A searing look at the human psyche, plus comedies and ‘Sizzle’: Orlando Fringe Festival reviews

Today’s Orlando Fringe Festival reviews, all seen at previews, are “Corsets & Cuties: Sizzle,” “Covetous Sin: The Murder of Edgar Allan Poe,” “Multitudes” (highly recommended), “Shifted” and “We Begin in a Tavern.”

Timothy Williams is terrifying. In his riveting “Multitudes,” (Yellow venue, 60 minutes, highly recommended) he peers into humanity’s psyche and discovers a horror show magnified by today’s social-media life.

In “Multitudes” — the title comes from a Walt Whitman quote — Williams examines what lead seemingly normal people into a cult mentality, whether Hitler’s Germany or Heaven’s Gate. And, what makes so many of us fascinated with such mass movements?

“What if we already know the answers?” he asks chillingly. “What if we already know?”

In between spinning his thoughts, he tells the story of Mary, a wannabe actress who is recruited to join a new truthful-acting program. In fine style, he portrays all the characters in her tale, knowingly quipping “Oh, yes, it’s going to be one of those solo performances.”

That tells you it’s a smart show, and one of the smartest ideas in Williams’ writing can’t be revealed without ruining a wonderful, dreadful surprise.

This provocatively cerebral hour won’t be for everyone (Williams himself pokes fun at his show’s darkness) but for those brave enough to face it, what a trip it is.

Two shows take a band of young people and send them on adventures with very different results. Will Sippel’s “We Begin in a Tavern” (Pink venue, 60 minutes) starts there, sure enough, but then doesn’t go anywhere.

In a typical fantasy-adventure bar, a worker yearns for more. Heroes, squires, pirates, a vampire descend — but none of it leads to much of anything. And being louder doesn’t mean you’re being funnier. There’s amusement for those who want to mock the tropes of the genre, but this sort of mocking has been done before in shows that offer some sort of emotional payoff.

More fun can be had at “Shifted” (Brown venue, 60 minutes). Nic Stelter and Annie Lovelock’s goofy sci-fi comedy is spewing terms like “microfluctuations” and “subatomic stream” almost from its opening moments so you know it’s going to get to the multiverse and rifts in the space-time continuum before long (Spoiler: It does.)

But director Kassidy Pierce keeps the action moving along fast enough that you’re laughing too often to worry about any of it making sense. The setup: A group of college friends keep zapping each other into parallel universes as they try to keep the power of time and space out of the government’s hands.

But really it’s all an excuse for some well-placed lines and a bunch of silly fun. All the actors are on board, and Emmitt Williams stands out in particular as the officious resident adviser.

“Corsets & Cuties: Sizzle” (The Abbey, 60 minutes) represents the burlesque genre with its usual flair. The acts have style, these dancers understand the art of the tease and it’s all more sexy than down-and-dirty sexual.

A pro-LGBTQ political interlude from Barbie Rhinestone, wearing a “Don’t Say DeSantis shirt,” makes its point with humor, strength and rainbows. And while the women all look styling, special mention must go to the robe worn by buff Teddy — called the troupe’s “sparkling unicorn” by genial leader Lady Jaimz — which looks like it was made from disco-ball sparkles and glitter.

Finally, “Covetous Sin” spins a silly story involving a psychic named Medium Rare and famous literary figures, including Charles Dickens and Whitman (See, it all comes full circle). Someone has murdered Edgar Allan Poe, but this isn’t a whodunit. Patrick Prainito’s bit of fluff is more a barrage of jokes, many of which land quite well, and funny character sketches.

The pacing really needs to be faster in this sort of nonsense, but that should improve with actors this committed to the fun.

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

More reviews: OrlandoSentinel.com/fringe. Email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com