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
WHAT: Too Much of a Good Thing
WHERE: Skiptown Playhouse, 655 N. Heliotrope Dr
Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11883
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
WHAT: Funeral Show
WHERE: The Broadwater (Studio), 1078 Lillian Way
Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11710
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
WHAT: Atypical Grace
WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Av
Go Here for more of Eloise’s Review on Gia On The Move!
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10815
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
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
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
WHO: Italome Ohikhuare
WHAT: Mermaid
WHERE: The Broadwater Studio, 1078 Lillian Way
WHY: I was immediately taken in by Italome’s onstage presence. As she entered, dancing, she addressed us directly and thanked us for being in the space with her… then all of a sudden she excused herself, grabbed a bottle of pills and began to swallow them down with a glass of water. It’s striking, startling and disrupts every expectation you had when walking into the theatre. It is a priceless lesson on the power of writing and how acting serves as a powerful tool in telling stories. What I loved about this show was that I could enter into African mythology via the Nigerian American lens – a lens that as an African-American woman, I do not often have a chance to experience. As I closed my eyes, I could see, hear and longed for Africa and my arrival at the Lagos airport she so deliciously described.
Mermaid is a story rooted in culture, memory, magic and heartbreak. The hopes and dreams a mother has moving her family to America ultimately will split the ties that bind her in ways that will crush your soul. Yet do not despair, for Italome’s dynamic and gentle performance brings you into the world of her family. Witnessing Italome embody her cousin and her auntie, your heart remembers that family relationships not only shape us, but also create the possibility to free us to live our most authentic lives.
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6394
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
WHO: Sunita Param
WHAT: Sunita: Back To Me
WHERE: Asylum @ Stephanie Fuery Studio Theatre (Mainstage), 5636 Melrose Av
WHY: As soon as Sunita walked onstage, I was taken in by her beauty and elegance, yet it was hearing her voice even before seeing her that immediately connected me to the woman and the story she would so generously share with us. I felt as though I was at Café Carlyle in New York City as I was seated on the stage. Sunita and her pianist, Derek Purdy, treat us to an evening of classic cabaret, serenading us with a collection of songs from musicals, including one of my favorites, “Popular” from Wicked. Yet Sunita is not just singing musical soundtracks; she has delicately chosen songs that connect us to her own story of losses, gains and hard lessons learned. She gives us a rare theatrical opportunity where we, as an audience, can witness a retrospective of this fearless artist’s life.
Luckily, we have the privilege of meeting a woman who has rediscovered herself. A woman who, despite facing disappointment and heartbreak, persevered. Sunita’s tale of resilience serves as a powerful reminder of why music is an integral part of the human spirit. Her magnificent voice and the way she narrates her story will keep you enthralled throughout her performance.
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10819
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
WHO: Valerie Lacy
WHAT: Who in the World is Valerie Lacy?
WHERE: Hudson Theatres (Hudson Guild) 6539 Santa Monica Bl
WHY: Valerie takes us on an emotional journey that will have you gasping in shock and shake you to your core. We root for and follow this curious, beautiful young girl as she develops a crush, falls in love, gets pregnant and marries her childhood sweetheart. One minute, we’re laughing out loud with her and listening to her beautiful voice, which makes you feel she is catching a distant memory or reconstructing her future. It feels good to celebrate this young couple in love who are raising a child together. It’s not until Valerie’s voice becomes distorted and her body morphs that we realize the relationship has morphed into an abusive and dire situation. Yet Valerie’s will, unbreakable spirit and determination are contagious throughout her performance. We want her to get everything she imagines and deserves. Go see this show. Go support Black women telling stories. Go support a woman who is reclaiming her voice and refuses to let anyone control her story. Go support theatre that is creating a space where we can come together as a community and heal pieces of ourselves.
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10707
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
WHO: Fielding Edlow
WHAT: Gaslighting is My Love Language
WHERE: Hudson Theatres 6539 Santa Monica Bl
WHY: Fielding Edlow is a stand-up comedian, writer, and creator/star of award-winning digital series Bitter Homes and Gardens. The native New Yorker has performed stand-up at Edinburgh, Leicester, Boston Comedy Festival and now she brings her deeply personal and darkly comedic one-person show to the Hollywood Fringe. Gaslighting Is My Love Language is her scorchingly honest examination of her 13-yr marriage to a character actor husband that was held together by gaslighting and a longing to actually connect. She also examines the dysfunctional relationship between her parents and her own complicated relationship with her tween daughter. Meant for mature audiences.
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10388
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
WHO: Victoria Kelleher
WHAT: Daddy Issues
WHERE: Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Avenue
WHY: In this hilarious and touching autobiographical comedy, Vikki reveals that she and her sister were, in fact, the first latch-key kids of Gen X. This led to a life of parentified, defiant adventure for Vikki as she raised herself in Minnesota. She went on to build an accomplished career as an actor in film and television in Los Angeles, but then in 2019, a 23 and Me test turned her past upside down, and her future right side up. “How many dads does it take to raise an unapologetically self-reliant woman?” It’s a question wonderfully answered in this surprisingly emotional comedy.
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10691
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
WHO: Becca Lustgarten
WHAT: Dear Auntie B
WHERE: Actors Company (The Little Theater) 916 N. Formosa Av
WHY: In this solo, sometimes musical dramedy, Becca Lustgarten plays Auntie B., an Upper West Side advice columnist whose outward expression is elegant, highly refined, almost anachronistic. As a self-proclaimed dating guru, her advice is sharp, hilarious and highly relevant. Over the course of the play, Auntie B. paints a picture of her perfect marriage to the perfect man, but it becomes apparent there’s something she is hiding from us, and herself. The fun begins to unravel as reality interrupts her opining on other’s lives. We find that we, the audience, are in the fact in the midst of her loss and unique expression of grief. Content warning: conversations about suicide.
HOW: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/10714
