All across America, summer is the season for festivals, and late summer sees its peak. In St. Louis, late summer includes one of my favorites: the St. Louis Fringe Festival, a multi-disciplenary arts festival continuing through Sunday, August 20, in the Grand Center Arts District.
This year, 30 different theater acts — from solo performances to a premiere full-length musical — are scheduled, and this reviewer is attempting to see and provide short reviews for them all. Updates with reviews of the previous day’s shows will be posted here, and I’ll make sure to let you know if there are additional performances, so you can get your tickets and see some new and intriguing art. The beauty of the Fringe is its variety and potential to surprise. You might not enjoy everything you see, but you’re just as likely to see something that amazes you.
In addition to the scheduled productions, 12 different musical acts will take place over the weekend, primarily in the beer garden at Urban Chestnut (3229 Washington Avenue). Featured musicians include folk singer Ahma, jazz duo Josie and Drew, Americana music with Just Josh and more. And that’s not all! Ms Mo & the Fringettes return for another year of fun, plus there’s ongoing trivia games and a tarot card reader. I plan to catch as many of the bonus acts as I can fit in between shows, and I hope to see you at the Fringe!
For more about the festival and its guiding philosophy, read my colleague Sarah Fenske’s preview and visit stlfringe.orgfor times, tickets and more.
Tuesday, August 15 – Opening Night
The Oreo Complex created and performed by Lillian Brown
Lillian Brown is an attractive, educated Black woman who knows how to make white people comfortable with her presence. She knows to dress the “right” way, speak with the “right” vocabulary, straighten then style her hair to hide her natural texture and, in so many other ways, alter her presentation to “fit in.” Brown explains this to her mostly white audience using a lot of humor to make them feel at ease, almost chummy.
As Brown explains life when perceived as an “Oreo,” someone “Black on the outside and white on the inside,” she’s also setting us up — prompting us to take a closer look at our own assumptions and behavior. Turning the familiar “us versus them” trope on her audience, she points out how shallow and easily twisted that divisive move is before changing tone and sharing real, hard-hitting truths about the many different shades of racism in the United States. Stripping her veneer of complacency, she reveals real pain and a longing to reconcile the past and present in ways that honor her ancestors — people whom society has too often abused, forgotten and ignored on purpose. The show builds with honest intensity, concluding with a mournful rendition of “Lift Every Voice” accompanied by singing bowls. Brown never loses her grace, compassion or desire to connect as she leads the audience on a deeply provocative journey.
Last year, Brown and her powerful one-woman show captured the title of Fringemeister, signifying her show as the best of the 2022 festival and earning the invitation to return and kick off Fringe 2023. You have one more opportunity to see this effective and deeply affecting show.
Big Dad Energycreated and performed by Jaime Campbell
Contrary to the title of his show, writer, actor and stand-up comedian Jaime Campbell is not a dad. But, comfortably settled in at 43, he observes that he nonetheless gives off “big dad energy.” Opening with a rap-influenced song that features lyrics such as, “I don’t get mad, I’m just disappointed,” Campbell takes us on a journey of comic what ifs and life experiences that range from taking acid for Senior Night at Disneyland to meeting and marrying his wife in his 40s. There’s plenty of sex, drugs and rock & roll references that are a bit too mature for younger audiences and not everyone’s cup of tea, but they’re laugh out loud funny and delivered with as much humility as humor.
Campbell’s stories and references are well-framed and connected, perfectly embodying the angst and embarrassments of aging Gen-Xers. He captures the crowd by imagining himself as the cool dad then tosses in some self-deprecation while acknowledging his own privileges and allyship. Campbell gets tons of laughs even as he’s revealing intimate details that might make a person cringe in a different setting; instead, we easily and sympathetically laugh along at his foibles. He also interacts with his audience several times during the quick paced show, sometimes poking fun but always ending on a positive note.
Currently on a multi-festival schedule, Campbell’sBig Dad Energy is already heading to the next city; if his show comes back through town, it’s definitely worth the price of admission.
Wednesday, August 16 – Night Two
Humans of St. Louis, The Play adapted by Lindy Drew and Joe Hanrahan, directed by Hanrahan and Drew presented by the Midnight Company
The “Humans of…” movement began in New York City on Instagram and, as the posts and photos were shared, the concept quickly spread to other cities. Two sociology students started the Humans of St. Louis account in 2014 to fulfill a course requirement. Armed with a camera and a series of open-ended questions, they sought out participants at events and large gatherings, spent time wandering busy streets sidewalks and connected with thousands of people from all over the region.The posts became a book and inspired the creation of poems, songs and other art.
Earlier this year, one of the creators of Humans of St. Louis teamed up with local playwright, director and actor Joe Hanrahan to create the staged version, which premiered at Fringe. The well-constructed play is framed with a narration representing the student creators and features songs and a spoken poem inspired by the project, which are interspersed between a series of vignettes. Each begins with a question that is answered using the responses gathered by the project. The performers fully internalize the answers included in the script, and their replies and characterizations come across as genuine, hopeful and compelling.
The resulting show is engaging and thought provoking and ends with an uplifting song and invitation for the audience to celebrate all of the Humans of St. Louis. You have three more opportunities to see this captivating community-centered show.
Songs of a Movement – From Suffragettes to Today: Women in America created and performed by Toni Finch
Returning for a second year, and improved through solid work on the vocals and some important script updates, Toni Finch’s ,Songs of a Movement is a compelling and informative brief history of women’s rights in the United States. Throughout the cabaret-style performance, she intermixes her own story and personal call to activism with historical snippets from the Suffrage movement to the recent Dobbs decision on abortion rights, frequently encouraging the audience to vote and do just one simple thing to get involved.
Finch selected a thoughtful mix of songs to add texture and emotional context to the stories, and she leans into the songs popular during the 1960s and ’70s, the height of the Civil Rights and ERA movements. There are also a few surprises, such as the Suffragette’s song from “Mary Poppins” and an audience singalong, featuring empowering lyrics to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy.” From a musical standpoint, Finch’s interpretation of Leslie Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” was the standout of the night. Dressed in blank trousers and top with blush pink shoes as a perfect accent, Finch looks the part of a cabaret singer. She has a nice, if limited, range but could likely improve ease of delivery and lessen vocal strain by working with a music director to transpose more challenging songs for her voice.
Songs of a Movement was performed only once at this year’s Fringe. I heard significant improvements and enhancements in the 2023 version and encourage Finch to keep honing her craft. Her story is compelling, and her song choices are a perfect compliment to the message.
American Stage Sessions - History of World Drama Part 2, 666: A Closer Look at the Work of Bryceland Davies Davids created by the Plagiarists, directed by Nick Freed and presented by Glass Elevator
Unabashedly silly yet insidiously sharp and clever with lots of pop culture references sprinkled throughout, American Stage Sessions is pure comic entertainment. A spoof of retrospective shows such as Masterpiece Theater, with a touch of Inside the Actors’ Studio celebrity adoration, the comedy is purposefully pretentious and exaggerated. Overly long titles and preposterous backstories add to the humor and are complemented by short sketches representing the various plays of tonight’s featured playwright, Bryceland Davies Davids.
The uniformly strong cast thoroughly commits to the comedy and pointed commentary of the hilariously way-over-the-top sketches, accented to near perfection by the dry yet salacious delivery of Aaron Orion Baker as the presenter. Baker combines his droll delivery with an unzipped fly and comically awkward chair turn to open the show, deftly setting up every ridiculous moment that follows. The sketch ensemble includes Summer Baer, Frankie Ferrari, Sarah Lantsberger, Victor Mendez and Ben Ritchie and their comic timing, pratfalls and cartoonish characterizations guarantee constant laughter. Mendez and Baer are delightfully unsettling as a father and son duo, but it’s Ferrari and Lantsberger who nearly steal the show in the final sketch.
The company is not afraid to push the edges of decorum, whether raunchy, controversial or simply absurd (and the script is decidedly for mature audiences). And that approach works spectacularly. Glass Elevator is a new company making its debut with a single performance at Fringe; if you enjoy sharp, fearless comedy intended for adult sensibilities, you should watch for their next show.
Thursday, August 17 – Night Three
Life on Wheels – written and performed by Katie Rodriguez
Katie Rodriguez was in her early 20s and just about to start her dream job, in her chosen profession, when her life was — literally and figuratively — turned upside down. She was enjoying a night out with friends when the SUV she was riding in had a rollover crash that resulted in her becoming a quadriplegic person. Today, she’s a successful speaker, coach, accessibility advocate and DEI resource as well as an accomplished author. In Life on Wheels, Rodriguez tells her story in poems and prose.
A gifted and almost relentlessly positive public speaker, Rodriguez lights up with enthusiasm and seems energized by the intimacy of the small crowd and space. She’s most at ease speaking directly to the audience, telling us about her journey and choices. Including the choice to not let a depression diagnosis bring her down but to treat it and learn how to “roll with it,” a phrase that’s practically her mantra.
Rodriguez’s poetry selections were less engaging for this reviewer in both content and presentation. Generally shorter pieces, written in rhyming couplets and stanzas, the poems are pleasant but not memorable. The audience was enthralled when Rodriguez described where and what she can feel and how she uses her fingers and hand to grasp certain things — I want to hear that poem and to see her perform her poetry with the same emotional honesty and vivid use of language as she tells her stories. Noting that, Rodriguez finished her performance with a reading from her upcoming young adult novel that was sincere and engaging.
Life on Wheels was performed just once at this year’s Fringe.
LGBTQIA+ Comedy Showcase – hosted by Charlie Meyers
Early in the 2023 festival planning process, Charlie Meyers and Fringe executive director Matt Kerns decided to put together a comedy showcase event, and Meyers did a stellar job selecting and recruiting an entertaining lineup that provided 45 minutes of solid laughs. In addition to Meyers, Paul Cereghino, Ella Fritts, Tiel Pearce and Cori Stewart all had funny, sharply observed 15-minute sets. The performers are all millennial or younger, but their humor easily connected with everyone in the room, which included a lot of Gen-X and Boomers.
In terms of performance and style points, Meyers was an enthusiastic and charmingly awkward host who scored laughs talking about an early desire to be a lesbian rabbi and growing up half Catholic, half Jewish, a “Cashew” if you will, as well as honest humor about transitioning and finding love. Cereghino, an accomplished actor and musician, had natural ease and a great connection with the audience, as well as the best improvised bit about the lighting at the venue. Fritts was adorable, and she knows it, in the funny way. She had a great riff on Laura Dern and Jurassic Park, and she and Cereghino had some comic overlap around Garfield, the comic cat not the president. Pearce had a deadpan delivery and a really tight, polished set. Autistic and asexual, he found some fresh and really funny ways to connect with the audience and embrace his unique humor. His bit about the performers not eating the pizza in a porn flick was simply hilarious. Stewart closed the night with a plethora of astute and original one-liners and a fabulous bit about bungee jumping in Kentucky and absurdly funny sexual euphemisms.
The LGBTQIA+ Comedy Showcase wasn’t for all tastes, but for those comfortable with openly sexual, non-heteronormative comedy, the event was a fantastic evening of genuine laughter without the constraints found in some venues. The showcase was a one-time event that I hope returns in future festivals.
Unlicensed Musical Therapy – songs by Bradley Rohlf, with collaboration and improvised analysis by Colin Healy and David Lemon
Improvisation is, in part, a willingness to say “yes, and” to whatever idea is presented. Bradley Rohlf, Colin Healy and David Lemon run with the phrase in the hilarious and surprisingly cathartic Unlicensed Musical Therapy. The overarching concept is that Rohlf has given permission for Healy and Lemon to analyze him through an examination of Rohlf’s musical compositions. Rohlf doesn’t know which songs he’ll be asked to play from performance to performance, or what questions he’ll be asked or the conclusions Healey and Lemon will draw. Those two appear to have a loose structure and salient “truths” they intend to present with their analysis, which like the songs, is subject to change for each performance.
Whether that paragraph intrigued, perplexed or simply amused you, the show itself is multiple times better and more “extra” than described. Often ridiculously funny and always good natured, the rapport and quick wits on stage elicit laughter, occasional recognition and a display of unguarded masculine friendship that’s refreshingly odd and delightful. And Rohlf’s original songs are catchy, hummable and clever. In terms of style, in addition to John Cougar Mellencamp (thanks to Healy for help identifying that familiar rock twang) and a touch of Billy Joel’s peppier work, I heard a lot of Ben Folds influence, particularly Folds’ earlier more pop songs.
Unlicensed Musical Therapy is a great late night show and a perfect way to close out a day at the Fringe. You’ll laugh a lot and get a boost from the warm-hearted camaraderie on stage. I only wish I could catch another of the three remaining performances.
This story has been updated.
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