Last chances for Fringe: Which shows to catch
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Your weekend to-do list.
"Loop," by Tangle Movement Arts
The 2014 Fringe Festival ends (officially) on Sept. 21; that's Sunday, so start adding the last round of shows to your calendar for the weekend. These are just a few picks, for the full lineup of shows, visit fringearts.com. Here are which performances are still running until closing day of the festival:
[ fringe/circus arts ]
$20 | Thu.-Sat., Sept. 18-20, Philadelphia Soundstages, 1600 N. Fifth St., tangle-arts.com.
A genre as intriguing as “circus arts” demands to be explored. Luckily for Fringe audiences, Tangle Movement Arts has a record of quality-yet-accessible shows — simultaneously lovely and exhilarating — to convert the apprehensive. Instead of words or even a floor-bound stage, the all-female cast uses aerial hoops, trapezes, hanging ropes and silks to tell its stories. This year’s show’s title refers to not only the artists’ tools, but to “the knots of human relationships” explored exclusively via movement. Expect plenty of midair back bends and rapid-yet-graceful weaving through suspended ropes, plus a healthy dose of “Oh my God, how did they do that?” —Julie Zeglen
[ fringe/theater ]
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
$20-$25 | Through Sept. 21, Main Stage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., temple.edu/theater.
The timing of this acclaimed play’s Philadelphia debut, which is also the opening production of Temple Theaters’ fall season, could not be better. Coming only days after President Obama announced military action against ISIS, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo offers a creative look at the U.S. invasion of Iraq that mingles perspectives of American soldiers, Iraqi civilians, Uday Hussein and a “liberated” Bengal tiger — and its ghost. Whether this production’s cast of Temple thespians will match the high-caliber lineups of previous iterations (the 2011 Broadway debut featured the late Robin Williams in the title role), Bengal Tiger will certainly offer new relevance to old (and sobering, continual) questions about mortality in the midst of absurd armed conflict. —Sameer Rao
[ fringe/improv ]
Free | Fri.-Sun., Sept. 19-21,
6:30 p.m., Liberty Lands Park, 926 N. American St., ombelicomask.org.
File this Fringe show, Flim Flam Phantom Sham, under the header “There’s Really No Good Reason Not To.” Brendon Gawel and John Bellomo’s Ombelico Mask Ensemble, a group of performance artists channeling 16th-century Italian commedia dell’arte (a masked ancestor to traditional slapstick comedy and improv) has proven in recent years to be consistently charming and delightful. As in, Chaplin-meets-dorky-art-history-buff wonderful. That might sound like college improv shows you sat through because your roommate belonged but Ombelico has the chops, wit, whimsy and theater education to scrub the word “improv” of its sometimes-lame reputation. Also, free. Also, Liberty Lands Park. Like we said, there’s really no good reason not to. —Marc Snitzer
[ fringe/theater ]
________Vs. ________ (Blank Vs. Blank)
$7 | Fri.-Sun., Sept. 19-21, German-town Mennonite Church, 21 W. Washington Lane, yesandcamp.org.
Composed entirely of teenagers and students from around Philadelphia, SHADOW Company has never been solely about theater. Tackling broad strokes of socio-political topics, SHADOW homes in on the concept of mercy for its newest production, ________ V. ________. A culmination of the group’s workshop Trials of Paradox from last year’s Fringe, this show interprets mercy through the lens of the 1985 MOVE bombing in West Philadelphia and the 1993 murder of Fishtown teen Freddy Adams, along with some non-local events. It feels like quite the task, given the theater group’s relative youth in comparison to the acts of violence and tragedy they will portray (through performance art and song), but perhaps that’s the draw. These teens weren’t around for such devastating moments in our city’s history, but telling these stories through as many different tools as we can may help us understand the broader angles, even when filtered through concepts as large as mercy. —Marc Snitzer
[ fringe/cabaret ]
The Way of All Flesh: A Graveyard Cabaret
$20 | Fri.-Sat., Sept. 19-20, 7:30 p.m., Laurel Hill Cemetery, 3822 Ridge Ave., revtheatrecompany.org.
It seems like it doesn’t get much more fun than being undead, amirite? Just ask REV Theatre Company, whose The Way of All Flesh: A Graveyard Cabaret performances have sold out completely the past two years. Complimentary cocktails? Yep. Apropros graveyard setting, courtesy of the high-spook caliber of Laurel Hill? Undoubtedly. Three enter-taining lost souls/Greek chorus-types, singin’ and dancin’ their way between life and whatever comes next? Come on. Cabaret and corpses were pretty much made for each other, and director Rosey Hay, a UArts Brind School professor, has the format down to a T (it’s pretty amazing that this weekend hasn’t sold out yet too). Did I men-tion free cocktails? —Marc Snitzer
[ fringe/theater ]
$12 | Sun., Sept. 21, Biello Martin Studio, 148 N. Third St.
Writer and performer Frank Perri’s bizarre nickname came from a heartfelt — and inappropriate — inside joke between college roommates, which is part of what his one-man show is about. He tells his personal story of an orphaned boy dealing with the burden of losing his adoptive parents and coping by repressing his emotions and developing a protective cynical sense of humor. Eventually, Perri found that he had to work past his jaded outlook, open up and grow up. —Mark Cofta
