I told myself not to overbook my first Fringe. But FOMO and the temptation of hourly shows coaxed me to book 50+ performances. Once I learned to navigate the maze-like venues it became easier to fill my days. On the many times I got lost, the Fringe staff pointed the way.
I wrote about my first batch of shows last week. Here are some more highlights.
Dance
Snow. Sacramento Contemporary Dance Theatre. Choreographer Jacob Gutiérrez-Montoya emphasizes the horror elements in the tale of Snow White. The mirror is a demon made of shattered glass. She taunts and tempts the Queen with a troupe of twisted reflections. Things grow safer when the Prince and Dwarves arrive. But the dancers create memorably creepy imagery in the Cenobite Mirror sequences.
Music
Bliss. Another fairy tale. Here four Princesses rebel against a paranoid King and a smug Fairy Godfather. The libretto lacks surprises. There’s a lot borrowed from Shrek 2. But Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie craft a fun, poppy score. The talented cast belts their power ballads to the heavens.
Hole! A post-apocalyptic, butt-plug wearing religious cult orders two naive lads to assassinate the members of a gay commune. This sweet and salty musical is staged like a radio play. Co-creators Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper play the instruments and all of the roles. A raunchy, crowd pleasing tour de force.
Heated Rivalries. Three adaptations of the mlm hockey romance appeared at the Fringe. I’d seen Dylan MarcAurele’s Unauthorized Musical Parody Off-Broadway. It’s the most ambitious and well-crafted of the trio. The Upright Citizens brigade co-wrote their own Musical Parody! It’s a messy, scrappy work with one-joke songs. The highlight was a number for the underwritten female roles, including the often conflated Elena and Maria. Puck Bunnies takes a burlesque route, having drag kings perform sexy dances in silly looking muscle suits. This one lacks an original score. Instead they set parody lyrics to familiar pop songs and show tunes. Each show mines comedy from Shane’s social awkwardness. None of them know how to translate Illya’s subtler character arc.
Little Pink Dress. Joey Jennings performs his original country songs about growing up gay and poor. He showcases his Orville Peck baritone and limber dance training. It’s a high energy show. I’ll be giving the album a listen.
The Real Kyle McCarren. Andy Robinson writes and stars in a tribute to his former band mate, who died at 21. His clever score has been, rightly, compared to Jonathan Larson’s work. And, like Larson, he has book troubles. Andy never tells us much about Kyle, or himself. Instead, the show is stolen by Kyle’s brassy mother. There’s potential for this to blossom into something magical.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The Fringe coincides with the annual showcase of international military bands. I was expecting bagpipes, drums and spectacle. They delivered. I was not expecting cheesy renditions of 70’s pop songs. These steered dangerously close to the worst of Eurovision.
Theatre
A Simply Beastly Murder. Child sleuths reunite as adults. One’s become a jaded Private Eye. The other retained her youthful optimism. I didn’t catch all the references to the Famous Five (I was an Encyclopedia Brown kid.) But I appreciated the blend of genres and the creative stagecraft in this pocket sized mystery.
Angels in America parts I & II. Presented through the International Festival. Tony Kushner compresses his two part epic into five hours with a dinner break. The discussions of pandemics, queer resistance and conservative politics remain too timely. Ivo van Hove keeps his direction simple, saving his biggest swings for the final act. Performed in Dutch with English supertitles.
Heart Beats Strong. Three charismatic lads re-live their 18th birthday parties through monologue and dance. They cope with coming out, racism and a deadbeat dad respectively. The stories start out familiar but take some surprising swerves. The choreography captures the many ways men dance in social settings.
Mythos: Ragnarok. Odin wages war on his fellow Norse Gods. The battles are performed as brutal wrestling matches. The crowd ate this up. But I was repelled by the toxic masculinity on stage. It was painful to watch Odin’s warriors batter women and children to establish their villainous credentials. It’s the same reason I gave up on the God of War video games.
The Pitch. A prickly Irish footballer is befriended by a cheery Gaelic footballer. The differences between the sports lead to greater arguments about the divide between separatists and reformists. If the politics goes over your head you can still enjoy the lads’ grumpy x sunshine dynamic. My only complaint about Philip Catherwood’s script is that the grumps’ secret heart is revealed too early. Their arguments lack teeth because it’s clear they’re destined to be BFFs.
Sanctuary. Two men meet in an AIDS hospice in the 1990’s and share their stories. The ending is heavily foreshadowed. But actors Matthew Tennyson and Richard Cant make the most of the journey. If you lack the five hours for Angels in America, Jacob Sparrow’s play makes a worthy alternative.
Comedy and Storytelling
Queer comics are going through it. Many are using comedy to process personal trauma. Grief, mental illness and domestic abuse were recurring topics. Do some research and know your triggers going in.
Dane Buckley celebrates his Irish-Indian family and the humor they used to cope with a loss. Linus Karp maintains an ironic distance while recounting a homophobic assault. Ania Magliano (SNL UK) finds the silly side of recovery therapy. Larry Dean (also SNL UK) provided a much needed respite with the joyful story of his wedding.
Several gay comedians teased and flirted with straight men in the audience. I didn’t think much of it till I was aggressively bullied by a straight male comic. I left that show fighting back tears. Luckily I soon saw a warm set by Ahir Shah. He reminded me that straight comedians aren’t all bad.
The most moving solo show I saw was Steve Burns: Alive. Burns discusses his TV career and the longstanding rumors of his death. Children’s entertainers have targets on their backs. I was too old for Blues Clues. But I remember how the press treated Paul Reubens. The sincerity that connects with small children can irritate the folks who think they’re grown up. Burns treats his adult fans with respect. Yet maintains a level of compassion that can reduce them to tears.
Stray Observations
- Blocking an hour between shows is recommended, unless you’re certain the next show is in the same building.
- Fringe venues seat you front row to back in order of arrival. Adjust your spot in line accordingly. Use the toilet before joining the queue.
- Most venues don’t like bags. I brought a raincoat with pockets for a phone charger, plug adapter, cables, tissues, gloves and an umbrella bag. Plus an inside pocket for valuables.
- Museums and castles tend to open at 10am. I didn’t give myself enough time to explore before my morning shows.
- Walking tours don’t circle back to where they start. And some locals will let the tourists know exactly what they think of them blocking the sidewalk.
- Arthur’s Seat is the tallest hill in town. The mid challenge climbing trail took me 50 minutes up and 30 down.
The festival continues through August 31.