Music for laughs, for passion, for art: Orlando Fringe Festival reviews
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Today’s Orlando Fringe Festival reviews, all seen in previews, include “La Cantante (The Singer Returns),” “The Dream Express,” “8 Track: The Sounds of the ’70s in Concert,” “The Mysterious Life of Amy Drew McKean” and “A Real Live Fiasco!”
Spin and Marlene are back, and they’ve been missed. In Len Jenkins’ “The Dream Express” (Red venue, 60 minutes), Joe Swanberg and Rebecca Fisher return to the roles of the “love doctor” and his “lovely ex-wife,” a couple of down-but-never-out lounge singers who believe in “God, love and acid.”
Sure, they are relics of another time — and astral plane — but they appeal in any age with their off-kilter stories and inspired musical selections (Rod Stewart! Olivia Newton-John!), which may not have the exact lyrics you recall.
Some of the stories have changed, but the delightfully dreamy offbeat vibe remains the same. David Lee directs but Fisher and Swanberg are so transformed into their characters you may forget that it isn’t all real … or an unexpected dream.
Singing is at the fore of multiple other productions. In “8 Track: The Sounds of the ’70s in Concert,” (The Abbey, 60 minutes) a quartet of singers blast through the past in a nonstop hit parade from 50 years ago, from funk to disco. Larry Ballard, E. Mani Cadet, Brittany Dennis and Nyeshia Smith have appealing stage presence, and this is a polished show (It was conceived by Rick Seeber).
Favorite moments of mine included Smith’s passionate take on Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and Ballard’s lilting “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.”
The music in “The Mysterious Life of Amy Thompson McKean” (Purple venue at 54 W. Church St., 60 minutes) is even older. Thompson McKean was a prolific American composer between the world wars who then stopped making music — although she lived decades more.
Why she went silent is at the heart of the story, which delves into the treatment of women, especially in marriage, but as the title suggests a lot of facts remain unknown so there’s never a big revelation in Charlie Griffin’s literary script. There’s also not a lot of onstage motion, unless you count the flying fingers of accompanist Julian Bond (who has his own self-titled Fringe show), but the voice of performer Karen Shriner is a steady anchor as the story unfolds.
A performer with Disney’s Voices of Liberty, Shriner is a masterful singer. But it’s her speaking tone — urgent, resigned, hopeful — that captivated me. She doesn’t have to raise her voice to be compelling.
Also compelling: Abigail Laboy, who plays a dead singer mourning for her homeland of Cuba in “La Cantante Vuelve (The Singer Returns)” (Purple venue, 60 minutes). Performed entirely in Spanish, Laboy’s eyes and hands offer the poetry that undoubtedly exists in Abraham Hanze’s script — a cry of homesickness, of separation, of longing.
Unfortunately, the literal English translation — available in the provided headsets — strips away much of the literary language. Better to concentrate on the passion on Laboy’s face.
Finally, there’s no music in “A Real Live Fiasco!” (Yellow, 75 minutes), but there are plenty of laughs. Daniel Maslow, Kirsten Lindemulder, Jennifer Blocker and Ryan Lindemulder spin a zany tale of hospital shenanigans in which the audience votes via their phones on how the story progresses.
The concept is sound, the idea is funny and the cast — especially Blocker in dual roles — scores laughs. Two areas for improving: Pacing needs to be picked up for this type of farce with no gaps between scenes, and the ending doesn’t land as it should. But there’s a lot of fun to be had along this silly ride.
Orlando Fringe Festival
Where: Shows at Loch Haven Park are in color-coded venues; off-campus locations are identified by name
When: Through May 29
Cost: $10 button required for ticketed shows, then individual performance tickets are no more than $15
Schedule, tickets and more info: OrlandoFringe.org
Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more arts news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/arts, and go to orlandosentinel.com/theater for theater news and reviews.
