EMA REVIEWS: Fringe 2025

It’s Fringe time again, and I love it!

By Paul Atreides

Author, Playwright, and Theatre Critic at EatMoreArtVegas.compaul-atreides.com  

Fringe theatre festivals allow playwrights to try out new material and for production companies without their own venues to expose themselves to the greater community.

This year, we get two Festivals. Las Vegas Little Theatre’s (LVLT) annual Fringe Festival, now in its 14th year, and the Fallout Fringe, with productions in venues spread all over the Arts District. Between the two, over 30 different plays are being presented. You’ll get to see new material by new playwrights, and some written by well-known, celebrated authors.

These four are all being presented in LVLT’s Fischer Black Box.

(Abridged) Lives of the Saints Returns by David Ives ***** Delicious

Producer: LVLT

The theatre snatches three of the nine short plays in Ives’ Lives of the Saints collection. Kicking off with “Life Signs,” directed by Halle Lyons, where a man (Jacob Moore) is dealing with the loss of his mother (Teresa Fullerton) who may or may not be gone. Fullerton alone is worth the price of admission as she portrays the mother lying dead on a slab. Then, “It’s All Good,” directed by TJ Larsen, lets a man (Ernest Medina) find out what his life may have been, had he made different choices, when he meets himself (TJ Larsen) on a train in Chicago. The presentation finishes with the cast, (Lyons, Ernest Medina, Jacob Moore, Teresa Fullerton) in “Enigma Variations” where everyone needs serious therapy.

What makes this stand out is the collected vignettes provide an excellent glance at the epitome of fringe theatre all in one hour. The plays are funny and bizarre and well done. 

The Lonely Planet by Stephen Dietz **** Scrumptious

Producer: Benifred Productions

Here we get a play about true friendship in the early days of the AIDS crisis, directed by Joe Ferrell. Jody (Frederick Foster) owns a map store and prefers to be a hermit. His longtime friend Carl (Ben Hensley) is the happy lover of life. Hensley brings a wildly over-the-top quality to his character, until Jody has to be tested. The transition Hensley makes is beautifully smooth as it plays out over the course of the timeline.  Foster gives Jody the right amount of timidness while playing along with the antics his friend introduces. It’s fun, it’s funny, and it’s touching in all the right places. 

The Zoo Story by Edward Albee ***** Delicious

Producer: Footlights Productions

Steve Webster (Peter) and Alan Roberts (Jerry) are back together for another Fringe. Once again, they act and direct, with an assist from Toni Tyson and Jack Stroud. As actors, Webster and Roberts can take a relatively static piece without being boring. They make you believe every word is uttered for the first time, every gesture organic. These two bring their characters to three-dimensional, full-throttle life. The entirety occurs near a park bench, where Jerry intrudes upon Peter’s quiet afternoon and interrogates him about life. The dialogue is everything, and Roberts, who carries most of it, doesn’t disappoint. Webster is always in the scene and can speak volumes with a simple, subtle facial expression. The two are so natural on stage, like a Master Class in acting. 

Matched book, music and lyrics by M. Parker ** Still Hungry

Producer: Speeding Theatre

Writer M. Parker delivers a charming concept as middle-aged Cloe, played by Zannie Seguin, and Dave, played by Erick Walck, turn to the online dating apps looking for “the one.” Though some of the dialogue is a bit silly and in places repetitive, it still brings some fun to the age-old “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy ultimately gets girl” story. As directed by Rip Pellaton, Seguin plays the comedy straight. As a result, she’s funny, she’s believable, and she’s delightful. On the other hand, Walck goes so far over the top with broad gestures, expressions, and movements that the comedy is lost, and his character comes across as smarmy and completely unlikable. Cloe paces so much in several places throughout for no reason, it’s cringeworthy. On the plus side, both Seguin and Walck have excellent vocal talent, which truly shines in the duet ballads.

What: Vegas Fringe Festival

When: Friday to Sunday through June 15; times vary

For exact curtain days and times, check the LVLT website

Where: Las Vegas Little Theatre, 3920 Schiff Drive

Tickets (single): $20

702-362-7996

www.lvlt.org