Fringe Binge! Show #2: 25 Plays Per Hour

I'm still at the beginning of my Fringe Binge, and have taken in play #2 at the Hollywood Fringe Fest. It's called 25 Plays Per Hour, the Backstage Critic's Pick last year. It was fast-paced, switching directions every few minutes to cram 25 plays into 60 minutes. An actor would go from a creepy old lady to a neurotic twenty-something in minutes, keeping you on your toes like Saturday Night Live in fast forward. 

If one were to go out and see 25 different different plays, it would be statistically rare that a patron would love each and every one of them. The same goes for the plays within this show. But unlike other plays where you remain unimpressed for two hours, you know in this production it will be over in two minutes. This Theatre Unleashed production is also running [title of show], and do have an eye for humor. Of note was was the mini-play featuring presidential candidates. One contender believed that Jesus came from an ape via a turtle and the second candidate believed that the earth was approximately 43 years old. Actor Anthony Rutiwicz has a slew of believable acents in his back  pocket, and can go from a stoner genie to gangster to presidential candidate in minutes. What's a stoner genie? Well, you'll just have to see the play and find out.

Turn that Cringe Fest to a Fringe Fest!

It's that time of year again - the Hollywood Fringe Fest is celebrating its third year, and all your fake actor friends who only contact you when they have seats to fill will be loading up your inbox with invites.

Step one: Delete all the invites from fake friends

Step two: Consider the plays your REAL friends have invited you to

Step three: Go see 25 Plays Per Hour at Theatre Asylum

Step four: Reconsider the plays that your REAL friends invited you to, and then decide to adopt a shelter dog instead

Why? Because dogs are amazing, and 25 Plays Per Hour is funny. And that says a lot, because let's face it: most plays are bad and no one wants to see them. It costs money, precious weekend time and forces you to perform that fake praise in the lobby afterward. The latter which is so awkward, my coworker can't bear to befriend actors. So what a breath of fresh air to find a play that made me laugh out loud, and not care about the wannabe creative types in the audience who were too "cool" (insecure) to be the first to laugh.

While I do harbor the concern that play's creators might hate women, it's not a dark Dostoyevsky-type hatred. It's more of a funny hatred, poking only at the surface (girls as cliche: whiny, insecure, talkative). The Theatre Unleashed troupe brought a lot to the table as well. Who would think to combine the likes of Jack the Ripper and Typhoid Mary in a scene? Before acting even took place, the announcement of these two characters being thrown together caused ripples of laughter through the audience. Lee Pollero, a nimble and Kennedy-like actor in the troupe, thought to combine the dialogue of two men, (one a gay porn star and the other a macho vet) with them simultaneously offering a word-for-word account of two completely different experiences (an on-camera sex act and Vietnam combat, respectively). Hilarious.

The acting was impeccable. Sean Fitzgerald having a nervous breakdown during a TV commercial taping (he's just giving the TVs away - literally) was electric. Corey Howe was endearing and Tracey Collins is a natural on stage.

Seeing your friends in a play doesn't always have to be painful. Drop the Cringe fest and see this play!