Rose Drummond and and David Pavao (Photo by Jessica Lynn Johnson)
Reviewed by F. Kathleen Foley
Hollywood Fringe Festival at Actors Company
Through June 27
RECOMMENDED
David Pavao and Rose Drummond (Photo by Jessica Lynn Johnson)
Harper-Rose Drummond, a standup comedian and self-described “bisexual epileptic,” brings her show, Adult Baby Doll, to the Hollywood Fringe.
Subtitled “A Standup Musical,” it features original songs co-written by Drummond and her onstage pianist, Gregg Hoffman, a puckish presence who ably supports her throughout her hour-long effusion.
Drummond calls her boldly confessional monologue “dark whimsy,” and it is certainly that. It is also not safe for work. Much of her material is so graphic it can be purely gross. Punctuated by Drummond’s barking laugh, her recollections include stories about her mother and her gay father, both abusive alcoholics who used improvised songs to deflect from genuine emotional connections. One of her mother’s spur-of-the moment ditties, directed at her little girl, went along the lines of “Ugly, ugly, and fat. Damn, I wish I had aborted that.”
Dark, indeed. But scathingly revealing. Delivered with a rat-a-tat energy that whirls us past some of the darkest moments, Drummond’s recollections have a serious side, too, including her deep depression and persistent thoughts of suicide — as presented here, just more grist for the comical mill.
Unapologetic and revelatory, Drummond charts her progression from poverty to OnlyFans contributor. She initially starts her OnlyFans journey as an outlet for her stand-up comedy, but when she can’t even afford an Uber to get to one of her gigs, she transitions to well-paid sexual content. As she proudly attests, she is now able to pay her rent on time and get her mother a much-needed surgery, a warm moment that elicits “ahs” from the audience — until she also tells us that her mom’s breasts now look “great.”
Those kinds of whiplash reversals form the core of Drummond’s wildly unpredictable show, which transpires in fits, starts, and non-sequiturs. There’s a stream-of-consciousness quality and, judging by Hoffman’s delighted and surprised reactions to his partner in mayhem, we suspect that much of it is off-the-cuff. Whatever its formulation, Baby Doll is a raw introduction to a talented performer who holds no bars.
Actors Company (Let Live Theatre), 916 N. Formosa Ave, LA. Fri. 6/19, 10pm, Sat., 6/20 4:30pm, Thurs. 6/25, 5pm, Sat. 6/27 10:30pm https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13926?tab=tickets Running time: one hour with no intermission
