ORLANDO FRINGE | There Ain't No More: Death of a Folksinger (Willi Carlisle)

There Ain't No More: Death of a Folksinger, a solo show performed by Willi Carlisle, is not the show I thought it would be. It features a large volume of folk songs played on banjo, guitar, harmonica, and more, well-sung by Carlisle and performed with all sorts of twists (watch that banjo twirl). More to the point, it's a moving and touching story about too many things to describe that knit together into a whole. This show was talked about a great deal at the Tampa Fringe and now comes to Orlando.

When There Aint No More starts, you think it's going to be just another one of those USO tribute shows that are so popular in period films. Pretty soon, you get the feeling that there's something deeper going on. By the end of the show, you wonder how you got from that to explorations of sexuality, memory, aging, and war – but it all makes sense. The acting is solid, the characters many, the music so varied but well-performed that you wonder what other tricks he has up his sleeves...especially after a puppet pops out. Hey, it's Fringe – it works, and it works well.

This show is hard to summarize, but easy to enjoy. Come for the music, stay for the story, enjoy all the way.

Fringe Pick

ORLANDO FRINGE | Blindside (Stephanie Morin-Robert)

This one-woman show by Stephanie Morin-Robert is part of a hail of Canadians from Vancouver. Much of the story involves around her glass eye, which gives a mix of squick and comedy that the audience ate up. It's just not my cup of tea, but the timing is excellent and it's very much the type of humor that you only find at Fringe. Well-performed.

ORLANDO FRINGE | The Last Five Years (Really Spicy Opera)

Lovingly lit, powerfully sung, heart-gripping.

Musical fans of a certain age adore Jason Robert Brown like a previous generation loved Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Schwartz. He writes complex music and collected a couple Tony Awards, but the real cult show in his arsenal is The Last Five Years. It's a heartbreaking tale of love that didn't work out.

The problem with The Last Five Years is usually that there's more yelling than singing. It's hard music and when that shows, it really shows. Mics don't really help – if you don't have the notes, you don't have the notes, and screaming doesn't help. Really Spicy Opera gets around this with two classically trained singers, Steven Halloin and Nicole Korbisch, as the doomed lovers Jaime and Cathy. It makes all the difference.

One of the other common problems with this show is that it loses momentum in the second half as voices get tired and the staging becomes one-note. Instead, the last four songs here are a swirl of shimmering lighting and powerful singing that propels the characters and the audience to the conclusion. Watch the lights swirl ominously in Halloin's dark "Nobody Needs to Know", or the subtle sliding of time, mood, and facial expressions in Korbisch's "Audition Sequence". It's an unusual amount of lighting (two designers are credited, Carrie Hurst and Basil Considine), but it makes all the difference.

Fringe Pick

ORLANDO FRINGE | Caws & Effect (Mind of a Snail)

Mind of a Snail's Caws & Effect is a remarkable gem buried in a sea of shows. It is timeless, ageless, clever and witty. It could be a Saturday morning cartoon or a Pixar short and do very well. Seeing this shadow play is a lovely experience.

Two actors from Vancouver, Canada create this show with simple costumes, two overhead projectors and a lot of ingenuity. You want to stare at their hands to see how they make these great visuals, but that means that you'd miss out on what's happening on the screen. Simply brilliant!

Fringe Pick

ORLANDO FRINGE | Bitch, Perfect (Orlando Gay Chorus)

Walk into Bitch, Perfect, sit down, and get blown away. If you did nothing but follow the line, you better buckle your seat belts. This is a comedic and sometimes heartbreaking tale of coming out, a cappella singing, and more. It's hands-down the most impactful show that I've seen at Orlando Fringe this year.

The first hint that this isn't business as usual is the Orlando Gay Chorus being listed as the producer. Next is the title – yes, it's a play on Pitch Perfect, but it's also the title of an infamous (or notorious) episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. These are your framing devices in case you want to prepare yourself for some of the references and why's it this ways.

This show has a large cast, but hinges on four excellent performances: Blake Aburn as Cameron, David Lowe as Cameron's father, and the snarky commentators Brandon Lopez and Danielle Irigoyen as John and Joanne. (The latter are one of the main reasons you might want to watch Pitch Perfect first). As you might expect, coming out doesn't go entirely smoothly, but there're songs to smooth it out. Bring tissues – this show is worth crying over.

Smartly directed by Donald Rupe.

Fringe Pick

ORLANDO FRINGE | La Reina Yolanda (Leesa Castaneda)

First: to see La Reina Yolanda, you're going to have to trek to Winter Park. See it early, or it's bye-bye parking space! This is a life-in-an-hour show that deals with that devilish disease: Alzheimer's. Perhaps we're all getting older, but Alzheimer's-related shows seem to be everywhere...not that this makes this one any less enjoyable.

La Reina is a powerful biographical tale that starts in Puerto Rico and follows a mother and daughter in adventures across the United States. It's a riveting solo show, well-told and powerful. The life on this stage is ugly sometimes, but it's not all peaches in real life, either.

Fringe Pick

ORLANDO FRINGE | Mo' Manada (BoylesqueTO)

What's Mo' Manada? Oh, god, you had to ask. Now they're singing and stripping while they explain it.

Burlesque is alive and well in Orlando, and now "boy" burlesque is, too. If you want to see lots of bananas (if you know what I mean), you might want a different type of club – but if you want to see a lot of bananas covered by glittery g-strings, boy do I have the show for you!

Burlesques don't usually take home prizes for plot. This is no exception – there's something of a framing narrative involve Justin Trudeau fantasizing about Barack Obama and Donald Trump, but really, you're here to see lots of hunks stripping and cavorting onstage. This certainly delivers. The pre-gamed audience was clearly having the time of their lives, and at a late night performance, too. 

If you like bananas, this is that in spades. It also shows that you don't have to have perfectly ripped bodies to attract men's and women's eyes – clearly, it's how you use it that got people roaring. Mo' Canada, Mo' Manada.

ORLANDO FRINGE | The Merkin Sisters (SNAFU)

This group from Toronto seemed great while working the line of the international preview show, but I was befuddled about what was actually happening when they started actually performing. I'm still not entirely sure what the show was about. Yes, there's some physical comedy, and their titular costumes make a certain impression. At the end of the day I'm just not sure about what I saw and what it means, if anything.

ORLANDO FRINGE | My Top 10 Shows to See (Advance List)

In no particular order, here are the ten shows at the top of my "See First" list for the 2017 Orlando Fringe Festival:

• Chameleon (Peter Suarez; Gulfport, FL)
• Shirley Gnome: Taking it Up the Notch (Heartichoke Arts/Shirley Gnome; Surrey, BC)
• Phantasmagoria's "Wickedest Tales of All" (Phantasmagoria / John DiDonna; Sanford/Orlando, FL)
• Petunia and Chicken (Animal Engine; New York, NY)
• Fringe Family Feud (Jester Theater; Orlando, FL)
• LOL LOL Land (Daisy Productions; Ontario, CA)
• Dandy Darkly's Myth Mouth! (Dandy Darkly; Brooklyn, NY)
• Varietease: Haunted (BlueLaLa Entertainment and FatSTAR Productions; Orlando, FL)
• Caws & Effect (Mind of a Snail Puppet Co.; Vancouver, BC)
• Walking Into the Woods (Michelina Wingerter; Orlando, FL)

TAMPA FRINGE | Windows

Hidden cameras seem about as popular as cat videos on Youtube. What that says about our society is unclear, but voyeurism is clearly in. Windows is something of a cautionary tale and voyeuristic delight. Katie Mack's script is interesting and a joy to follow from scene to scene; although most of the scenes involve different observations, none feel repetitive.

Mack also stars in the play, a 2-person dramedy in which she plays across from Blane Pressler. Both are excellent, and the directing by Nolan Muna is tight. Highlights include a BDSM play scene (PG-13 – nothing explicit), an emotional revelation, and the opening. The central plot involves being a recluse, which seems more and more a valid possibility in the Age of Amazon.com. Thank you, Jeff Bezos, for making this play possible.

A striking play by a strong female writing voice that I'd like to see more of.

TAMPA FRINGE | Roller Derby Saved My Soul (Broken Turtle Productions)

Roller Derby Saved My Soul is an old friend of sorts - it played at Orlando Fringe last year, and returns there this year again, too. The show premiered on the Canadian Fringe Festival Circuit back in 2011, and is now the ripe age of 6 years old.

Here's what hasn't changed: Nancy Kenny gives an engrossing solo performance as a young woman who enters the (surprisingly not seedy/seditious) world of roller derby, discovers a lesbian love interest, and finds glory. Or something like that – it's told autobiographically, but you never know. There's a lot of physical comedy involving the skating and mental fantasizing...including probably the most erotic-comedic act of putting on roller skate gear that you could imagine. 

Roller Derby Saved My Soul may not be new, but it's very neat. You might just play a "Roxanne" drinking game afterwards.

TAMPA FRINGE | Game of Thrones: The Musical (Really Spicy Opera)

Central Florida is suddenly overflowing with theatre this summer. We have a new Tampa Fringe festival wrapping up today and the latest installment of our mammoth Orlando Fringe starting Wednesday. It's raining theatre.

One of my Saturday shows was Game of Thrones: The Musical, a show in from Minnesota. Game of Thrones as a play would surely be a Shakespearean tragedy. Really Spicy Opera's musical take on it is a comedy with tragic elements. It's sort of Avenue Q: Westeros Edition – people die right and left, sometimes singing and sometimes just plain dying. Highlights include Jon Snow's (Austin Stole) romance with Ygritte (Nicole Korbisch), which ends comically with a shootout and that most famous of one-liners, "You know nothing, Jon Snow." Ygritte/Korbisch gets in one of the best songs in the show, a parody of "Colors of the Wind" from Pocohontas called "Join Us, Jon Snow."

There were more monologues than I expected scattered between a puppet ballet (!) and show-within-the-show epic tragedy (alas, Ned Stark, we hardly knew ye). These explore the lives of Ygritte, Cersei (Kendra Yarke), Brienne (also Kendra Yarke), and Melisandre (Suzy Juul). These are interesting and give interesting insights into what makes the women tick and what uphill battles they've fought. Melisandre/Juul gets in another song in at Jon Snow's expense, this one a parody of "On My Own" from Les Mis. The costume and wig changes get faster as the show goes on, but there was never a time when I wasn't sure who was speaking.

Don't let the puppets fool you – Basil Considine's excellent script makes it very clear that this is a show for adults. It lasts about an hour and covers Seasons 1-6. I'd like to see more and was a little disappointed that Cersei didn't get a song. There was also no sign of Tyrion or Daenerys, so there's certainly room to expand. About an hour and a half would be better to see more of these excellent ladies at work. If you're a Game of Thrones fan, you shouldn't miss it!

ORLANDO | Murder for Two

Michael Swickard and Kevin Kelly in Murder for Two. Photo by Michael Cairns.

Murder for Two, now playing at the Winter Park Playhouse, is an amusing romp. It recalls the British panto style of theatre, without having quite the same costume larks, and gives a rapid-fire delivery of impressions, jokes and humorous gazes. Kevin Kelly plays an aspiring detective and Michael Swickard plays a wide net of characters from who much of the laughs come.

Opening night for Murder for Two was curiously slow – an odd thing for a piece that seems designed to be quite fast. Hopefully this will speed up, because there's a lot of potential there. Swickard is very fun to watch in this whodunit, and the script is really quite funny.

FRIGID NYC | Review | Ain't That Rich

Kate Robards.

Ain't That Rich is a one-woman show about growing up in a white trash part of Texas. Orange, Texas, to be specific – a pretty small town, and (from the narrative) not one that you'd probably plan on visiting. Playwright Kate Robards performs her own show, which is presented as her real life story.

You might not know this from the advertising, but Ain't That Rich is a comedy. There're some deep themes in here, especially when talking about the impact that staying within an impoverished community have on those who turn to drugs, but what you're going to remember afterwards is laughing. A lot. Robards has a gift for turning ordinary events into comedy and an engaging delivery.

It's become vogue to make fun of the 1%; this play isn't about that per se, but it makes a lot of funny business from exploring the ways that we think about money.

Highly recommended.

FRIGID NYC | Review | Dangerous When Wet: Booze, Sex, and My Mother

There's a difference between interesting introspection and naval gazing. Jamie Brickhouse's memoir Dangerous When Wet: Booze, Sex, and My Mother is definitely the former. You've probably seen the "self-destructive artist" schpiel before, but that journey of personal self-destruction is just so darn compelling. Brickhouse stars as himself, along with his co-stars his mother, sex, and booze (not necessarily in that order). David Drake's direction is tight, and the pacing relentless on this rollercoaster.

Highly recommended.

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NYC | Review | Kid Victory

Daniel Jenkins and Brandon Flynn in Kid Victory.
Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Homosexuality, catfishing, and child abduction. That's what's going on in Greg Pierce and John Kander's new musical Kid Victory. There's been so much television and cinema about child abduction these past few years, I suppose it was inevitable that someone would decide to turn this theme into a musical. The script is not bad, but there doesn't seem to be a very compelling reason that this should be a musical. The score is functional, but lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. This also means that some moments are lacking

It should be pointed out that this a distinctly adult story; don't take the kids. It's not the easiest story to get through – a rollercoaster, certainly, but "feel good" and this show have nothing in common at the end of the day. That's not normally what you expect when tap dancing is on the table (or stage).

One of the highlights of this show is the played-out relationship between the protagonist, Luke (played by Brandon Flynn), and his father (played by Daniel Jenkins). This part of the narrative made me want to see more.

FRIGID NYC | Review | A Crisis Called New York

New York is surprisingly not frigid this time of year, but Frigid NYC is here and things are heating up at the Kraine Theatre. One of the shows that I saw was the confusingly named A Crisis Called New York. It almost seems to have been written to cash in on NYC caché, even though nothing seems to have anything much to do with NYC in particular. But whoever said that NYCers weren't stereotypically self-centered?

Written by Alisha Espinoza, A Crisis tells a tangled set of love stories, sometimes with dancing and sung music. It's an entertaining combination with a little bit of a reality TV show feel. The vignettes come fast with the 8-person ensemble; one featuring Danielle Patlingrao and Jordan Schroeder was especially of interest. The exploration of our neuroses and insecurities is universal.

TUCSON FRINGE | Review | The Love Song of Tonya Harding

Some 20 years, the Internet, and change later, it's hard to recall how big a deal women's figure skating was in the 1990s. Only those conditions, it seems, could have produced the strange off-ice drama and literal kneecracking attempt of the 1994 Winter Olympics, when Tonya Harding's ex-husband and bodyguard tried to take fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan out of the competition. Nowadays, Kerrigan is a nostalgic and unusually informed-sounding competition commentator, but as they say, the song still rings on.

That's the premise, more or less, of The Love Song of Tonya Harding, now playing at the Tucson Fringe. It's a posterchild for Fringe – it's hard to see a show like this finding a booking somewhere else. The premise is interesting, and although rather one-sided, it does provide a solid basis for a one-woman show. Writer-Clara Esler keeps you going throughout, although I was left wanting to hear about Harding's often tabloid-worthy life after her figure skating career was brought to a close.