McCready

Reviewed by Brian Sonia-Wallace
Asylum @ The Dragonfly
Through Sunday June 26

Taking full advantage of its bar setting, McCready uses the simple Fringe magic of its venue’s nooks and crannies to create the world of Country sensation Mindy McCready (Jennifer Blake) all around the audience. A musical in the vein of Once, its songs emerge naturally, as semi-realistic performances that mirror what’s going on in the characters’ personal lives. 

The actors double as a stripped-down band of five, and the music is accordingly simple, but fun. The show starts with great energy but does get bogged down in its second half. It could lose half an hour from the run time (it’s definitely longer than the listed 65 minutes) as the fall of McCready’s rising star never gels into a clear narrative. Nor did I wholly believe Blake’s portrayal of McCready, which, at least for previews, seemed like she was just hitting her beats without ever really living her diva character. I’m optimistic that this will improve as the show goes on.

The rest of the cast is made up of mostly abs, with half the men getting mandatory, very chiseled shirtless scenes. The action would be more believable if the character of McCready could channel some of that same sexuality.

This show has great potential and I hope the performers settle into their roles as the run continues.  For now, I’d mostly recommend it to country and McCready aficionados.

Asylum @ The Dragonfly (Main Stage) 6510 Santa Monica Blvd; https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/3509. Running time: 65 minutes.