6th Annual All Hallows For the Fringe
6th Annual All Hallows For the Fringe
Hosted by Wayburn Sassy and Didi Panache
October 16, 2009
Mandel Theater, Orlando Shakespeare Center
Orlando, FL</strong>
It’s Halloween again and a good excuse for a pseudo- spooky fundraiser. This season the Fringe pulled together an eclectic entertainment that occasionally touches on the season, but no more so than any non-specific location really sets up an improv skit. Tonight’s show is hosted by the crotchety Wayburn Sassy and his latest assistant, the impossibly tall Didi Panache. Sassy stumbles into a few rather awkward moments, particularly when picks on the guy in the wheelchair. As Wayburn shuffled off stage, Voci dance did a piece called “Gallows”, with three women dressed in hoods and scarlet “A”’s on their chest. They danced under a bar with hangman’s nooses, miming a symbolic death so familiar to strand up comics.
The Orlando Youth Alliance appeared next presenting three monologs on the topic of “Fearless.” My favorite came from Dorian, who entered high school by defining herself as the “New School Dyke”, yet found romance with a guy who seemed equally out of touch with the jock and cheerleader crowd. Following was a short film by Lindsay Cohen on the holiday topic in question: “Trick-or-Treat-a-thon.” We find Elizabeth Murff and Frank McClain begging for candy on fuzzy cable TV show. Silly and desperate, it shows you can get solid entertainment value into a YouTube length video. Wrapping up the first act is Steven Millers tale of a gay vampire complete with a Czechoslovakian accent seeking to seduce a bunch of drunken frat boys. They find the pay and benefits are generous, but Edvard extracts a high price in return.
After the raffle-filled intermission, Jeremy Seghers took to the stage in a red coat and megaphone singing “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave. It’s a creepy tune, but not as creepy as the next number. Various tools and noise makers were passed out to the audience to back up Tom Waits “What’s He Building In There?” by Tom Waits. What ever it is, it’s gonna be scary. John DiDonna and Annaliese Moon played out a small family drama. Annaliese had a small problem with mom, so dad is giving her a pep talk about behaving. If she’s good, she can get a gold star, and if not, well, her choices run from von Recklinghausen Syndrome to flesh eating bacteria. Chris MacIntyre and Chantry Banks reprised a short play from a recently Play In A Day event. The Wolfman and his dragged- out girl friend work though issues of trust while watching a drive in move and eating pop corn. Chantry never gets much more than a grunt or two, but they both end up howling ant the moon.
As the evening winds down, and Tod Cavanaugh from the Fringe Poetry Smack down read a nice childhood piece on “The Death of Halloween”. As he ages toward puberty, he determines that a Bat Man mask doesn’t make him cool, and the elderly neighbor lady patronized his intrinsic coolness, addressing him with “well, well, who do we have here?” The bitterness of youth persists so far into adulthood… The last piece of the program came form Baby Blue Star Productions. Blue and her male companions dance a sex scene set in a homeless camp complete with sex toys. As fund raiser go, this one offered plenty of entertainment for the buck, particularly if you’re a fan of Fringe shenanigans.
For more information on The Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival visit http://www.orlandofringe.com/</a</em>>
