Here are four more entries from this year’s Orlando Fringe Festival, all worth a look. In “Josie & Grace,” the creative team from “Josephine” the bio-musical about chanteuse Josephine Baker reunites for not exactly a sequel, more a side story. Tymisha Harris again gives a forceful and focused portrayal of Baker, while Rachel Comeau superbly steps into the heels of Grace Kelly, later .
Orlando Fringe Festival reviews of "The Sack: A Play on Superheroes," "Away Now: The World's Most Desired Destination," "Darths and Droids" and "Josie & Grace" by Orlando Sentinel theater critic Matthew J. Palm.
Orlando Fringe reviews: Bullies, booze and variety shows
Orlando Sentinel 21 mins ago Matthew J. Palm, Orlando Sentinel
Ned Wilkinson, creator of such Orlando Fringe Festival hits as “TJ & Mr. Oaksite” and “Fosgate Ferret Loan Officer,” this year set his sights on a younger audience with “The Impossible Club,” a peppy and charming musical for middle-schoolers and up.
Fortunately, Wilkinson brings the same skill set to the kids’ table that powers his more adult shows: Catchy rhythms, tuneful melodies and lyrics that keep the attention.
Director Kenny Howard has helped hone distinct personalities for Wilkinson’s four school-age characters, who are forced to band together after their school enacts a no-bullying policy. Without being heavy-handed, Wilkinson makes it clear that “explanations aren’t excuses” without painting the bullies as irredeemable.
Belly dancer Serafina Schiavo uses her art to take audiences on an esoteric exploration of self-empowerment in
Seen, an intriguing but inconsistent experiment in movement and mysticism. Schiavo is the Moonchild, who communes via pre-recorded voiceover with an unseen omniscient force. Between philosophical debates with her frustrating phantom, whose portentous pretentiousness she undercuts with her own quirky charisma, Schiavo employs live choreography and projected videos each inspired by a card in the Tarot major arcana and set to aggressive hip-hop that demonstrate her powerful core and impressive isolations.
Seen’s show-opening apology for being “not neurotypical” is utterly unnecessary, and although its potential impact is blunted by numerous technical and pacing issues, with some careful cutting and diligent polishing, this show could become a sparkling navel-set jewel.