She, So Beloved, Three Stars
I get the message: It's not enough to be loved A one woman show, with gauze to wrap her in and a slide projector for exposition. The show is short (30 min) with lots of repetition and many, many pauses. Presumably, the pauses were for dramatic effect but I kept filling the silences with other Fringe shows. She makes her point early and often, then repeatedly. Emily Gunyou is the essence of Greek Tragedy even as she dissects the Orpheus legend, but there is a reason why some plays last three thousand years and she shrugs off the power of the original. I give her props for a good effort, but it didn't work for me.
Google: The Musical, Four and a half stars
Wear a pocket protector Never buy version 1.0 of anything, and this show needs some tweaks to make the plot coherent and the voices come across better. Some very good lines got swallowed up in the Thrust auditorium, which is otherwise well-suited for the show. Having said that, Google: The Musical is almost a killer app. Loads of fun, computer jokes galore, and even a plot that has something to do with Real Life (tm). Being a geek (such as myself) helps, but isn't necessary. Some user-friendly songs and some high-end singing matches a bright ensemble cast that needs to be individually mic'd. You should sample this show.
Tape, Three Stars
Not My Cup of Tea Well scripted (if you like incessant bickering) and well acted (all the actors successfully came off as complete dicks), Tape hits several of my buttons: Unpleasant people doing unpleasant things, ostensible friends ripping each other to shreds, emotional blackmail, predictable plot. There were some good lines and the subject matter deserves a sounding board, so I'm happy to have this kind of play in the Fringe. But I'm pleased that I got this particular Fringe experience out of my system.
Scheduled for tomorrow:
Foreign Exchange Vampire at 5:30 and Criteria at 7:00 in the same venue, and Phyro-Giants at 8:30 fairly close by.
