issue #1170
NUVO.NET
WHAT’S ONLINE
THAT’S NOT IN PRINT?
COVER
PAGE 08
INDYFRINGE FROM TOP TO BOTTOM
GEN CON COSPLAY
If you see one slideshow this week,
make it this one.
By Mike Allee
DJ TOPSPEED
ALL 64 plays reviewed. All of ‘em. The good, the meh, the thoughtful and the funny.
By NUVO editors and reviewers
NEWS...... 06 ARTS....... 20 MUSIC......26
Info on the Mass Ave mural and its subject.
AN OPEN LETTER TO FERGUSON’S
LAW ENFORCEMENT VOICES PG. 04
By Katherine Coplen
COLTS, FEVER
AND PACEMATES
“The pictures coming from your city are drawing comparisons to Gaza and Iraq. That’s not a chamber of commerce
moment.” By Steve Simpson
Our resident pro-sports photographer’s been busy.
By Phil Taylor
WE ‘EFFED UP!
It happens sometimes, we apologize, carry on ...
In our preview of Sausagefest 2014 (Soundcheck,
NUVO Aug.13-20), we mistakenly placed St. Thomas
Aquinas in the neighborhood of Meridian-Kessler —
the church is actually in Butler-Tarkington. The good
news: it’s been quite a while since we referred to
Fletcher Place as Fountain Square (but we’re still a
little muddy as to where Broad Ripple proper ends
and SoBro starts).
UNION 50
FOOD PG. 23
LAND HO!
FILM PG. 20
It might sound odd, but don’t judge
a restaurant by the menu alone.
“A low-key delight, a little movie
without pretension.”
By Jolene Ketzenberger
By Ed Johnson-Ott
A preview of Saturday’s big battle
at the Vogue.
By Seth Johnson
STAFF
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
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BROOKINZ BEAT
BATTLE
MUSIC PG. 28
EDITORIAL // [email protected]
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NEWS EDITOR AMBER STEARNS // [email protected]
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
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MUSIC EDITOR KATHERINE COPLEN // [email protected]
LISTINGS/FOOD EDITOR SARAH MURRELL //
[email protected] // [email protected]
FILM EDITOR ED JOHNSON-OTT
COPY EDITOR KIM HOOD JACOBS
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR DAVID HOPPE
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS WAYNE BERTSCH, MARK A. LEE
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS TOM ALDRIDGE, MARC ALLAN,
WADE COGGESHALL, STEVE HAMMER, SCOTT HALL,
RITA KOHN, LORI LOVELY, PAUL F. P. POGUE,
JULIANNA THIBODEAUX
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS
BRIAN WEISS
EDITORIAL INTERNS
TERYN ARMSTRONG, LEANN DOERFLEIN,
SOPHIA HARRIS, TARA LONGARDNER, AARON MAXEY,
ANNIE QUIGLEY, JUSTIN SHAW
MEDIA CONSULTANT
DAVID SEARLE // [email protected] // 808-4607
ACCOUNTS MANAGER MARTA SANGER //
[email protected] // 808-4615
ACCOUNTS MANAGER KELLY PARDEKOOPER //
[email protected] // 808-4616
ART & PRODUCTION //
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PRODUCTION MANAGER/ART DIRECTOR
DAVE WINDISCH // [email protected]
SENIOR DESIGNER ASHA PATEL
GRAPHIC DESIGNERS WILL McCARTY, ERICA WRIGHT
ADMINISTRATION // [email protected]
BUSINESS MANAGER
KATHY FLAHAVIN // [email protected]
CONTRACTS SUSIE FORTUNE // [email protected]
IT MANAGER T.J. ZMINA // [email protected]
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
RYAN MCDUFFEE // [email protected]
COURIER DICK POWELL
DISTRIBUTION MEL BAIRD, LAWRENCE CASEY, JR.,
BOB COVERT, MIKE FLOYD, MIKE FREIJE, STEVE REYES,
HAROLD SMITH, BOB SOOTS, RON WHITSIT
DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT SUSIE FORTUNE, CHRISTA PHELPS,
DICK POWELL
ADVERTISING/MARKETING/PROMOTIONS
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NUVO.NET/ADVERTISING
DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING
MARY MORGAN // [email protected] // 808-4614
EVENT AND PROMOTIONS MANAGER
MELISSA HOOK // [email protected] // 808-4618
MARKETING & EVENTS COORDINATOR
MEAGHAN BANKS// [email protected] // 808-4608
MEDIA CONSULTANT
NATHAN DYNAK // [email protected] // 808-4612
HARRISON ULLMANN (1935-2000) EDITOR (1993-2000)
ANDY JACOBS JR. (1932-2013) CONTRIBUTING
(2003-2013)
NUVO // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // 08.20.14 - 08.27.14 // THIS WEEK 3
COOK THEATRE
reviews by Hope Baugh
Alice vs. Wonderland
NoExit Performance e
Not everything in this creativity-stuffed girl
power show works but it’s all fascinating.
Instead of falling down a rabbit hole, Alice
(Valerie Stoffer) finds herself in a Wonderland
that is part alien laboratory, part video game
where the Queen (Georgeanna Smith) wants
Alice’s purity for herself. The White Rabbit
(Ryan Mullins) gives the audience a website
and code so we can advise Alice via our
phones about which bottle to drink, etc. Most
of the dialogue is pre-recorded and although
the actors’ movements fit it ingeniously, it
is still hard to understand, so it helps if you
already know characters such as the Cheshire
Cat and the Caterpillar.
Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Cabargay III: The Cabergayest!
Indianapolis Men’s Chorus r
A handful of Chorus members accompanied by two or three pianists taking
turns offer an eclectic mix of mostly solo
numbers, performed with varying levels
of singing ability but consistently good
diction and a broad, believable range of
contagiously heartfelt emotion. I didn’t get
the joke behind “The Fuck Song,” but it
sounded beautiful. “Moon River” moved
me to tears. Still other numbers had me
laughing appreciatively or nodding in sympathy. I was sad not to be able to hear the
full Chorus, but this program was enjoyable in its own way, lovely in its intimacy.
Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
LIVE
INDYFRINGE
FESTIVAL
WHERE: SI X THE ATER S ( O R
EIGHT STAGES) I N THE
M A S S AVE AREA
WHEN: AUGUST 14- 2 4
TIC KETS: $15 ADULT,
$12 STUDENT/SENIOR,
$5 UNDER 12
IN F O: E ACH SHOW I S 45- 60
M INUTE S, NO LATE SEAT IN G
IND YFRI NGE .ORG
Fruit Flies Like a Banana:
21 Things They Won’t Teach
You at Julliard
The Fourth Wall e
This show made me weep, it was so beautiful and fun. “Pick another card! Quickly!”
Audience members read each card aloud and
the Fourth Wall people run to gather the
tuba or the tiny piano or whatever is needed
for that lesson. We race against the clock to
complete all 21 lessons in the pack before the
hour is up. But inside each lesson, nothing is
rushed. There is exactly enough time to experience everything from the music of silence to
how not to bow. Hybrid artists C. Neil Parsons,
Hilary Abigana and Greg Jukes blend dance,
music and comedy into gift after gift for us.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 6 p.m.
The Importance of Being Electra
Carmel High School t
Electra assumes her parents will never under-
8 COVER STORY // 08.20.14 - 08.27.14 // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // NUVO
stand her love of acting. So she lies to her
fellow thespians about who she really is.
When the boy she likes wants their parents
to meet, Electra convinces another girl to
pose as her. Simple! Not. All of the actors are
approximately the same age, so it is challenging to believe some are parents of the others.
Nonetheless, if you have ever said, “Theater
is my life,” you will probably overlook it. This
farce by CHS teacher Jim Peterson takes a
while to get going, but it turns out funny and
there’s a great balcony fight.
Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 p.m.
Jacked
Bob Sander w
This radio show could also be called
“Stacked” — there are so many layers to it,
all so seamlessly integrated that it’s fun rather
than suffocating. It even includes two dance
breaks. The actors read from scripts on music
stands, with a couple of foley artists (Matt
and Holly Sommers) off to the side, and the
studio audience acting as chorus on command. All of the actors are excellent. Bob
Barton, Travis DiNicola, Sue Grizzell, and Ken
Oguss play multiple roles. Playwright Bob
Sander is the Narrator and Jim Poyser is adorable as the semi-psychotic Jack, of Jack and
the Beanstalk fame.
Thursday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.
The Real McCoy
Brent McCoy: Comedy That Works
q
Unlike in The Secret Circus, in which he and
his wife play British spies, in this solo show,
Brent McCoy is himself, Vermont accent and
all. Part juggler, part comedian, part (family-friendly) strip teaser, McCoy can engage
an all-ages audience like no one else. You
don’t feel manipulated, though. You laugh
a lot and leave feeling relaxed and happy.
It’s basically the same juggling show he did
the last time he was here, but his skills are
as impressive as ever. And now the show
is on the small Cook Theatre stage, which
makes it feel new and even more difficult.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 3 p.m.
The Secret Circus
The Secret Circus q
This is the hilarious story of two nerdy-sexy
characters, Agent Honeymoon and Agent
Butterfly, and their death-defying (or at least
broken-bone-and-broken-chandelier-defying) journey to accomplish their mission. I’d
like to think it is also the story of Brent and
Maya McCoy’s marriage. He lifts her, she lifts
him, upside down, back and forth, balancing
each other no matter what sharp knives or
other distractions come flying through the
air. And really, isn’t everyone’s marriage a
secret circus understood only by the people
climax; that said, this compassionate show
should hit home with people of all sizes.
Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.
Simply ... Complicated!
PHOTO BY DAN AXLER
Buskers light it up outside of the IndyFringe Theatre.
inside it? Anyway, this show has completely
different content from Brent McCoy’s solo
show, but is similar in terms of impressive
skills and joyful audience engagement.
Friday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.;
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
such as parenting and dealing with millennials, intertwined with politically and historically
motivated stand-up that may lead you to
reevaluate your worldview.
Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Thursday, 6 p.m.;
Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
Stakeout
Tales from the Cornstalk Ghetto
Dreambuilders r
Deborah Asante directed this comedy based
on playwrights Lillie Barnett Evans’ and
Crystal V. Rhodes’ Grandmothers Incorporated
books. Ellen Sayles Lane is Hattie, a new private detective in her sixties whose first assignment is to get photographic evidence of a
friend’s cheating husband. Hattie tricked her
mother-in-law, Miss Fanny (Francie Paskett
Mayes), into lending her car so now they
are both sitting outside the cheater’s hotel.
While they wait, they make funny, poignant
discoveries about their own relationship. Both
actors speak slowly and deliberately, with an
exaggerated acting style that takes some getting used to but which also makes them very
easy to understand.
Thursday, 6 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
Scott Long y
If you’ve nurtured a love/hate relationship
with the Midwest since birth, then it’s easy
to empathize with Scott Long’s Tales from
the Cornstalk Ghetto. His heartfelt story of
growing up as a “churchie” and developing into a family man despite his father’s
alcoholism and negative attitude resonates
as something that many midwestern men
have no doubt experienced firsthand.
However, Long can’t maintain his facepaced patter against awkwardly paced
transitions voiced by Casey Kasem, the DJ
that Long would hungrily wait for every
Sunday of his childhood. These transitions,
plus Long’s failure to successfully differentiate between each character, make for an
imperfect but sentimental tale of coming
of age in the Midwest.
Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 p.m.;
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
COMEDYSPORTZ
reviews by Tarah Cantrell
American History XXX
Peter-John Byrnes w
Disclaimer: If you don’t like to read or don’t
have a vast knowledge of current events and
culture, then this show is not for you. (But
then again, you probably wouldn’t be reading
NUVO right now, would you?) Byrnes seems
to have a knack for broaching controversial
subjects, including but not limited to racism
and vegetarianism, with a voice both hilarious and at times uncomfortable in the best
of ways. Witty, smart anecdotes cover topics
Indianapolis Metropolitan Theatre Company
u
Susan Bennett immediately wins the audience over with a joke that pokes fun at the
entitlement of those lucky enough to grow
up on Broadway and summer on the Riviera.
Unfortunately, the stories she tells through
the rest of Simply ... Complicated! don’t match
the potency of this intro. Numbers hang on a
clothesline; an audience member yells out a
number, Bennett plucks it from the rope and
tells a story from her life. Choppy transitions
abound as she struggles to keep the audience’s attention. Bennett says there is so much
material to cover that “you have to come
back” to hear every story; you be the judge.
Thursday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 3 p.m.
Thank You, Johnny Carson
Matt Holt t
In Thank You, Johnny Carson, Matt Holt
tells stories about watching his parents
laugh at Johnny Carson’s jokes from a hallway in his boyhood home. The performance
oozes with heart, and Holt’s depiction of his
life is reminiscent of other coming-of-age
tales set in Indiana. The anecdotes are wellwritten and executed as classic stand-up
with dramatic storytelling inserted throughout. At times Holt struggles to inject energy
and maintain pacing. He is also occasionally
unable to enunciate clearly. Despite these
minor flaws, Holt’s ode to the comedian
who inspired him to live his dreams takes
spectators on an endearing and emotional
journey that encourages exploration, generosity and living a spirited life.
Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.
A Shame of Thrones, Unscripted:
An Improvised Parody
ComedySportz Indianapolis r
ComedySportz has a history of providing
great spur-of-the-moment entertainment to
locals, and A Shame of Thrones, Unscripted:
An Improvised Parody delivers exactly what
is promised, both in title and reputation. The
actors maintain a high energy level and show
off their improvisational skills. Inside jokes
are told throughout (“I believe that was the
name you were also given last show”) and
those who haven’t seen Game of Thrones will
feel somewhat alienated by the parody’s plot.
Still, the show’s often laugh-out-loud funny
and will more than satisfy the geek within.
Friday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 6 p.m.
Fat Kid Chronicles
Eryn Bowser e
Eryn Bowser’s Fat Kid Chronicles describes
coming of age in the nineties in enough
detail that some may feel as though she is
telling their own stories. The scene is set
with a folding screen and various clothing pieces that, as Bowser reflects on how
she perceives her own body, get strewn all
over the stage. The mood is at times funny
and at others angsty, fittingly echoing
the battles that every young person faces,
whether it is because of weight issues or
other feelings of not quite belonging. The
atmosphere gets a bit too heavy toward the
NUVO // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // 08.20.14 - 08.27.14 // COVER STORY 9
Darwin vs Rednecks
Stewart Huff q
Irreverent and unapologetically liberal, Stewart
Huff guides the audience through his own
theories about what makes humans different
from other animals. This isn’t a lecture but a
vehicle for Huff to describe the simple profundities of life in a very engaging manner.
Darwin vs Rednecks will make you laugh at
the absurdities of flawed and circular arguments and reflect on your own abilities to
discern fact from fiction. Don’t let the title fool
you. The show’s not as much about evolution
as it is about fostering and maintaining curiosity in the world we share.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
Indefinite Articles: Libertarian Rage
Maximum Verbosity t
Phillip Low tells very interesting stories, but
as the show’s title suggests, his rage often
gets in the way of his ability to make rational
and sincere arguments. Low uses his experiences as a writer as a starting point for arguments about fiscal conservatism, as well as
his process of rediscovering and struggling to
embrace his own religious beliefs. His assertion that religion has the power to make him
a better person directly contradicts the bomb
dropped in the second half, when he recounts
an intimate encounter with one of the most
divisive American politicians in recent history.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
THEATRE ON THE SQUARE,
MAIN STAGE
reviews by Scott Shoger
New Voices
Dance Kaleidoscope e
It's billed as the “first time DK dancers
have created their own choreography.”
And to that I'll say: What took so long?
They certainly aren't lacking for ideas. If
anything, a few of these pieces are a bit
overstuffed, with dancers/choreographers
trying to cram life stories into 10 minutes
or less. Lively interludes like Noah Trulock's
ribbon-flourishing Fleeting Moments
and Jilian Godwin’s street dance-fueled
Contemplation break up heavier loads like
Justin Sears-Watson’s Epidemic, a twitchy,
confined depiction of drug addiction. The
six-piece show closes on an urgent note:
Stuart Coleman’s Electric Fences, created in
response to a bigot’s proposal that gays and
lesbians be thrown in concentration camps,
opens in fear and trembling and closes with
a much-needed embrace.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 6 p.m.
10 COVER STORY // 08.20.14 - 08.27.14 // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // NUVO
Four Humors’ Lolita:
A Three Man Show
Four Humors Theater t
Ryan Lear looks a bit like James Mason
(actually, more like Bill Hader doing Peter
O’Toole), and then the resemblances fall off
from there in this sometimes funny, sometimes overly insistent spoof of Kubrick’s Lolita.
And miscasting is at the heart of the show.
Be prepared to laugh (or, well, not) at the
idea of a hairy, slightly paunchy Lolita (Brant
Miller), or to sit through a ton of references
to her totally being 12 years old. Lear’s dumbfounded, frozen-faced Humbert Humbert is
pretty darn funny and Brant Miller does an
impressive job in several parts, including a
grotesque butler who finds his part greatly
expanded in this version. Still, their comedy of
digression can get tiresome, and I’m not sure
why they chose to take on this classic out of
hundreds of other options.
Friday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
Shattered
Motus Dance r
Performances by elementary school students in the Kids Dance Outreach program
bookend this Motus sampler, lending the
proceedings a ton of youthful enthusiasm
while making it a bit tough to settle in for
the more carefully paced parts of the show.
Which is to say that the second half of the
show resonates more than the first, as ostracism and emotional glaciation give way to
a hypnotic lightness and sense of togetherness. Credit is due to the cast of nine dancers
for quickly regrouping after one of the leads
was injured during rehearsals.
Thursday, 9 p.m.; Sunday 7:30 p.m.
The Great Bike Race
Zach Rosing Productions r
“Cleverly anachronistic.” That’s what critics
are supposed to call the Tour de France radio
show “broadcast” during this frothy, fluffy
sketch-driven almost-musical comedy set during the 1904 Tour de France. So now that
that’s out of the way — I’ll say that the way
sound, physical comedy, projections (including
expertly-shot, silent film-style video and smartly-designed titles) and script work together in
this show makes for, at times, downright hilarity, and at others, a bit of disappointment that
they couldn’t quite keep up the pace.
Thursday, 6 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 p.m.;
Saturday, 4:30 p.m.
Art*
Indy Shakes u
This “movement-based show” (as defined by
its director) may punch above its weight in
attempting to interpret classic works of art
via sketch comedy, dance and solo emoting.
Masterpieces resist translation — and the
Indy Shakes crew took on the big ones here,
from “Mona Lisa” to “Guernica.” And while
a riff on the way people react to a Mona
Lisa smile is clever, much of these rest of this
exercise in art appreciation seemed, painfully obvious or just misguided, as when each
of the cast members is given a solo opportunity to mime a painful experience against a
backdrop of “The Scream.”
Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.
The Pied Piper of Hoboken
Theatre on the Square t
Lou Harry remains this city’s champion of
the groan inducing pun, and there were
quite a few of them threaded through this
Shakespeare play “recently discovered in a
New Jersey landfill.” Claudius, who’s literally
a rat, would trade his “kingdom for some
cheese.” The Mayor of Hamelin? Well, he’s
named Greg Balladeer. Businesses in medieval New Jersey include FedExcalibur and the
King Arthur Murray Dance Studios. You get
the idea. Sarah Hoffman, playing a ton of
roles (notably a MacBethian witch), leads an
energetic cast that couldn’t quite sell all this
material on opening night (and maybe the
Borders Books and Marcus Welby jokes could
use freshening up, given that the play would
certainly work for a younger audience).
Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 p.m.;
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
a charismatic, quick-witted host and each of
six comedians earned at least a laugh or two,
sometimes by screwing up, but more impressively by taking a scene in an unexpected
direction or putting over a clever line. Here’s
hoping this charming, energetic, up-and-coming crew keeps working on its craft; they’re
already a welcome alternative to established
brands like ComedySportz.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
way Gaines acts out battles between samurai
and brigands, miming blood spurting and
intestine unfurling, is downright ingenious
and hilarious without losing a certain gravity.
Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.;
Sunday, 3 p.m.
THEATRE ON THE SQUARE,
STAGE TWO
reviews by Rita Kohn
7(x1) Samurai
David Gaines w
Forgive me if I borrow a line from David
Hoppe’s review of 7(x1) Samurai from 2009,
when it most recently played the Fringe:
“Watching Gaines you understand why
people started calling certain kinds of performances ‘plays.’” I’ll second the thought: It’s a
joy to watch Gaines play just about the entire
cast of Seven Samurai — from townspeople
to samurai to brigands — employing only a
couple masks (to differentiate the good and
bad guys) and, of course, his lifetime of
experience as a clown and mime. I suspect
you’d get more out of it if you’d seen
the film recently; even though Gaines
takes pains to differentiate each
samurai, it can be a little tough
to follow the action. But who
cares about the plot? The
Act a Foo Improv
The Death of Me
Assorted Fruits and Vegetables e
In The Death of Me, sharp dialogue built on
cutting insights delves into how easily people
misinterpret good intentions and miss blatantly obvious bad omens. In a topsy-turvey
riff on It’s a Wonderful Life, John finds himself
dead when he’s not at all finished living. “I
haven’t made my mark,” he informs the Angel
of Death. Gaining a 24-hour reprieve, John
— who always does the right thing — tracks
down his former fiance to learn why she was
a no-show for their wedding and confronts an
emergency room doctor to remedy his untimely death. Brisk, on-target acting.
Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 p.m.
The Fucking Classiest Show Ever
No Holds Bard t
Taking theater of the absurd to far edges
of absurdity, this head-shaking foray into
the fracturing of Shakespeare follows two
“techies” on their quest to bring stability
to their pathetically dilapidated porn studio. The plan they hatch is so far-fetched it
could become a classic case of desperation
as the father of futility. Action peaks into
the crescendo of a pseudo-sword fight, then
laboriously plummets as the techies consider
blackmail in order to gain the upper hand in
a political duel. The dozen scenes are keyed
to bits of classical music emerging out of
blackouts. Wry humor reigns.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 6 p.m.
Portraits Like American Gothic
Casey Ross Productions t
Four screwed up people meet around a sofa
to defend their opinions and traumas while
trying, in monologues between dialogues,
to gain sympathy for their cause of finding
enlightenment past the darkness of bad
choices. One can see the ‘surprise’ ending
spiraling out of the endless chatter as a
dozen episodes, a dozen blackouts and a
dozen re-arrangements of a symbolic sofa,
a real chair, two disparate paintings and
a comfort blanket go on far too long. Do
we care? Yes, if you’re into wonderment at
how and why friendships and relationships
Act a Foo Improv t
I’ll admit that I walked out of Act a Foo’s
Friday night show wondering exactly what
I had been laughing at. But the fact is that
I laughed, and kept laughing, at this hour
of team-based, competitive improv comedy
made up of games you’ve seen on Whose
Line or other local stages. Daniel Martin is
The Secret Circus at Cook Theatre.
PHOTO BY DAN AXLER
NUVO // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // 08.20.14 - 08.27.14 // COVER STORY 11
twist and turn into scathing unkindness.
Friday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.
RESEARCH STUDY:
How to Raise a Good Child Badly
ADULTS 18 TO 50 WITH GENITAL HERPES FOR AT LEAST 1 YEAR ARE NEEDED
Paul Strickland Presents t
This episodic story follows a family across
many years and a lot of terrain only to spin
itself back to where it all started. Mauro
switches characters within the blink of an
eye and we race to keep up with who is who
and how they are related and what possibly
could happen next. In the end we’re grateful
this isn’t our family because surely we’re not
that blatantly incompetent.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
FOR A STUDY TO TEST A NEW VACCINE NOT APPROVED BY THE FOOD AND
DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THERE WILL BE 3 DOSES OF VACCINE GIVEN WITH
STUDY PARTICIPATION LASTING UP TO 17 MONTHS. RESEARCH IS DONE AT
INDIANA UNIVERSITY INFECTIOUS DISEASES RESEARCH AT THE ESKENAZI
HEALTH CAMPUS. CALL 278-2945 OR E-MAIL [email protected]. RISKS ARE
DISCLOSED BEFORE ENROLLMENT. PAYMENT IS PROVIDED.
UnMasked
Twilight Productions e
In UnMasked, Curt morphs into eight different
characters, each teetering on the brink and into
the precipice of madness. In baseball, if you
don’t physically touch second base, it’s an automatic out. Well, these are honest-to-life characters that somehow can’t reach out and touch
the bag even when they’re practically on top
of it. Heartrending, wry humor makes listening
bearable, and the acting makes watching enjoyable. Wisdom comes with heartache.
Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Thursday, 9 p.m.;
Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
Live On Air with Poet Laureate
Telia Nevile
Post Laureate Telia Nevile e
A smart representation of an on-air radio
show from a bedroom in the Australian hill
country, Nevile in turn beguiles and berates,
soothes and provokes, speaks the truth and
parodies. The pacing is sharp, the timing is
perfect, the poetry is pointed and the intentions are honest. “The coin of passion has
a flip side — rejection,” quips Nevile, “taking the ka-chunk to a higher level with and
rejection fuels my passion.” The litany of pet
peeves hits home. Disengaging oneself from
a go-nowhere relationship “gets back self
respect and peace and quiet.” We smile at
the wisdom and chortle knowingly.
Thursday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
The Vainglorious Mr. Pugh
[email protected]
Investigator: Dr. Domenick Zero IU School of Dentistry, Oral Health Research Institute,
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Sarsparilla Shook Productions
t
“They’ve got the smartest printed program blurb,” said a Fringe volunteer of
this mash-up of Waiting for Godot and
Hamlet’s encounter with the gravedigger.
Alas, this play’s intentions were lost with not
being able to actually hear all the dialogue
between the angst-ridden Geno Carpetti and
the ‘this-is-what-I-settled-for‘ Donny McFinn.
Directors, please do a sound check, taking
noisy air conditioners into account. That said,
the intricate blocking and repetitive manner-
isms are engrossing. Why are they waiting?
What do they do while waiting? It’s the body
language of dealing with ill-fitting cowboy
boots and revealing emotions through movement that ultimately engage.
Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
Bear Fights and Balloon Flights
The Power Couple r
Storytelling like you’ve never heard/seen/
felt before. With his unassuming, “aw
shucks” presence, Jason Adams bids you
to lean forward and get totally engrossed
in a series of bizarre episodes based on a
believe it or not slices of ventures, adventures, misadventures, one tumbling after
the other. His half dozen stories, spun out
with quirkily charming visual aids, grabbed
hold and stuck with me. In an angst-ridden
world, this is a diverting interlude.
Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.;
Sunday, 3 p.m.
PHOENIX, BASILE THEATRE
reviews by Dan Grossman except when noted
Exposure: Dancing with Vulnerability
Diane Black y
It must have been a shock for her colleagues
in the audience to see Diane Black, an Indybased public defender, take the stage in black
lingerie. But the exposure that this 51-yearold woman offers is more emotional than
sexual as she shares episodes of vulnerability
in her life. “This is not a musical,” she says,
although she intersperses storytelling with
dancing and singing. The dancing’s especially
awkward. The strongest section comes when
she talks about how she has shut down
emotionally while defending her clients and
the damage that has ensued. Getting to that
point, however, takes way too long.
Friday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Out of the Doghouse, Into the Heart
Sally Perkins e
This easily could have been a dog of a performance, as it were. But Perkins transcends
possible pitfalls of the one-woman-show
genre as she tells of her and her family’s
experiences with raising dogs. Perkins talks
about choosing her poodles — and naming
them after pizza chains — without skipping
over the more unsavory parts that followed
(poop, vomit and the poodles’ well-compensated vets and trainers). This performance
works because of Perkins’ engaging manner,
her mastery of physical comedy, and her
ability to stamp out squirmy sentimentality
with a well-placed wisecrack.
Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30p.m.
Death Metal Podcast for Kids on the Phoenix Main Stage.
PHOTO BY DAN AXLER
Not a Destination
Hoosier Roots ... ?
Jeremy Schaefer r
The thematic content of this energetic monologue by Chicago-based Schaefer is telegraphed by the title, which refers to the oftreferred quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Life
is a journey, not a destination.” But Emerson
didn’t travel as widely as Schaefer has. His reallife destinations — Amsterdam, an Ecuadorian
Cloud Forest, and Machu Picchu — all seem
to have a corollary in the imaginary world of
“Rambolia” that he created for himself and his
friend as a child. American “gentrified reality”
doesn’t have as great a hold on him as worlds
imaginary or as yet unseen, hence his need
for travel. Schaeffer’s funny anecdotes of his
travel misadventures balance out the banal
life-affirming bits.
Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Maggie Mae Productions e
This is the story of how Lou Ann Homan went
back to nature, taking a page from Henry
David Thoreau’s Walden, in her attempt to
“live deep and suck all of the marrow of
life.” But Thoreau didn’t have a family to
drag to his pond, as Homan dragged hers out
to homestead a plot of land near Angola,
Indiana. Homan channels the naiveté of her
younger self to lay the groundwork for many
humorous stories (living with a chamber pot
and without electricity). Ultimately though,
she reveals some success in following another
Thoreau dictum: “If you’ve built castles in the
air that is where they should be…now put
foundations under them.”
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 p.m.;
Sunday, 3 p.m.
Star Luck Café
Ghosts are Frightening
and Instructive
Red Boat Productions q
“Thrush” (Deb Mullins) opens this inspired
production by strumming her guitar and
singing about the Star Luck Café and its
customers. “People come to share ideas as
if someone might care,” she sings. But café
owner Dizzy (Kevin Johnson) at first seems
not to care. He’s seen too many poets like
Moonshine (Allison Reddick) and Getty (Clay
Mabbitt) walk through his door. “Your shit
is paradise to a fly,” he says. Such exchanges
between Dizzy and his customers suggest
that great poetry cannot be written in vacuum, that it requires an exchange of ideas
that WiFi-free coffee houses like Star Luck
provide. Get ready for deft discourses about
art and life, lightning-quick wordplay, and
Moonshine’s svelte, sexy dancing.
Thursday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.;
Sunday, 6 p.m.
Cody Melcher t
Chicago-based Melcher grew up in a Texas
town that wasn’t the best possible environment for a gay male. And perhaps it’s
because of a lack of role models in Texas
that he identified with Niles from the sitcom
Frasier. Twenty-something Melcher has a
slightly more outlandish stage presence than
Niles, with his close cropped mane of purple
hair and his laugh that sounds, according to
him, like the offspring of Krusty the Clown
and Snugglepuss. There are so many great
lines in this one man show — and Melcher
has such great comic timing — but the music
stand from which he read his monologue
was a barrier of sorts, precluding a fuller
intimacy with his audience.
Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
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Fata Morgana
The Useful Woman
Loren Niemi w
At the outset of this feat of virtuoso storytelling, Loren Niemi — a modern day
Scheherazade — gives his audience a choice.
Should he begin his tale with the baker, the
contessa, the mapmaker or the widow? These
are the main characters from a world of stories
that owes something to the Arabian Nights
but really just exists in Niemi’s gray matter.
That is to say, he has never written any of this
down. In said world, there are oases, high
towers, and the titular destination, where not
everyone can stay. But you just might want to
return to watch a repeat performance. Niemi’s
stage presence is utterly captivating and no
two of his performances are exactly alike.
Prairie Ditch Productions r
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.
Mrs. President: A Visit With
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mamathewsproductions e
MaryAnne Mathews is Mary Todd Lincoln in
her final year, back in Springfield, living in a
cluttered room at her sister’s. She is not sure
who we are — she even asks Mr. Lincoln’s
portrait on the wall, “Who are these people?” — but she accepts that we are suddenly
guests in her home and interested in her life.
As Mrs. Lincoln reminisces, the actor becomes
MTL at various ages. This show might be a
little confusing if you don’t already know
something about MTL’s life, but I love that
Mathews shows us, not just tells us, that MTL
was a complex woman. — Hope Baugh
Historical fiction can be rife with caricature, but this account of Carrie Nation’s
rock-throwing, hatchet wielding vandalism designed to rid the world of Satan’s
whiskey dodges most of those traps.
Jolene Mentink Moffatt rounds out Nation
nicely (read: there’s humanity behind the
crazy) as Bennett Ayres’ script gives us the
backstory behind Nation’s terrorist tactics
— not to mention her belief in a God she
addresses directly. For Nation, the Lord’s
gone to sleep on her and the rest of the
world, and despite her messianic zeal,
Nation seems to identify more with Job
than Jesus. Opening night jitters brought
some stumbles; by the end of this run The
Useful Woman will likely be a four-star
show. Line of the night: “You temperance
women — I wish you’d all been asked to
dance just once.”
Friday, 9 p.m., Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Thursday, 6 p.m.;
Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
PHOENIX, MAIN STAGE
reviews by Ed Wenck
Bang, Bang. You’re Dead.
Wisdom Tooth Theatre Project t
Wisdom Tooth Theatre gets an A for effort.
Josh, a high school student, murders his parents and five classmates in a spree-shooting,
and the dead kids haunt Josh as he sits
in prison. William Mastrosimone’s script,
penned in the late ‘90s, draws from a
school shooting in Oregon, Poe and
Greek tragedy (ghosts make for a damn
powerful chorus). Because the play was written for kids to be performed mostly by kids,
some of the acting’s hit-and-miss, but the
overall effect is powerful. The Wisdom Tooth
players have mastered the art of minimalist
stagecraft: a single wooden box becomes
jailhouse cot, locker, judge’s bench and even
coffin. A few moments are overwrought,
though given the subject matter, subtlety
would’ve been hard to come by.
Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.
14 COVER STORY // 08.20.14 - 08.27.14 // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // NUVO
PHOTO BY DAN AXLER
Motus Dance performs Shattered on the TOTS
Main Stage.
Enter the Brozone
Defiance Comedy y
Part of the reason the film This is Spinal
Tap worked so well was that it was entirely
plausible for a hair-metal band to sing “Big
Bottom.” The trouble with Brozone is that it’s
entirely implausible for a boy band — even
a bad one — to sing about their penises so
much. Brozone attempts to parody sitcoms
and cheesy top-40 acts and stumbles a bit at
both attempts — there are just too many dick
jokes. It’s a shame, too, because the five guys
in the band can really harmonize, the character “Hutch” (Kyle McCord) has some genuine
charm and an acoustic number near the end
drops the crotch references and effectively
skewers insipid studio-manufactured tween
pop. Lyrics like “your hurtful words are hurting
the hurt in my hurt bone” are an indication of
how much more clever this could’ve been.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.
Jen Con
Shadowape w
Wildly inventive tale of slacker Mitchell
(whose obsessions include online gaming
and fast food), his long-suffering female
partner Con (Constance Macy) and the characters of a fantasy contest called “Battle
Ax.” In a moment alone with Mitchell’s laptop, Con begins communicating with game
character Jenevive (Jen Johansen on stilts
in a literally towering performance) and
the two begin empowering one another in
both their respective worlds. Rob Johansen,
handling the roles of Mitchell and two Battle
Ax characters, proves again he’s one hell of
a character actor and Macy is spot on, too.
Loaded with priceless moments and resonant
lines that’ll stay with you long after the final
bow, this one’s both funny and thoughtful.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 6 p.m.
Indiana! A Hoosiercal Musical!
Three Dollar Bill Comedy e
The members of Three Dollar Bill know the
ingredients for top-shelf sketch comedy: open
big, close big, pick the right targets and know
where to drop the f-bombs. After the first
ten raucous minutes, one wonders if the crew
can sustain the thing for nearly an hour, and
the answer’s yes. Some pretty funny recorded
local-celebrity voice-overs introduce quite a
few scenes (nice work, Mr. Mayor), and two
running bits are given just the right amount
of stage time. Any good standup knows that
local references are always easy for a big
laugh, but this troupe pulls off what may be
the funniest (hell, maybe the only) sketch
revolving entirely around President Benjamin
Harrison’s historical re-enactor. A few juvenile
and cringe-worthy moments are completely
overshadowed by mostly sharp writing and
home-run physical comedy. Ever wondered
what a shirtless Abe Lincoln with a beer gut
might look like? Here’s your answer.
Thursday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 p.m.;
Sunday, 3 p.m.
Death Metal Podcast for Kids
Bloomington Playwrights Project
y
There’s a lot of heart in this production, but
this is ground that’s been covered before, by
Bill and Ted, Wayne and Garth, Tenacious D
— and Bill and Ted again. The Matheson cousins, along with hipster-soundman Femur, find
themselves producing one of the most popular
podcasts for kids in Central Indiana until their
evil backer loads them up with so much sponsor copy that the show loses its soul to the
man (or, in this case, woman). There are some
genuinely funny moments (metal lullabies for
nap time, anyone?) and the actors are affable
— it’s pleasant, if totally predictable, fluff.
Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 3 p.m.;
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Journey of the Kookabura
Q Artistry t
Irvington’s Q Artistry is nothing if not interesting, even when they’re talking inside baseball.
Journey of the Kookabura is the story of an
Aussie woman whose name and likeness are
remarkably similar to IndyFringe’s top banana.
There are over a dozen writers involved here,
since the audience gets to pick what happens
next — at several points the crowd chooses
between one of two plot directions. Despite
all the potential here for chaos, Q keeps the
thing pretty cohesive. This demented, wise-ass
love letter to IndyFringe on its tenth birthday
reminds us that the Q troupe would be entertaining even if they were just reading a dictionary and that if The Producers proved anything, it’s that giant headdresses are hilarious.
Thursday, 9 p.m; Friday, 7:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
Different Trains
Spontaneous Combustion Magnet Films
r
There are actually two pieces presented
here. The first, I Saw the Girl of My Dreams
on the Subway Tonight, is tender but slightly
flawed: Cities are supposed to be claustrophobic, but the moves required here just
seem too big for the Phoenix stage. The second, Different Trains, set to the Steve Reich
composition of the same name, is simply
stellar. (The image of the dancers, each with
a suitcase and stripped down to their undergarments, is a heartbreaking representation
of Hitler’s reign of terror.) A rear-projection
video screen is used to great effect and the
choreography is lovely throughout.
Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
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INDYFRINGE THEATRE
My name is ________
reviews by Katelyn Coyne
Ben Asaykwee e
Ben Asaykwee stars in this one-man show
that’s more social practice art than straightup entertainment. The refreshing piece brings
together seven stories from former soldiers,
who agreed to participate in a theater-astherapy experiment. Through music and
monologue, Asaykwee deftly captures the
essence of each real life story. The results are
moving, but the theatrical construct is a bit
too on the nose, particularly when the writing becomes overtly political. However, the
show is a testament to the therapeutic power
of theater. All proceeds from the show will be
donated to a veteran rehabilitation program.
Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Thursday, 6 p.m.;
Saturday, 4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m.
Burnt at the Steak
Carolann Valentino Productions
y
In Burnt at the Steak, the over-sexualized
Carolann Valentino recounts her experiences as a failed New York actress perpetually stuck slinging meat in a high-end
steakhouse. Valentino’s high-energy performance verges on schizophrenic. While
the myriad of characters she creates on
stage are distinct and specific, her writing
is discombobulated. It’s hard to follow a
through-line of the story — beyond her
frustrations at continually missing her next
big Broadway audition. The mildly entertaining show was mostly self-serving as she
congratulated herself for following her
dreams and defining her own success.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 6 p.m.;
Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
ANTS by Sharla Steiman
The Arden Theatre Union e
Young playwright Sharla Steiman returns
to IndyFringe after her first year of college with a broader perspective and a
wider vocabulary to again address themes
explored in her previous Fringe offerings.
This slam poet has a rhythmically pleasurable handle on language, with her ability to
turn a phrase and render familiar thoughts
in a totally new way. Yet her writing style
is more advanced than her worldview.
Portions of the show felt as if they were
lifted directly from her freshman philosophy homework. It’s as though Jezebel’s
newsfeed were translated into a Fringe
show. Regardless, it’s wonderful to see this
Hoosier playwright grow year after year.
Thursday, 9 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 p.m.;
Saturday, 6 p.m.
Professor Nakamoto’s
Nexus of Numbers
Astonishing Productions t
Greg Tobo is Professor Nakamoto, a “math
magician” who has an astonishing ability
to turn numbers and patterns into real-life
magic. Tobo’s illusions employ incredible
memorization techniques. The performance
is fully interactive and he relies upon the
audience for much of his material. But he
lacks a sense of showmanship that would
elevate his act, for example, allowing an
audience member assisting with a chessrelated trick to block the audience’s view of
view of the trick. Still, the show is perfect for
the clever mathlete in your family.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 10:30 p.m.;
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Magic of Kayla Drescher
Kayla Drescher t
Kayla Drescher is a charming young magician
whose family-friendly show will amaze all
types of theatergoers. She trades on her awkwardness to engage and disarm her audience
as she shares the story of how she came to do
magic. However, with large crowds in attendance, Drescher would serve herself to consider the many angles from which her audience
views her, as even this untrained reviewer
was able to see the strings, as it were, behind
some of the illusions. However, her culminating act was truly astonishing, and she does a
good job of holding the room’s attention.
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.; Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
Beau Heartbreaker
Selina Jenkins q
This one person show features a talented
cross-dressing Aussie whose voice will send
chills down your spine and whose lyrics will
put a smile on your face. Character comedian
Selina Jenkins dons a beard and a cowboy hat
for her male character: Beau Heartbreaker, a
dairy farmer from the outback of Australia.
Jenkins uses her velvety voice and unique
sense of humor to illustrate important and
topical issues, but never with a heavy hand. It
is Flight of the Conchords meets Hedwig and
the Angry Inch meets Ron Swanson’s alter
ego Duke Silver. Let yourself fall in love with
Beau Heartbreaker.
Saturday, 9 p.m.; Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Lou Sanz – Neverending Storage
Sanzville r
Australian comedian and writer Lou Sanz
returns to IndyFringe with her dry sense of
humor and engaging storytelling. Her newest offering chronicles her seemingly endless strand of failed relationships — and an
unattended storage unit that cost her more
than $10,000 over the course of a decade.
The running metaphor of packing away
her lost loves and bad memories into this
PHOTO BY DAN AXLER
Lou Sanz at the IndyFringe Theatre.
money pit works effectively alongside clever
cartoon illustrations. And her underlying
message that it’s better to face your past
than to stuff it away unseen is a good one.
Saturday, 10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 6 p.m.
How I Lost My Virginity at 29 and
Other Embarrassing Tales
Brian Schiller r
Brian Schiller’s one man show chronicles
his sexual history and mishaps, with the
title pretty much saying it all. A victim
of sexual abuse, Schiller exposes his own
vulnerable psyche, sharing his difficulties
with intimacy through self-deprecating
humor. It’s clear that Schiller is a talented
writer, but he lacks stage presence. He
shifts nervously as he shares the most
uncomfortable part of his story, and falls
into unvaried vocal patterns that lull the
audience. Yet the show is unexpectedly
revealing and brave as he probes to the
depths of his inner turmoil.
Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Friday, 9 p.m.;
Saturday, 3 p.m.
800 BLOC THEATER
reviews by Laurence Brown
Six Characters in Search of a Fringe
Yes Plays Theatrical Licensing t
The first performance on opening night at
new IndyFringe venue 800 Bloc Theatre,
quite appropriately concerned the trials
and tribulations of staging a fringe festival
show. Penned by Indy’s own Kristopher
Owens, Six Characters in Search of a Fringe
largely achieves its goals, with a tight script
that sees six (including a puppet) fringe-y
archetypes attempting to outdo each other
in search of critical reward. Along the way,
various aspects of fringe performance (selfmarketing, support for fellow artists, and
bad reviews) are held up to scrutiny, making this a show that — aside from one or
two issues with enunciation and projection
— will appeal to the average fringe-goer,
especially those with performer passes.
Friday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.;
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
Legend of Buffalo Bill
Terry Clark y
Biographical storytelling leaves no room
for error. On the one hand, the narrator
guiding us through each event must be
well-versed in the factual aspects of the
famed character’s life. On the other, he
must have the ability to craft a story rich in
action that holds our attention. Writer and
performer Terry Clark succeeds admirably
with the former, while not always hitting
the mark with the latter. There is more
“tell” than “show” on offer in this story of
William F. Cody — better known as Buffalo
Bill — but Clark does iron over some of the
creases with the use of something quite
wonderful: his singing voice.
Friday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 9 p.m.
Acceptance Beyond Race
Carla Sallee y
In a classroom in a Midwestern community college, a group of students — drawn
from various racial backgrounds — discuss their personal experiences with race
issues. The dialogue, sensitively written
by Carla Sallee, is interspersed with poetic monologues, delivered with varying
degrees of urgency by each performer.
The subject matter, meanwhile, serves as
a timely reminder that racial prejudice is
still ingrained in our society and that not
one, but all, ethnic groups are affected
by it. Though the needlessly drawn-out
pauses and occasional forgotten lines
suggest a somewhat under-rehearsed
show, Acceptance Beyond Race nonetheless offers some genuinely interesting
talking points on what continues to be a
sensitive topic.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 4:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 3 p.m.
[email protected]
Investigator: Dr. Domenick Zero IU School of Dentistry, Oral Health Research Institute,
415 Lansing Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202 Version Date: July 29,2014
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PHOTO BY DAN AXLER
Alice vs. Wonderland at Cook Theatre.
Petunia and Chicken
Animal Engine w
Based on the works of Willa Cather, this
sweet love story is set at the turn of last
century on the difficult farming terrain of
Nebraska. It is here that newly transplanted
immigrant Petunia meets, falls in love with,
and eventually separates from Chicken, a
local farm boy. The two characters (as well as
several others) are played with exquisite timing by real-life married couple Carrie Brown
and Karim Muasher, who also act as each
other’s props and sound effects throughout.
From its delightful introduction to its rousing
and heartwarming climax, this is minimalist
theater at its absolute finest.
Thursday, 9 p.m.; Saturday, 3:00 p.m.
What A Pain
RBPerformances y
This story of one man’s battle against chronic
pain and medical bureaucracy starts out with a
refreshing portion of humor, deftly delivered
by the show’s central performer. However, the
more the story unfolds, the more these early
laughs become sorely missed, as the storyteller
— upon whose life the events are entirely
based — becomes embittered and ultimately
unsympathetic. Oddly rendered musical numbers and the unneeded inclusion of a second
character (played by another actor) do the production no favors either. That said, there are
perhaps enough flourishes here and there to
stop What A Pain from living up to its title.
Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 4:30 p.m.
The Actual Dance
Samuel A Simon y
Written as a love story, The Actual Dance
explores one man’s emotional journey through
the watershed event that is his wife’s struggle
with breast cancer. Set against a series of
dance numbers — each playing their part in
the unfolding action — the story is especially
poignant because it is a true account from
writer and performer Samuel A Simon’s own
18 COVER STORY // 08.20.14 - 08.27.14 // 100% RECYCLED PAPER // NUVO
life. However, as moving and finely balanced
as the script is, it is not always matched by the
performer’s on-stage delivery, which, owing
to the one-dimensional pacing, never quite
moves out of first gear.
Friday, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Creation
Theatre Within t
Whether we like it or not, the word “creation” has often come to evoke images of
the Judeo-Christian account of how we came
to be. Refreshingly, this piece — comprising
a montage that covers not only Adam and
Eve, but Greek mythology and the Big Bang
Theory among others — does not aim to
push a particular belief system onto its audience, but rather to encourage the creation
of day-to-day elements in the real world
(such as conversation). Ultimately, the overall
message of Creation — that people should
seek to create the change they want to see
in the world — is timely, and the production
is held together by adequate performances
from its well-rehearsed ensemble.
Wednesday, 9 p.m.; Thursday, 6 p.m..;
Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
10 Simple Rules to
Become a Gentleman
The Gentleman Callers e
So committed are the Gentleman Callers to
the art of gentlemanship that, either side of
the show, they go out of their way to hold
the door open for patrons. But don’t let this
more conventional form of chivalry fool you
— the six characters offer up a brash, foulmouthed and (it should be said) tongue-incheek dose of relentless action, as they rattle
sequentially through their 10 simple rules
for becoming a gentleman. The admittedly
sophomoric humor might not be to everyone’s taste, but the phenomenal energy that
this young group of promising performers
brings to the table is difficult to resist.
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30 p.m.;
Sunday, 6:00 p.m. n