Tag Archives: Hollywood Fringe Festival

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Rag Doll on a Bombsite

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , ,

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Shelley Cooper

WHAT: Rag Doll on a Bombsite

WHERE: Hudson Theatres (Hudson Guild), 6539 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: It’s a surprising treat, heading to the Fringe and getting a look into history – particularly, at remarkable women in history. Here, writer/perfomer Shelley Cooper (directed by Kelsey Miller) reveals hard truths about Lotte Lenya’s dark and violent upbringing, shedding light on her celebrated portrayal of Jenny Diver in “The Three Penny Opera”… and her need to share it with an audience. We travel backstage, onstage and into the corners of Lotte’s past along with her present romance with composer Kurt Weill in a very personal and affecting way, thanks to Shelley’s considerable chops as a singer and dancer.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/12077

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: The Injustice of Virginity

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Thea Pueschel

WHAT: The Injustice of Virginity

WHERE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse,  6440 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: It’s always fun to see a collaboration between a smart writer/director and engaging performer, and Dominique Turner is delightful as a self-effacing 20-something who’s determined to leave her hometown in CA’s Central Valley, specifically to get her cherry popped. Her destination? LA’s San Fernando Valley, the porn capital of the world. Thea Pueschel’s tale is an unexpected journey that hits close to home, with earned laughs and hard revelations.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11733

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: This is Water

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Jennifer Ashe

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Rain Perry

WHAT: This is Water

WHERE: The Broadwater (Second Stage), 6320 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: Rain Perry wrote and performs this self-reflective journey with both story and song. Struggling with her white privilege, she dives into her own family history and she asks us to recognize the oppression and racism non-white people have endured through the ages. In this political climate, I was intrigued to see how she saw herself and how she believes we can make a difference.

Karen Hammock on the keyboard and Jeff Turmes on percussion and guitar bring the music to life, rounding out the cast.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11376

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Atypical Grace

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

WHO: Maria Fagan Hassani

WHAT: Atypical Grace

WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Av

WHY: ...Maria’s creativity and bravery in sharing this story are evident, and the show’s blend of entertainment and education—what she calls “Edu-tainment”—makes it a truly worthwhile experience, offering an opportunity to open hearts and minds to the experiences of others.

Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10815

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: One Up: The Musical

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , , ,

by Eloise Coopersmith

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

WHO: Mary Bonney & Weslie Lechner

WHAT: One Up: The Musical

WHERE: Actors Company  (Let Live Theater), 916 N. Formosa

WHY: …Fresh, invigorating, and exciting, the cast of One Up [book by Mary Bonney & Weslie Lechner, Music & Lyrics by Matt Dahan] reminds us why we love Hollywood Fringe shows. The press release states, “One Up is a heartfelt celebration of ambition, friendship, and what it takes to make it in the digital frontier.” How would I describe it? Fun!

Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11981

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: And Her Children

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , ,

by Jennifer Ashe

Quick peeks at #HFF25’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Hailey McAfee and Rosie Glen Lambert

WHAT: And Her Children

WHERE: The Hobgoblin Playhouse,  6440 Santa Monica Bl

WHY: Performer Hailey McAfee masterly takes us on an 80 minute ride in this piece, co-written with director Rosie Glen-Lambert. (It was inspired by an appearance by Dana Loesch at a town hall after the 2018 Parkland shooting.) As Anna, a spokesperson for the NRA, McAfee speaks directly to us, prejudging us for prejudging her. She doesn’t care. She’s sure of her positions… or is she?

We know exactly who Anna is… until we don’t. In her indigence as she defends gun rights at any cost, her story starts to unfold and then unravel, punctuated by the scratchy sound of the violinist mysteriously at the back of the stage. She tells us everything she has ever done is for her children. She proudly tells us stories she knows we’ll condemn her for but she stands by her choices as a mother. In this political climate, she dares us to find, if not sympathy for her, then an understanding of who she is and how she got here. McAffee’s Anna has a job to do and she does it well.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/12188

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Mikvah Girls

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , , , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Emmy Weismann

WHAT: Mikvah Girls

WHERE: The Broadwater Mainstage,  1078 Lillian Way

WHY: I was immediately drawn into the vivid and delicious writing from Emmy Weismann and invested in the changing lives of Aviva and Chava onstage. We as the audience are given a beautiful opportunity to witness the inner thoughts and workings of a friendship on the brink of morphing, and given an insight into the orthodox Jewish world of a Mikvah, which is usually private.

The play is not only witty and hilarious, it is disturbing and eloquent. Emmy tackles sexual deprivation, domestic violence, the love that exists in female friendships and one’s devotion to culture and heritage while also wanting to honor identity and heart. These are not easy subjects to handle, yet Emma does it with sensitivity, humor and most importantly, love. I also loved hearing the girls speak Hebrew during the play. What makes a great play is its ability to capture the heart in ways that remind us we are connected as humans. I need not know what they were saying, for my body understood. The beautiful ensemble showed us the many shades and variations of what it means to live as an orthodox Jewish girl. Maya Knell, Rachel Wender and Sofia Joanna don’t hold anything back.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6394

photo by Annie Lesser

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: Revolution With Ramón

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Heather Dowling

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Ruby Marez

WHAT: Revolution With Ramón

WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Av

WHY: As you walk into the Zephyr Theatre, you realize immediately that you are in for a very playful ride. You are now on the set of The Ramon Show, hosted by queer, Puerto Rican Drag King Ramón for a live taping of a socially conscious Late Night Comedy Show. There are bubbles, there are dragons, there are prizes… but then, there are powerful – but still playful – conversations with important social impact, right now, for all of us. In the “taping” I attended, there was a revelation about renter’s rights that was a MAJOR contribution for so many in the audience. If social and civics lesson were always this engaging, we’d all be better off.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10982

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: The Anti “Yogi”

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , ,

by Constance Strickland

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Mayuri Bhandari

WHAT: The Anti “Yogi”

WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Av

WHY: Because Mayuri onstage is a force to be reckoned with. Because she not only gives us a history of yoga but also the very importance of its existence in a context never discussed. Because her relationship with her musician Neel onstage transcends the show on levels my body is still digesting. Because she addresses the audience without fear of retribution. Because she names the white cultural appropriation and colonization of yoga in such a direct manner that you undeniably understand the effects it can have, not only on a culture but also on one’s identity. Because she gives form to numerous characters and deities in a physical manner that is a pleasure to witness. 

I loved being in the audience – Mayuri’s energy and commitment to her work are contagious. The performance she gives is personal, a revelation of self, and as she embodies her parents you are given a generous glimpse into the dynamics of an Indian family, something we need more of in the theatre. This magnetic offering rewrites the falsities of yoga and takes back the power of an ancient practice that starts with the self and goes way beyond the practice of physical postures.

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10384 (Stay updated at inktr.ee/theantiyogi)

#FringeFemmes Check-Ins: The Princess Strikes Back

Fringe Festival, playwriting, , , ,

by Azo Safo

Quick peeks at #HFF24’s “Women on the Fringe” by Fringe Femmes who are behind the scenes this year. Click Here for all Check-Ins

Fringe Femmes

WHO: Victoria Montalbano

WHAT: The Princess Strikes Back: One Woman’s Search for the Space Cowboy of her Dreams 

WHERE: Asylum @ Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre, 5636 Melrose Av

WHY: Chicago-based Writer/Actor Victoria Montalbano opens the show dressed in a sexy Princess Leia outfit, making it clear that this show will have Star Wars references and that the heroine will be badass!  She cleverly incorporates Star Wars references into a very interesting and relatable life story filled with messy relationships, life lessons and ultimately a transformation that is so very satisfying to witness.  Montalbano does not shy away from the details, including her experiences with online dating – she once dated a C-3PO.  A majority of the audience members this particular evening happened to be women and we were smitten with her. Montalbano knows how to tell a good story. As one audience member accurately said after her show, she is charming! The show is funny and the writing  is crisp, detailed and exciting – EVEN if you have never watched Star Wars.  She’s a relatable performer who entertained and made us cheer for her the whole evening.  This show has one more performance and deserves a good, boisterous audience! 

HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10624

Click Here to Find More “Women on the Fringe!”