http://www.orlandofringe.org/about


You might not be familiar with the concept of a Fringe Festival. If you are not lucky enough to live in a city that has a Fringe Festival, then might I suggest a visit to Orlando during late May.   Remember to find a place to leave your kids, although there are some Kids Fringe shows, Fringe is most fun for the big kids.  I'm not going to expound on the concept of Fringe, I trust that you'll head out to the above link and learn about 100% uncensored theatre.  

This year we experienced the following shows (in order by Cyns favorites)

Reefer Madness
The Boys Own Jedi Handbook
When Pigs Fly
Here Be Dragons
Don Juan in Despair

Just some brief comments on each before I launch into my reviews.

Reefer Madness-Incredible, probably the best Fringe show we've seen over the years

The Boys Own-Locally written and a must see for any die hard Star Wars Fan

When Pigs Fly- a D Squared costume production that was extremely well done and well sung

Here Be Dragons-Locally written exploration into Gay Atheism, well done  just a bit slow in the beginning

Don Juan in Despair-Forgettable and Mis-able, sorry guys but you just didn't cut it



Reefer Madness:

http://www.warrenactingcompany.org/Home.html


This show was produced and directed by a couple out of Mount Dora, Florida.   Joel and Amanda Warren produced, directed, cheorgraphed and starred in this amazing 90 minute jaunt back to 1936.   Taken from the movie of the same name, this company lit up the Rep venue and managed to win Patron's Pick.  

RM represented everything that is best about Fringe.  A story on the edge, provacative and controversial.  At the same time, the singing and dance numbers were literally top-notch.  Mark, the toughest critic,  found himself saying that he would easily pay $70 bucks for this type of show (with a little fancier costumes and an actual set).  

With an overt Romeo and Juliet framework, the story followed the lives of two pot-crossed lovers, played expertly by Ben Smith and Amada Warren.   We watched as Jimmy and Mary devolved into giggling, irresponsible, sex crazed, reefer addicts as they tangled with the local gangster pusher ultimately sharing in the fate as their 16th century counterparts.

Most notable were the tossed in sound effects for things like "smoooookkkkkkkkke" to represent the lack of actual smoke or the periodic "reefer madness" sung by the company peeking out from the curtains to illustrate a fallen victim. 

Mark and I had the chance to talk with Ben Smith after the show and learned that most of the cast was hand picked by the producers.   We also learned that there is some talk about spinning off a local production of Reefer Madness.   Mark and I will be there to be sure.