IndyFringe Fest wrapped up last week.
Although I didn’t get to see as many of the shows featured in this year’s festival as I would have liked, I still wanted to talk a little bit about the ones I did.
“An Experiment”
This show was put on by University High School students. I’m not sure who wrote it, but it was directed by University High School choir director Kirkland Austin and head of school Alicia LaMagdeleine.
They charged for the Playbill at the show, and because I didn’t have any cash on me, I didn’t buy it, but I did a little research to find out the show starred Kayla Rossetti, Quincy Russel, Steve Hackwelder, Lauren Langer, Parker Sharp, Lily Rothwell, Katy Marcos and Bridget Flannagan.
“An Experiment” is a suspenseful thriller. At the hands of a morally ambiguous doctor and her assistants, five female participants are cast into a set of deadly challenges meant to discover whether characteristics are inherent or learned behaviors.
The play is described as a “thrilling mix of The Hunger Games and Survivor.” Personally, I feel like I’ve seen this story play out before.
It’s honestly a bit hard to explain my feelings on the production as a whole because the show itself was predictable and cliche (and I called the ending about 15 minutes in), but the cast did such a good job in their roles. I was thoroughly impressed by their talent, professionalism and commitment to their characters.
Usually when seeing a high school performance, I go in with a different lens than I would a professional theatrical performance; however, this small cast of students reminded me just how invaluable theater and performing arts are in the development of artistic expression. It comes down to the little things. I’m talking facial expressions, mannerisms, timing, line delivery. Things you really notice in the intimate setting of a black box theater.
From a production standpoint it has room to grow.
The lighting, sound effects, music and dancing throughout the show was a bit jarring, which definitely contributed to the uneasy and suspenseful atmosphere they were trying to create.
The show ended with everyone singing Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” while one character goes through and kills all the others — again. The singing was fine, but the choice to include the song in the show was … tone deaf.
Art is subjective or whatever. Anyway, support theater kids, always.
“Indy Golden Girls: Ageless & Awesome”
“Indy Golden Girls” was exactly what I expected it to be … almost.
It was a drag production of an episode of the beloved TV show, short and sweet and funny and I had a really good time. I was definitely the youngest person in the audience, but that didn’t matter. These ladies had everyone in stitches laughing over the jokes.
The show was put on by About Picture-It Players — a production team dedicated to bringing queer theater to Indy — and starred Jim LaMonte as Sophia, Jeremy Tuterow as Dorothy, Ben Jones as Blanche and Thom Turner as Rose. Jon Willman also joined the cast as a variety of other characters, including Jennifer Coolidge.
The episode was called “Ageless & Awesome” and followed Rose as she and the other girls fussed over her new gig as a radio show host, as well as diving into Blanche’s romantic forays with the mysterious Russian “furry Yuri,” Dorothy who tries to keep the peace and, of course, Sophia, who’s adopted a cat, unbeknownst to the rest.
It was a bit raunchier than I remember the original show being. A lot of sex jokes, some I didn’t even understand, but I am only 24 so… But it was cute, the set was an adorable and colorful hand-drawn-esque backdrop paired with furniture to emulate the unmistakable home of the original sitcom, and the costumes and makeup were timeless, vibrant and creative.
Setting a live version of a TV show in an intimate black box theater was a really good choice, especially for how short the play was. It allowed audiences to feel as if they were part of a live studio audience and added another level to the overall experience.
Overall, I had a good time, and I could tell everyone else in the audience did, too.
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“Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness”
Before you ask, I saw this show by accident.
I was supposed to see “Reflect and Release,” but finding a place to park on Mass. Ave. on a Friday night took way longer than expected and the chamber orchestra didn’t allow late entry.
Still, I was determined to see and review another show before the festival was over, and “Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness” in the IndyFringe Basile Theatre was what was available.
With permission, I snuck into the Basile Theater maybe some 10 minutes late… (mortifying) in the middle of a scene with Aurora (Meaghan Heires) and the leader of this post-apocalyptic community, Administrator Wright (Amy Rowland). They were on an empty stage with a plain black background discussing/arguing over having used necessary resources for survival to build a mall and were now in need of someone to protect it… ipso facto the journey to find the “legendary mall cop” Paul Blart.
I didn’t have time to get a playbill — if there was one — so I did some research to find the cast and the overall plot, but despite the lack of set pieces, the show is very straightforward.
“Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness” featured a narrator/Greek chorus of one (Shivam Patel), who frequently broke the fourth wall, strumming a guitar and singing parodies of popular songs, such as “Paul Blart Will Go On” (“My Heart Will Go On”), “Total Eclipse of Paul Blart” (“Total Eclipse of the Heart”) and “Unbreak Paul Blart” (“Unbreak My Heart”).
There was even a ridiculous training montage where Paul Blart/Booker Walden (Anthony Cary) trains Aurora’s daughter Chloe (Kyla Vaughan) to be a mall cop so she could go back and defend the mall against an enemy group called the Marauders — which included Commander Wrathfist (Adrian Beyer), General Skullblood (Sibley) and their leader Lord Ferocious (Joel Davidson).
Ordinarily, “Paul Blart 3: Blart of Darkness” would not have been my first, second or third choice in a show, but the guy who explained the show to me seemed so enthusiastic about it that I said yes.
“All I know is that it’s a post-apocalyptic world with Paul Blart the mall cop,” he told me.
And yeah, that’s literally what it was.
This was absurdist comedy theater at its best. I was 8 years old when the Paul Blart movies came out, and the show’s creator admitted to never having watched them, so I have no idea if the stage play was similar to the original content. But it was stupid funny… in the best way.
The cast doubled as the crew, moving sets both in between and during scenes, which was both comedic and effective. What the show lacks in set pieces, it makes up for in props. So, so many props. The addition of music was unique, and the characters were loud, bold and beautifully written.
It made me remember that not everything has to be a think piece. Performance arts are designed to be an escape from the real world for audiences, and sometimes that escape is a world where an Auntie Anne’s pretzel is worth dying for.
For more information, visit indyfringe.org.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
