10th Annual Best of the Vegas Fringe

The Las Vegas Little Theatre is thrilled to present the "2019 Vegas Fringe Festival – BEST OF FRINGE” this Friday and Saturday at 8pm in the Fischer Black Box.

It’s a Double bill both nights and just $15 per ticket.

lvlt.org

3920 Schiff Dr, Las Vegas, Nevada 89103

With winners The Baritones of Love produced by Kijosa Productions and toño produced by VESIproduction both performing each night, June 21nd and 22rd.

Each night toño will perform….there will be a brief 10 minute intermission while the stage is re-set and then The Baritones of Love will perform.

The Baritones of Love

by Enoch Augustus Scott and Dr. Mark Wherry

In a World where Tenors dominate the vocal landscape, four brave Baritones struggle against that tyranny and fight to claim their own piece of the lyrical pie. With just a tube of greasepaint, a deep resonant tone, and a dream, these men sing and dance their way into your hearts and, if they have any say in it, a show in Branson. Starring some of the Las Vegas Strips’ Best Baritones and featuring six original songs and classic Baritone standards from Frank Sinatra to Josh Grobin, Baritones of Love is the perfect tonic to a world of too many Tenors.

toño

by Jose Anthony

Step into the mind of a man named toño as he experiences a still moment in time and reflects on a series of major events in his life, including child abuse, gangs and murder.

*Parental discretion advised. Due to explicit language may not be suitable for children under 13 years of age.

#EatMoreArt #vegastheatre #vegasfringe

EMAV Review: Fringe-Aversary! Part four

'VegasFringe' explores dysfunctional families with strange secrets at LVLT

For Las Vegas Little Theatre's 10th annual "VegasFringe Festival" I saw two full-length plays--both about dysfunctional families--that fit the idea of shows that exist outside the norm.

"The House of Yes"

Las Vegas Little Theatre

★★★½ ☆- Satisfying+

With sibling incest as a main theme, LVLT's stark presentation of Wendy MacLeod's 1990 dark comedy "The House of Yes" epitomizes "disturbing" as an unofficial category of fringe. About a wealthy, insulated and odd family who don't have the word "no" in their vocabulary, a storm brews both outdoors and inside when brother Marty--who fled his family in search of normalcy--inexplicably returns home with his new fiancée Lesly for Thanksgiving dinner. It's been 20 years since their father left the family in 1963, on the day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Mother Pascal is disconnected from emotion, sister Jackie-O has an unnamed mental illness, and brother Anthony has dropped out of college to care for them both. But Jackie-O loves Marty a little too much, and she draws him back into her warped world so they can replay their game of JFK's assassination (and thus their father's departure) by reenacting the moment of his shooting. It's titillating foreplay and they subconsciously detach from their deviant sexual union because they are portraying other people.

On opening night the show overall was intriguing, but the energy and pacing felt flat. Directed by David Morey, the cast doesn't always capture the crispness of MacLeod's witty dialogue, so some of the dry humor is lost, and some scenes don't have the tension and build they need to make an impact. Chris Davies' fringe-friendly set design uses black cubes configured to represent functional furniture--like the sofa of the living room or the bed in the guest quarters--which are easily rearranged through multiple scene changes. The spareness gives the show an eerie existential quality, though the feeling of wealth gets watered down with a single, stained-glass Tiffany lamp symbolizing opulent decor. And much of the action takes place on the soft sofa and bed, so the hard cubes inhibit the movement of actors in that sense. The costumes, by Loryanna Michalek, give a wealthy feel to the clothing of Mrs. Pascal contrasted with the organic looks of the bourgeoise Lesly (though her sequin dinner dress doesn't fit the character). And Ginny Adams' lighting design illuminates actors with a clarity that matches the mood whether in lightness or candlelit darkness.

Anita Bean as Mrs. Pascal and Noah Keeling as Anthony give the most subtext and depth to their characters, and both have a feel for the rhythms of MacLeod's clever speech. Bean has a regal bearing and droll delivery, and seems wound so tight she might spring at any moment like a predator protecting her brood, while Keeling gives Anthony a sweetness that hides his manipulative nature. Jade Elizabeth captures both the yearning and the mercurial aspects of Jackie-O, though she lacks the character's sophistication, while Chris Von Uebbing as Marty matches her in twin-type looks but seems merely a man who has surrendered his destiny to his sister's guile. And Andrea Borges as Lesly has an earthy, sensible quality that contrasts with the others but lacks the naiveté that gives the character her charm.

Because of taboo themes and sexual situations, this show is not recommended for children. Showtimes: June 15@5:45pm and June 16@7pm, Mainstage.

"Eagle River"

M-Wil Productions of Las Vegas

★★½☆☆ - Still Hungry

For a more conventional yet also dysfunctional family drama with a few twists and wacky characters of its own, look no further than M-Wil Productions' presentation of Las Vegas actor and playwright Matt Martello's "Eagle River." The story revolves around the death of family patriarch Uncle Harry and the cash inheritance of $100,000 he promises his bickering nephews Ken and Tommy, if they can stop fighting and find it in the family cabin on Eagle River, Wisconsin. So they gather everyone there to mourn Harry's passing, look for the money, and hopefully resolve their differences. As with reunions like this, much drinking and arguing ensues. While the script sometimes feels didactic and drawn out, Martello has a knack for capturing the natural rhythms of speech and also relationships between people, and there is a sincerity to the show that might appeal to many.

Co-directed by Arik Cunningham and Greg Korin, the performances swing between naturalistic and way over the top, even within individual actors. There are nicely staged moments, like the opening scene which features brothers the sensible Ken, played by Martello, and hothead Tommy, played by Don Charette, Jr., having separate, overlapping phone conversations with the sick Harry, played by Korin. But Las Vegas magician Tommy has a guilt complex and an argumentative nature, so Charette spends part of the show yelling at the top of his lungs, at one person or another.

Tommy does redeem himself in the end, but his explosive, sustained anger can be tiring and it's a mystery why the directors don't better modulate the levels in these exchanges, like the one he has with their aunt Margaret, portrayed by Ginny Robbins Beall. Margaret is an unpleasant, bitter alcoholic, and is a sloppy drunk, forever swigging from huge bottles of liquor (which are always empty, a minor quibble). Beall is a fine actress though she tends to over-exaggerate the drunkenness. But she also finds redemption, during a sentimental scene with Tommy's daughter Carly, played by Alexis Ross, who lights up the stage with youthful exuberance. She and James Cummings as Ken's grumpy teenage son Caleb--who is always playing games on his phone--give realistic portrayals of the younger generation, and Rose Magee as Joanne is understated as well. But the most well-crafted performance of the show belongs to Brenda Mandabach as Ken's wife Rebecca, the humble mom who takes care of everyone and maintains equilibrium among the clashing personalities. She has such a pleasant, natural quality that she makes acting look easy.

Showtimes: June 14@7:30pm, June 15@4pm, June 16@5:30pm, Black Box.

For exact curtain days and times, check the LVLT website; https://www.lvlt.org

When: Thursday - Sunday through June 16; times vary

Best of Fringe Encore performances: 6/21 & 6/22; 8:00pm

Where: Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff drive

Tickets: $12 (702-362-7996; www.lvlt.org)

#EatMoreArt #vegastheatre #vegasfringe

Check out our Fringe-Aversary Part One coverage here!

Check out our Fringe-Aversary Part Two coverage here!

Check out our Fringe-Aversary Part Three coverage here!

EMAV Review: Fringe-Aversary! Part three

Fringe (adjective), not part of the mainstream, unconventional, peripheral or extreme.

Day three of the 10th Anniversary of the Vegas Fringe Festival at Las Vegas Little Theatre (LVLT) finds me seeing the final two entries to make coverage complete. Original scripts can abound here – and that’s part of what a fringe festival should be. It’s a great place for playwrights to try out a new piece, see how it’s received, look for what works (“Baritones of Love”) and what doesn’t (“Hanging In There”).

“Hanging In There”

KFT Productions

★☆☆☆☆ - Not Hungry

When you open a program and read a short synopsis, you immediately have certain expectations. When you scan the bios and see amazing credits, expectations rise. When the playwright’s bio says she holds BA’s in both acting and writing, those expectations rise even further. The more professional the claims, the higher expectations climb. When said playwright acts as their own Dramaturg with a “Playwright’s Note” you have a tendency to believe it, to have faith that what they’ve written will find its way to the stage.

Playwright Kate Labahn has taken an old fairy tale (“Rapunzel”), mashed it up with a storyline taken from “Into the Woods” and tossed in a conglomeration of other things; pop-culture things like references to “Twilight,” Eagles tunes, and films like “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Star Wars.” The many inane clichés such as “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” and “Blonds have more fun,” further muddied the result.

With so many acting credits to their names, I can only blame Labahn, who directed, for the quality of the performances. Timing was so off-kilter that what may have been witty on the page fell flat. There were long pauses and missed cues. Mimed conversations (instead of low-volume ones) behind other actors abound. There were so many blackouts in the 110-minute piece that I lost count.

Thomas Brannon (Prince Garrett) and Jordan M. Wiessen (Xavier/Rathin) both do a fair job in their roles. Alex Kersting, who will have the title role in the upcoming film “Butter” (now in post-production) opposite Mira Sorvino, Annabeth Gish, Mykelti Williamson, and Ravi Patel, became the best part of the entirety when he broke the fourth wall to ad lib a forward leap in the story.

“Baritones of Love”

Produced by Enoch Augustus Scott, Dr. Mark Wherry, and Katie Kenner

★★★★★ - Irresistible

What an absolute delight. This celebration of baritones, written by Enoch Augustus Scott and Dr. Mark Wherry, is fast, well told, and genuinely funny. This is a cast of professionals and it shows.

Wherry accompanies Scott, Randall Keith, David Villella, and Ryan Mercier (understudy for Carnell Johnson for this performance), who all have beautiful, powerful baritone voices. Add classic choreography by Scott and Kenner and the result is pure entertainment that you don’t want to end.

With a story arc premise reminiscent of “Forever Plaid” mashed up with “The Taffetas,” and covering songs such as “That’s Life” and “You Raise Me Up,” you might be tempted to call this a juke box musical. But you’d be wrong. Wherry has composed some original music and lyrics which move the story forward.

The four guys are weary of tenors getting all the glory, and dream of making the bigtime in…Branson. The monkey wrench in the dream is a regular cast member has sent a replacement to cover for him at this important performance. The acting is superb, the patter between numbers comes across as real rather than scripted. They’re having fun and it shows.

If I have any suggestions for revision it would be to introduce the characters by name a few more times so an audience remembers them, and let the “cover guy” screw up the choreography just a little bit at the first.

From a glorious piece from “Don Giovani” to the quartet delivering a heart-wrenching rendition of “The Impossible Dream,” this is top notch from start to finish. Add to the 45-minute show, put an orchestra behind them and this would be, if not Broadway, at the very least high-quality showroom material.

“Baritones of Love” is another specific reason to head on down to the Fringe Festival. This is one more (the other being “23 and We”) you won’t want to miss!

For exact curtain days and times, check the LVLT website; https://www.lvlt.org

When: Thursday - Sunday through June 16; times vary

Best of Fringe Encore performances: 6/21 & 6/22; 8:00pm

Where: Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff drive

Tickets: $12 (702-362-7996; www.lvlt.org)

#EatMoreArt #vegastheatre #vegasfringe

Check out our Fringe-Aversary Part One coverage here!

Check out our Fringe-Aversary Part Two coverage here!