4 comic returns to make you laugh at Orlando Fringe’s FestN4
Among the new shows at this year’s FestN4, formerly Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest, are some returning favorites. You can find reviews of shows new to the festival, which runs Jan. 11-14 at ArtSpace in downtown Orlando, online at OrlandoSentinel.com/entertainment or on the Living page of the newspaper’s print edition.
As always, the festival features more than 20 short (70 minutes or less) comedies, dramas and musicals. Here’s a look at four shows that entertained audiences at previous Fringe Festival appearances.
‘Becoming Grandma Kat’: Florida Deaf Theatre Project’s “Becoming Grandma Kat” is performed entirely in sign language, which is an engrossing show in itself. And performer Keith Banks has the energy to hold your attention.
But recorded narration for those of us not proficient in ASL is so flat it saps that energy and works against the jokes, although there are laughs to be found and the costume is fun to behold as Banks transforms into a Madea-like creation.
The setup of Banks’ story — man dons dress to hide from bad guys — doesn’t feel particularly fresh, and his story leaves a key thread dangling. In the plot, a social-media influencer joins the Witness Protection Program and disguises himself as an older woman. A job in a diner completes his transformation, and he learns a thing or two by putting on the apron.
Despite its flaws, this is the kind of show that introduces theatergoers to a new world, and brings new people to the theater. And there’s value in that, for sure.
‘The Complete Works of Stephen Sondheim [Abridged]’: Wait, there is a Stephen Sondheim disco album? That was a fun discovery in “The Complete Works of Stephen Sondheim [Abridged].”
If you are a Sondheim freak (and there are a lot of you out there), this is a humorously affectionate romp through the hits — “A Little Night Music,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Into the Woods” — that refreshingly isn’t afraid to poke fun at the tropes and even the weaknesses (yes, a Sondheim show can have flaws) in the master’s oeuvre.
Performers Bryan Jager, Jarrett Poore, Rachel Hope Ihasz and Marissa Volpe have the perfect touch for this and just enough characterization to raise the comic level — Jager is the fanatic, Poore the worrywart, Volpe the diva and Ihasz the trickster.
The content is smart and engaging — but I hesitate to give examples, as those who aren’t musical-theater buffs won’t get it, and I don’t want to spoil a moment for those who are.
The show is particularly entertaining when cast members subtly take on the vocal mannerisms of the Broadway greats they’re referencing. Or when they turn on each other for slights imagined or real.
The ending could be punchier, but for those who get it — as the kids say on the socials, “If you know, you know” — this is a rollicking good time.
‘A One-Woman ‘Titanic’ Parody in 59 Minutes or Less’: Fringe vet Katie Thayer pays homage to her teen fandom days in this bit of fun at the expense of James Cameron’s epic movie. She romps through the material, with confident timing on how to land a joke, and land many she does as she mocks the film’s clunky (and unnecessary) foreshadowing as well as the lazy stereotypical writing.
Her visual jokes are funny too; even though it’s a one-woman show she has an able supporting cast of props. And she does the best double-sided wig work since Broadway’s “Jekyll & Hyde.” For those who remember the film fondly — or maybe are in to the newer concept of “hate watching” — this is good, silly fun.
‘Rat Man Happy Place’: Bruce Ryan Costella’s “Rat Man Happy Place” takes a look at a certain Mouse-run local theme-park giant in a post-apocalyptic world, where the adults have all been killed and children have formed various feral societies.
Costella, who brings a lot to the table just by his commitment to his character, deftly walks the line of mocking Disney World while admiring what it has achieved. He’s not shy about also mocking his own low-tech production values, which adds to the charm. And his attempt to re-create a standard “castle show” is a hoot.
There’s almost a deeper layer; “Rat Man” is right on the cusp of saying something profound about nostalgia and imagination and escape and growing up under the silliness. Costella has been working on the show since its premiere; it will be interesting to see how it has developed.
FestN4
When: Jan. 11-14
Where: Fringe ArtSpace, 54 W. Church St. in Orlando
Cost: A $3 button is required to see any ticketed show; individual show tickets are $15 each
Info: See the whole schedule of the more than 20 shows and buy tickets at orlandofringe.org/festn4
Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment.
