The Fallout Fringe Fest is a Blast! Part Four

By Erik Engman

Author, Clown and Improvisation Teacher, Theatre Critic EatMoreArtVegas.com

IG: ErikReviewsVegas

The Fallout Fringe Fest continues, this time adding in a new venue. The Notoriety is hard to find.  You need to enter the Neonopolis plaza on Fremont past the Denny’s and Heart Attack Grill and take the elevator three flights up to the top. It’s a great complex, sadly hidden away. Here is the fourth batch of reviews. You can access the full schedule at www.falloutfringe.org/schedule.

You Might Think Less of Me by Jenny Fox  ★★★ Satisfying

Art, at its best, is intimate and honest. It’s difficult to achieve that. Ego gets in the way, or fear of revealing your true self. It’s not a negative trait in real life. We’re conditioned to hide our silly, bumbling selves. (That’s the whole point of my clown classes, to give you a place to reveal your true self and realize it’s okay to be who you hide.) In this play Jenny reveals all in a stylistic manner with complete raw openness. Every fear, every ounce of pain, every hurtful thing in her life. We see her story from being bullied, to a deteriorating marriage, to feeling inadequate about her body. I did have a major problem with the set, which was a row of mirrors lining the back wall. They were tilted just enough so when I tried to look at the stage, I got an eyeful of stage lights and purple dots. I spent much of the show with my eyes closed or looking away. But that’s an easy fix. It’s a brave thing to be this vulnerable on stage. Bravo to Jenny.

@ Majestic Repertory: June 22

Sockspeare’s Hamlet by William Shakespeare  ★★★★ ½  Scrumptious

Out of all of the plays this Fringe, this was the one I was most excited for. And Poor Richard’s Players did not disappoint. Four players clad from head-to-toe in black garb (Benjamin Loewy, Brenna Folger, Ryan Euckman, Jake Taylor) tell the well-worn tale of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, with eight puppets (Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius, Laertes, Horatio and Bernardo) and two marionettes (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern). Surprisingly, this was an extremely faithful adaptation of the Bard’s play. I expected more puns and silliness, and there were some, but it didn’t come at the expense of the play. The first half was very cute, like Shakespeare with a Sesame Street feel. The second half was much better, as they added in some wonderful dark humor. I was laughing out loud at the gravedigger scene (actual truck puppets), Ophelia’s madness and drowning, and the sword fight at the climax. I wish the first half had more of that. But no matter, it’s a joyous romp with whimsy and mirth and much respect for the source material. If you love Shakespeare, puppets, silliness, or all three, you will love this show. (There was a fifth person bowing at the end, but only four names in the program. Sorry I don’t know who that was.)

@ Notoriety: June 16, 19, 20, and 21.

What: Fallout Fringe Festival

When: From June 3 to June 25, times vary

Where: Majestic Repertory and Notoriety at the Neonopolis

Tickets: $15, https://www.falloutfringe.org/