With scripted sketches, improv, video, plenty of pop music and, of course, a secret handshake, Thank You Kiss — comprised of Marc D’Amico, Megan Mack, John Forrest Thompson, and Beth Winslow — makes a hilarious return to the Blackfriars Theatre stage for the first time since 2017. “Secret Handshakes” begins with everyday situations at places […]
Rochester Fringe 2019
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Kathy reviews ‘Josephine, a burlesque cabaret dream play’
One of the things I love most about Fringe is I always learn something. Usually it’s a life lesson or a new way of looking at something, but Friday night, I learned all of that, as well as the life story of iconic performer Josephine Baker. Tymisha Harris stars in this one woman tour-de-force of […]
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Adam reviews ‘Muffin Theatre Presents: A Show With Cookies’ and ‘Which Bitch Did It?’
With its straightforward title, the utterly delightful “Muffin Theatre Presents: A Show With Cookies” delivers exactly what it promises. The entire solo show follows Katherine Marino’s chipper hostess as she decides to bake some cookies. That’s it. And it’s wonderful. Alright, it’s a little more complicated than that: set to music and acted out entirely […]
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Adam reviews ‘Brave Space’ and ‘Frogpig’
Before entering the gymnasium venue of “Brave Space” at the School of the Arts, the audience is instructed to watch a short introductory video to let us know what to expect from the show we’re about to see. We’re told to prepare to get cozy with one another, and that audience members may be asked […]
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David reviews ‘Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra: Scheherazade .2’
A symphony orchestra in a Fringe Festival? It sure makes sense when the orchestra gives an entire program of recent music by four American composers, all very much alive. Space is limited, so I’ll start with the piece that gives the concert its title: a spectacular ”dramatic symphony” for violin and orchestra by John Adams, […]
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Frank reviews ‘Charming Disaster: A Musical Tarot Reading’
Brooklyn-based duo Charming Disaster was charming as hell, but the only thing disastrous I could see and hear was the two girls sitting behind me that wouldn’t shut up. That notwithstanding, the band put out a dark set of sense, of sensuality, and of grace. Jeff Morris on guitar and vocals and Ellia Bisker on […]
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Kathy reviews ‘Garth Fagan Dance: Up Close and Personal’
Garth Fagan has been a fixture in the Rochester community for nearly 50 years for a reason — he has a distinct style that is instantly recognizable, but he is constantly coming up with fresh ways to present his style of dance. That was very clear at his company’s Fringe presentation this year. Thursday evening’s […]
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Leah reviews ‘Delirium’
There’s something raw and vulnerable about telling a personal story. It’s the stuff of memoir, autobiography, of poetry and prose. Martin Dockery is well-acquainted with openness and even oversharing, as he’s a storyteller who travels to Fringe festivals around the world telling true tales from his own life. Dockery performed his Fringe act “Delirium” to […]
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Frank reviews ‘Crazy for Dick Tricks: A Dirk Darrow Investigation’
Some go for the laughs, some for the magic. And though I like both of those immensely at the hands of our film noir-ish host, one Tim Motley, it was his mastery of the language that got me here this year having caught him at the 2018 Fringe Festival. Motley offers up some palatial palaver. […]
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Leah reviews ‘Shotspeare’
A long line of energetic audience members stretched from the entrance of the Spiegeltent nearly to Main Street on Tuesday night. It was only 8:15 p.m., but Fringe Fest attendees were ready to turn up for opening night of “Shotspeare,” which returns for the second year with nightly shows through Saturday. During each performance, the […]
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David reviews ‘The Geriactors Present’
I don’t think the Fringe Festival gives an award for Most Charming Production, but if they decide to, the Geriactors’ tribute to Byron Wilmot had better be in the running. The performers and the material, by a local playwright who died suddenly in 2014, fill an hour with genial amusement, and occasional bemusement. One of […]
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Kathy reviews ’21 Chump Street’ and ‘ExMen: Not About Superheroes’
If you know what you’re doing, you don’t need a long time to convey emotion and a point. Lin-Manuel Miranda knows what he’s doing. The mastermind behind “Hamilton” and “In the Heights” turned a true story from “This American Life” into a quick, down-and-dirty, 15-minute musical. It follows Justin (Derek Scott), a high-schooler who is […]
