FRINGE: 6.2 Day Two
I spent my day with No Passengers, No F*cks Given, and Songs Without Words
I ended my night with the compelling solo show, “Songs Without Words.” Jennifer Vosters, a Chicago-based actress, has performed this show at the Milwaukee Fringe in 2023, but it seems like she’s done it for years. The level of professionalism in the writing, the production, and the performance is outstanding. It’s minimalistic but powerful - and has made me want to know more about classical music. That’s quite a feat!
This show should be on everyone’s radar as a sleeper hit of the Festival. Here’s a review from the Milwaukee Fringe. This is a must-see recommendation; get your tickets NOW.
I also saw the TEDTalk-esque satire, “No F*cks Given. None Taken. All Done.” by Pamela Paek from Los Angeles, California. The fact that Pamela followed through on her promise to bring me cake as a thank-you for sitting down and doing a Fringe Preview interview has nothing to do with my feelings about the show - especially because I wrote this before devouring the scrumptious chocolate treat. The show is an interesting take on positivity culture, with funny jokes, non-threatening audience engagement, and a few personal anecdotes scattered throughout. There is a test at the end; Paek was a math teacher in a previous life - is not playing around. Check it out; tickets are here.
Finally, I started my day with Gideon Productions. This group is one of my favorites year after year and is the show I built my schedule around this weekend. Mac Rogers, the playwright (who also acts in the show), always crafts a strong narrative with surprising plot points and brings along two of the best actresses you’ll ever see on stage (Rebecca Comtois and Kristen Vaughan). This year’s offering lives up to the hype; “No Passengers” is a story about grief and regret with some pointed and timely (but digestible) social commentary. I loved it. Highly recommended - get your tickets now!
Tomorrow, the Fringe goes dark for a much-needed day of rest. The staff is working so incredibly hard to keep things moving - and Katie, Andrew, Bridget, Liz, Ri, Doug, and so many others are literal heroes to us Fringeaholics!
Back at it on Tuesday!
