Fringe, Reviewed: Two Street

[ theater ]

Two Street by Tribe of Fools

Attended: Fri., Sept. 5, 8 p.m.; closes Sept. 13

Ronnie and Jules are perfect together, except that they belong to rival Mummers brigades.

We Think: It’s perhaps too easy to satirize the Mummers and their routines, but the first 15 minutes of Two Street use the fancy brigades’ parade to introduce the characters and poke fun at everything from political correctness to Riverdance-like choreography. And youse may be amused.

The plot kicks in when the Downtown 2’s — Ty (Peter Smith) and his gay brother Jules (Peter Andrew Danzig) — lose their clubhouse and have to share space with their rivals, the Two Street Steppers — Ronnie (Zachary Chiero) and his sassy sister Marcie (Isa St. Clair).

When Ronnie and Jules fall in love, however, Two Street threatens to become a queer spin on Willie the Shake’s Romeo and Juliet, complete with lines about “denying thy father and refusing thy name” as the characters discuss the importance of family and tradition. Yet the show is more ironic than tragic. The mild humor consists of lame grindr jokes, pop-culture references (some dated, some not; some funny, some not) and a “lovers montage” involving those obvious Souf Philly targets: water ice and cheesesteaks.

Two Street is much better during its sweeter moments, as when Jules shows Ronnie how to dance, or Jo (Karina Balfour) gives a moving speech to Ronnie about love. The four lead actors all give committed, if broad performances, with the shouty St. Clair especially good with her exaggerated gesticulations. The energetic Danzig and the comic Chiero have a terrific chemistry together, and Smith makes Ty surprisingly sympathetic.

Oddly, the edgiest thing in this production is not that that there are gay mummers falling in love, but that characters are shouting “Jesus Fucking Christ” in a play performed in a church.