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Fugitive Songs
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Three Clubs
Through June 28
RECOMMENDED:
The medley of songs contained in this entertaining production are ones that celebrate and bemoan the spirit of restlessness and comings and goings that we all have experienced at one time or another. Composed by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen, and skillfully directed by Kristen Boulè, this cabaret styled production features the talents of six performers (Juan Lozano, Katy Harvey, Jessica J’aime, Reagan Osborne, Michael Noah Levine, Tiffany Asta), who sing and tell about lives in transition and hopes for the future.
One song tells of a woman who painfully gives her former beau the boot; another speaks of a young man’s aching need to escape his New York neighborhood, while another chronicles a man’s road trip in which he sees his girl Patsy, in each car. The singing is first rate, and the musical styles are a blend of traditional folk music, blues, gospel and pop, aided by the flawless playing of Sandy Chao Wang on piano, Tim Friedlander on Guitar, Krishnan Swaminathn on bass, and Tobias Urbanczyk on drums.
The show is not without a few glitches, however, including distinct feeling of drift that sets in early on — perhaps intentional, given the show’s subject matter.
Three Clubs, 1123 Vine St., Hlywd., through June 28. www.hffl15.org/2436
Starf*cking
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Theatre Asylum
Through June 27
RECOMMENDED:
Our celebrity-obsessed culture frames these six vignettes by Sharon Lintz, with compelling, offbeat characters whose attachment to elements of pop culture influences their lives in humorous , affecting and often, profound ways. Eric Johnson directs, and draws fine, animated performances from his cast. Stephen DeCordova is memorable –and disturbing— as a respectable, middle-aged man whose date with a prostitute transforms into a rueful meditation on his deceased mother and Marlene Dietrich in “Shanghai Express.”
“Mary in her Bedroom” has Kelly Schuman finding meaningful connection in the everyday people around her and porn star Houston. Kurt Cobain becomes the inspiration for a wild bit of cunnilingus in Heart Shaped Box with Blaine Vedros doing the honors. Issues of cross dressing and sexual identity come to the fore in “The Way I Am,” with Tory Devon Smith. In “Pearls,” Elizabeth Taylor’s love affair with the precious gems assuages Dawn Joyal’s evening of loneliness. Ali Allie and Katy Yoder are prostitute and customer who discover that movies sometimes form a more intimate connection than sex in “Another Night.”
Theater Asylum Lab, 1078 Lillian Way, Hlywd.; through June 27. www.Hff15.ORG/2192
