Our annual definitive guide

It’s another IndyFringe and, once again, NUVO has clamored forth to see and write about all the shows on offer as a kind of rough guide to see you through to Sunday. Think of what you read here as a print version of that person standing just ahead of you line, bending your ear about what they’ve just seen or heard about. We hope that what you find here inspires you to check out a production or two you might have missed otherwise. For more about the Fringe, go to www.nuvo.net. And by all means check out www.indyfringe.org for ongoing info about the festival, including shows by high school and college students and FringeNext at ComedySportz Theatre. Finally, keep in mind that if past is prologue, the crowds for Fringe shows during the festival’s second weekend tend to get bigger as the buzz about certain productions spreads. So make your picks — and get there early. —Editors

Almost Walking a Straight Line

Two stars
Greg Haskins, Hollywood, Calif.
Phoenix Theatre

This is an autobiographical piece that seems to do a disservice to most of the people involved in the story. Greg Haskins tells of his upbringing to where he is now, with nearly unbelievable characters. I’m not saying these people were made up, but Haskins’ caricatures are so outlandish and out there that, at times, his story is unconvincing. This made Christians look like nutcases who were regularly hypocritical, and the portrayals of homosexuals weren’t that great either. In listening to this story, I was concerned that people would walk out of the theater with a new set of assumptions, stereotypes and prejudices. Performances Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 10. —CI

And I Am Not Making This Up

Four stars
Nell Weatherwax, Improv Movement Theatre, Bloomington, Ind.
Theatre on the Square (Stage II)

Has someone coined the phrase “theater as therapy” yet? With curious sleight of hand, solo performer Nell Weatherwax actually makes this dubious concept mystical and funny. She inches on stage, hugging the wall like a child spy, and announces that she will mine for autobiographical material through improvised movement and sound effects. Moving in slow Tai Chi-like poses, with an occasional blip or woosh, she reaches into the air or bends from the hips to find a memory. For her first day’s performance — each will be unique — she relived, among other things, streaking through the woods as a child and running from her father’s deathbed to buy him a pack of cigarettes. Apologizing for slipping into mime, she conjured her childhood home, forming steps with her hands. “You open a door and Bam! There are stairs. Today, we call it feng shui.” There were a few awkward pauses, as Weatherwax rejected a topic in her mind, and then decided aloud that she needed to talk about it. Today, it was her deceased father she needed to revisit and the psychic who couldn’t connect to him, because he was still in a sort of spirit “recovery” zone. With a hand, the perspiring Weatherwax wipes the pauses away. We watch the hand, forget the stumble and wait for the magic. It’s true: Some people could charge their therapists admission. Performances Thursday at 9, Friday at 6 and Saturday at 8:30. —JB
Bliss

Brian Sheppard, Indianapolis

Two stars
Theatre on the Square (Stage II)

In a pivotal theatrical error, writer Julia Wunderlin chose to explore an intense college romance almost, but not entirely, from the woman’s point of view. The narrator (Wunderlin), a poetry-loving English major, tells her story with only occasional interruptions from her fiery art student boyfriend (Michael Bachman). Under Brian Sheppard’s direction, Wunderlin talks directly to the audience with mere glances at Bachman, while Bachman reacts directly and intensely to her. With unintentional irony, she runs the show, but he steals it. The effusive art student pulls the narrator into passionate rainstorms and awakens her with self-revealing sunrises. The narrator, in her turn, literally turns away from her beloved, to explain how wonderful it all is to the audience. He emotes and she practices the dull art of exposition. To her credit, the writer Wunderlin creates an emotion-packed boyfriend. Unfortunately, she neglects to give her own character emotional weight. Performances Wednesday at 9, Friday at 10:30 and Saturday at 2:30. —JB

Breathe

Three and a half stars
NoExit Performance Company, Indianapolis
Auditorium at the Athenaeum

No Exit Performance Company’s retelling of the Phedra/Theseus/Hippolytus myth through mime and movement/stillness with an emphasis on breathing as the mainstay for delivering the story and delineating characters. The question, “Can breath truly communicate?” drives Michael Bachman’s concept and direction. Five fine performers prove breathing shows emotions, activity and state of mind. Performances on Wednesday at 7:30, Friday at 10:30 and Saturday at 8:30. —RK

Burying Mom

Four stars
Shantz Theatre, Chicago, Ill.
Theatre on the Square (Main Stage)

Matt Fotis, the founder and writer behind Chicago’s Shantz Theatre, is brilliant. This is the third time Fotis has brought a production to IndyFringe — Burying Mom may be his best effort yet. This is a two-person play about a 30-year-old man who delivers papers and keeps his mom’s ashes in a shoebox. If the key to comic acting is to play it straight, Fotis and his partner, Jeanette Nielsen, are masters. Fotis’ script is hilarious throughout, its ultimate poignancy unforced. Burying Mom is easily one of the best bets at this year’s Fringe. Performances Friday at 6, Saturday at 4 and Sunday at 7. —DH

Coachology

Three stars
ROOMS Productions, Chicago, Ill.
Auditorium at the Athenaeum

When you enter the theater, you’re in a high school locker room in this raucous tour de force by Todd Frugia. Not only that, you’re in Texas and you’re a football player on Frugia’s team, the Buccaneers. If you’ve ever played the game, much of what transpires here will serve as a well-observed blast from the past — and if you’ve never suited up, get ready. Frugia not only plays an entire coaching staff, he also provides musical accompaniment. The show relies on an extraordinary amount of audience interaction, which, to Frugia’s credit, is never confrontational or off-putting. This show works in so many ways, one wishes it made the leap to some larger insight. Featuring Marrakesh as a haplessly blue-eyed teammate. Performances Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 2:30. —DH

Cool Table

Three stars
Thirteen Pocket Productions, Chicago, Ill.
American Cabaret Theatre

Cool Table’s sketches are to comedy what acid jazz is to music: They start out fast and speed up; the bits don’t finish, they stop. The ensemble brings unfailing exuberance to material that careens between unflinching witness and lazy cynicism. Back in Indianapolis for their second Fringe, Thirteen Pocket Productions has brought five shows with them –– so the version I caught may be completely different from the one you’ll see. Performances Thursday at 9, Friday at 6 and Sunday at 4. —DH

Crazy Quilt

Two stars
The Playwright Production Project, Cincinnati
Theatre on the Square (Main Stage)

Playwright Alan Jozwiak patches together two fairy tales to examine how adolescents become adults, something he’s witnessed repeatedly teaching college English composition classes. Although Jozwiak’s versions of “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Sleeping Beauty” accurately portray some of the dating rituals and family ties that consume co-eds, Crazy Quilt is at best a gentle parable for teenagers: Real men aren’t sexual wolves and women shouldn’t expect princes to save them. Directed by Lynne Aronson, college-age players Justin Haley and Kristin St. Clair depict date rape in surprisingly nuanced scenes. Crazy Quilt might make an excellent workshop for teens and parents to explore the “breaking away” period and especially attitudes about sex. Performances Saturday at 2:30 and Sunday at 5:30. —JB

Dance of Illusion

Three stars
Sarlot and Eyde, Tucson, Ariz.
American Cabaret Theatre

A last-minute fill-in last year, Dance of Illusion enjoyed the IndyFringe so much, they came back. You’ll enjoy them, too, especially if you bring the kids. Sarlot the magician and Eyde the dancer/magician combine humor, magic, dance and music for a pleasing, polished, but still intimate show. There are enough “wow, how did they do that” moments to make this a worthwhile Fringe experience. It’s interactive as well — get there early so Sarlot can do amazing card tricks right before your eyes. Performances Wednesday at 9 and Saturday at 8:30. —JP

Dexterity of Hand: Illusions in Time

Three stars
Magic Taylored for You, Indianapolis
Auditorium at the Athenaeum

Taylor Martin’s “new demonstration of olde magic” entertains despite its seeming unpolished demeanor. Tricks of self-torture give way to sleight of hand with audience participation. Taped music and 18th century street sounds underscore effectively; Taylor’s closing singing, on the other hand, is off-putting. Performances Saturday at 2:30 and Sunday at 8:30. —RK

Different Trains

Four and a half stars
Susurrus, Indianapolis
Auditorium at the Athenaeum

Susurrus superbly connects visually and viscerally with Steve Reich’s monumental string quartet performed with pre-recorded voices. Trains in the U.S. and Germany between the 1930s and 1940s carry different passengers and for different reasons with widely different consequences. David Yosha’s visuals, Melli Hoppe’s choreography, Michael Burke’s costumes and five finely trained performers connect seamlessly with personal and historic events. Performances Thursday and Friday at 7:30 and Sunday at 5:30. —RK

The Dock Brief

Three stars
Mugford Street Players, Marblehead, Mass.
Phoenix Theatre

This odd blend of shaggy dog story and Masterpiece Theatre seems a trifle staid by Fringe standards. It’s redeemed by a nicely polished script and the capable performances of its two-man cast. Set between the wars in a London jail, the action revolves around the relationship between an aging lawyer who’s never made a name for himself and his client, a seemingly gentle soul who has murdered his wife. Anglophiles will take delight in the details in John Mortimer’s script, though they may also wish for more authentic accents. Last performance Wednesday at 9. —DH

Down-a

Four stars
In Between Butoh Dance Company, Rome, Italy
Auditorium at the Athenaeum

Butoh is a painstakingly primal form of performance art invented in Japan following the nuclear holocaust in Hiroshima. In the hands of In Between’s Flavia Ghisalberti and Ezio Tangini, the experience is time-bending, akin to seeing a Francis Bacon painting come to life. By turns agonizing and exquisite, this piece is the deep end of the Fringe. Adventurous audience members miss it at their peril. Performances Wednesday at 6, Thursday at 9 and Friday at 6. —DH

FFN in SPAAAACE!!!

Two stars
Full Frontal Nudity, Columbus, Ohio
American Cabaret Theatre

You know how it goes with improv — troupes can have an off night. But FFN’s Sunday evening show was so off, it was off off. That this space-oriented show relied so heavily on the humor of the word “Uranus” is proof enough that this clearly talented group of actors never could find any real spine of creative fun. Complicating matters is the fact that 10 members comprise FFN (Full Frontal Nudity); they are almost literally tripping over each other. Performances Wednesday and Friday at 7:30 and Saturday at 10. —JP

Franka Potente is the Hammer

Two stars
Red Dragon Theatre Project, Indianapolis
Theatre on the Square (Main Stage)
Perhaps I am not cerebral enough (yeah, I laughed at the zombie play), but I found this show rather obtuse. It is inspired by and adapted from the works of Rainer Maria Rilke, considered one of the German language’s greatest 20th century poets, who wrote about ultimate sublime abstractions (such as God and true love). The pattern of the show is dance, voice-over poem, scene, repeat. Scenes deal with unusual stories about God. Performances were fine (period costumes were lovely), but I just didn’t get it. Perhaps fans of Rilke will love it? Performances Thursday at 9, Friday at 10:30 and Sunday at 8:30. —LG

Gallery

Two stars
Avenging Orange Production Company, Hanover College
Theatre on the Square (Stage II)

Four Manhattan 20-somethings in a romantic entanglement that involves art, intrigue and betrayal. What begins as a promising mixture of comedy and drama, slowly, inexorably, loses the comedy, leaving a drama that seems constantly to be making itself anew. Perhaps the writer or writers were thumbing through a copy of Roget’s Cliché Plot Twists and Overblown Monologues while crafting the play. The Avenging Orange Production Company hails from Hanover College, whose theater pedigree (Jim Leonard, Doc Evans, Woody Harrelson, etc.) can compete with any college or university in Indiana. The four actors in this play are talented — and fun to watch. Now they have to find material commensurate with those talents. Performances Saturday 8:30 and Sunday 2:30. —JP

Garden Variety Neurotic

Three and a half stars
Mary Armstrong-Smith, Indianapolis
Phoenix Theatre

During Mary Armstrong-Smith’s autobiographical play, I kept wondering where I knew her from. I actually don’t know her at all, but her manner of speaking made me feel this way, and I appreciated that sense of familiarity. Her stories are easy to relate to, from old Grandma comin’ to visit, to asking someone out on a date. Every story was extremely funny and the audience was laughing at her commentary on most things. There were only two things that rubbed me the wrong way: excessive profanity and a cheesy, warm and fuzzy benediction that I could have easily read in a Hallmark card at the end. But despite those two things, I very much enjoyed this show. Performance Saturday at 5:30. —CI

I Am Another You

Four stars
Big Car, Indianapolis
Theatre on the Square (Main Stage)

This non-play, written by local poets Anna Rae Landsman, Matt Anserello and Jim Walker, beguiles with words and disconnected images in place of a storyline. Six cast members — each with face makeup decorating just one eye — exchange shims of poetry instead of dialogue, while mimicking the expressions of newfound lovers, desperate husbands and nameless citizens of a cruel world. They blend the framework, stage blocking and emotional peaks of a traditional play with fascinating mismatched words. Two women laugh, as if over coffee, when one remarks, “I enjoy almost drowning.” Later, a man laments, “There is a rabbit over the bed. I should have seen that as a sign to leave.” Another man wears a noose around his neck and gives a poetic soliloquy twice, first stuttering sadly, and then announcing it bravely. From stage left, a writer taps out rhythms on a typewriter, as the cast lines up and repeats ritualistic gestures: hand to mouth and then to head, then tapping hand over hearts. Rough cartoon images break the live action occasionally, but spoken images like “brick ships in the middle of a pelvis” and “a ruined stone” are far more memorable. Performances Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 9 and Sunday at 10. —JB

Kin

Four stars
Motus Dance Theatre, Indianapolis
Auditorium at the Athenaeum

Motus Dance Theatre delves into family relationships, ethereally hinting at surrealism à la Cirque de Soliel and Momix. Movement and mime, finely tuned and timed, are well executed by a cohesive corps and soloists. Noteworthy concept, choreography, costuming, lighting and direction by Debra Silveus and Heidi Keller Phillips, and excellent music supervised by Stung Tongue productions, could make this Motus’ signature work. Performances Wednesday and Friday at 9 and Saturday at 4:30. —RK

Local Celebrity

Three stars
Alice Nelson, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Theatre on the Square (Stage II)

An entertaining, if predictable story, well told in a one-woman performance. Nelson’s character needs money to go to college, and the minimum wage job approach just isn’t working. She turns, then, to work in an escort service. She gets a new name — Ginger — and starts making some real cash. Still, she’d like a man to love her. Nelson plays a host of characters and never loses the thread, with lots of sex and rich descriptions of telling details. A charming, authentic portrayal of a sweet, bone-headed girl who comes to her senses. Performances Wednesday at 7:30, Friday at 9 and Saturday at 4. —JP

Married 2 Magic

Four stars
Christian & Katalina, Indianapolis
American Cabaret Theatre

I left this show scratching my head — in a good way. Christian and Katalina, a husband and wife duo, did a marvelous job of wowing their audience with many a magic trick up their sleeves — or hidden in a box, or crumpled up in some paper, or, sometimes, seemingly out of nowhere. The ACT is a great venue for a show like this, with its table seating, making things more personal. There were many instances when Christian or Katalina came down to pick out volunteers to interact in the show and that added some neat variety. I was picked, which was great fun. C & K have a lively sense of humor — at times corny and cheesy, yes, but they kept us laughing. Be sure to get a good seat to get in on the magical action. Performances Friday at 9, Saturday at 2:30 and Sunday at 10. —CI

On the Rag: Fully Dilated

Two and a half stars
Kate Ayres, Indianapolis
Theatre on the Square (Stage II)

This show is bawdy. Many subjects that are pretty serious are not immune to being made light of. One skit caricatures a dog owner upset over the death of her bulldog that, before it died, was tossing around her baby girl. But then, during the scene change, an actor gives a statistic about deaths caused by bulldogs. So one minute we’re making fun and laughing, then we’re given serious information. This made the laughs seem tasteless to me. There was also a lot of sexual humor, which, gee, we never hear or see these days. One skit, however, about conjoined twins was truly hilarious and well written. Performances Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 10. —CI

Open 24 Hours

Three and a half stars
Merely Players, Owensboro, Ky.
American Cabaret Theatre

An infectiously funny group of four actors perform five short plays. There are no bombs in the show — and a couple of the less successful pieces (“Scrambled,” “Say No More”) may get better over the course of the Fringe as the performers polish their performances. There’s no saving the intrinsic logic flaw in “The Plunge,” but kudos to the actors for the brave baring of their, ahem, souls. That leaves the meta-metaphoric delights of “Something Went Wrong,” about a man named Harry who comes home with a dead clown, and “A Gay Thing,” where Roach and Velotta play best friends, one gay, one straight, who discuss the straight one’s gender preference confusion. “A Gay Thing” is the best of their show, very funny and perfectly paced. Performances Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 10:30 and Sunday at 2:30. —JP

Party of One

Four and a half stars
Sue Morrison and Noel Williams, Canada
Phoenix Theatre

If you decide to go and see the journey of Captain Melisande Blue, be prepared. It’s simply nuts. Captain Mel is a serious case, with a few screws loose to put it nicely, and is absolutely hilarious. The story begins with Captain Mel (Noel Williams) trying to catch a train, and after that the madness ensues, as we watch her trying to buy tickets, fight turnstiles, go on dates and much more. Williams’ facial expressions and the way her acting came through the entire movement of her body were fascinating to see and experience. Movements were exaggerated but never fake; facial expressions were outlandish but always convincing. This show is imaginative, unique and incredibly funny, with a delightful attention deficit disorder feel to it. Performances Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 9 and Sunday at 8:30. —CI

Pentecostal Wisconsin

Three and a half stars
Bashful Ryan Paulson, Scandinavian Productions, Sunnyside, N.Y.
Phoenix Theatre

Scandinavian navel gazing at its finest. Ryan Paulson, from Eau Claire, Wis., tells the story of his upbringing with song, sermon and sardonic humor. For Paulson, his religion combined the worst aspects of Pentecostal faith and Scandinavian ancestry, creating an “uncomfortable” mixture. Lucky for us, this strange juxtaposition provides Paulson a rich stock to hilarity as he relates his evolution away from the church. Performances Thursday at 9, Friday at 6 and Sunday at 4. —JP

The Peregrine Heart

Three stars
Arson Theatre Company/Fat Girls Theatre, Indianapolis
Theatre on the Square (Main Stage)

Once you get past the first few minutes of dancing with a bed sheet, Peregrine Heart gets interesting. The story melds reincarnation with the mythological story of Icarus and a modern-day civilian astronaut (a school teacher who will join a mission to the moon). Guess what happens. The story integration is done very well, as are the running metaphors, and the cast does a fine job. Performances Wednesday at 9, Friday at 7:30 and Saturday at 7. —LG

Phil the Void, Nature Abhors a Vacuum

NR
Phil VanHest, Los Angeles
Phoenix Theatre

We weren’t able to review Phil VanHest’s new show because he doesn’t open until Wednesday night. We can tell you this: VanHest was a member of one of IndyFringe’s most popular acts, the zany Sound & Fury (remember Testaclese and the Sack of Rome? Cleopatrick?). He was the, er, cerebral member of the team or, as someone who’s seen his latest incarnation puts it, elevates the humor from the sophomoric to junior status. You can catch our review of his Wednesday show on our Web site (www.nuvo.net) Thursday. Performances Wednesday at 7:30, Thursday-Friday at 10:30, Saturday at 8:30 and Sunday at 2:30.

Point Break: Sex and Death Valley

Three stars
Steve Marrocco, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Phoenix Theatre

If you want to follow monologist Steve Marrocco down his real or imagined memory lane, you’re going to end up in a bar brawl staged by one person and an expensive Nevada brothel. They’re both legal yet unseemly. If that doesn’t scare you, go ahead, especially if you’re in touch with your fraternity side. You might enjoy the amiable if unskilled way that Marrocco shifts poses or hops from chair to chair to play his monologue self, his bro, a prostitute and various waiters and bartenders. Through life-risking adventures, he even learns a little something about being true to himself. Despite its setting, I found Point Break inoffensive and, as author Douglas Adams would say, mostly harmless. Due to lost luggage, Marrocco performed without his tech accompaniment; future performances should go smoother. Performances Wednesday at 6, Saturday at 2:30 and Sunday at 7. —JB

The President’s New Clothes

Three stars
Once Upon a Time … Once Upon a Mime, Indianapolis
Theatre of the Square (Main Stage)

Narration and mime with multiple costume changes to match sharply pointed political commentary on the state of the current presidency proves history repeats itself when advisors and the public fail “to see” the truth or admit to their personal and collective dumbed-down mentality. Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s poignant fairy tale, Deborah Langerman’s 30-year-old revised spoof wears well with Bruce Kelley, Dave Buttrum and Beverly Ann Roche on stage. Performances Wednesday at 7:30 and Thursday at 10:30. —RK

The Radioactive Space Bear

Three stars
The Elements Theatre, Indianapolis
Theatre on the Square (Main Stage)

Winner of the NUVO/Fringe Fest playwriting contest. Though scripted by Doug Bedwell, this horror film spoof plays like a team improvisation inspired by audience suggestion. The highlights are comedic physical high jinx and unexpected insights into human nature. The low points are scenes that go on too long without enough laughs. The action revolves around a perfectly still, 3-foot tall blue teddy bear — an alien who takes a strange hold on any human who sees it. In Act 1, directed by Angela Vitosky, a psychiatrist (Edan Evans de Roziere) is bored to anger with his patients’ banal problems, until the bear and its singing companion (Glenn de Roziere) capture his fancy. These characters, along with the receptionist, patient and questionable CIA agents, have likeable comic bits that don’t bear the repetition they get. In Act 2, directed by Doug Bedwell, two sole survivors (Jeremy Grimmer and Angela Vitosky) of the fluffy bear apocalypse illuminate mankind’s compulsion to destroy itself (the unexpected insight). In the final act, director/performer Kelsey Hanlon is shamelessly funny as a regular gal who can’t resist the bear’s animal magnetism. performances Saturday at 8:30 and Sunday at 4. —JB

Recently Dead Celebrities

Four and a half stars
Peoples Playhouse (Indianapolis)/Mime Rifle (Minneapolis)/Mainly Me Productions (Los Angeles)
American Cabaret Theatre

Mime Rifle is the group that brought us Jaws: The Musical at last year’s Fringe Festival. And now, amazingly, a cross-country collaboration with Peoples Playhouse and Mainly Me Productions brings us the freakin’ hysterical Recently Dead Celebrities. Packed with pop-culture references and quick dialogue, the show is a workout: You’re laughing yourself sick, but stifling it so you can catch the next joke. Even the mistakes are a riot. The premise is that recently dead celebrities comprise an undercover unit that fights crime. But the premise is inconsequential. It’s the actors and the far-out, and sometimes so wrong, script that make this show a can’t-miss for Fringers. Watch for a cameo from Jaws: The Musical. Performances Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 5:30. —LG

Somewhere in Between

Three stars
Ben Levein, Israel
American Cabaret Theatre
Let’s face it: Realizing that your body doesn’t match your gender is a profound drag. This piece, performed by an unflappably affable quintet of actors accompanied by two musicians on viola and piano, is a sweet-tempered act of witness that simply and plaintively asks each one of us to imagine the soul beneath another person’s skin. If its dramatic arc is low, SIB’s empathic quotient is high — a crowd pleaser. Performances Saturday at 4 and Sunday at 8:30. —DH

Stand-Up Monkey Poet

Four stars
Matt Panesh Manchester, England
Phoenix Theatre

Beneath Matt Panesh’s unabashedly raunchy exterior beats a heart in search of common human decency. Whether he’s sending up prog rock, celebrating a morning wank or excoriating Blair, Bush and the world’s supposedly great religions, Panesh does a splendid job of turning his performance space into a bullshit-free zone. Go and see him; you’ll want to buy him a pint afterward. Performances Friday aT 7:30, Saturday at 4 and Sunday at 5:30. —DH

Theatre of the Living Dead: Double Feature

Three and a half stars
Arden Theatre Company of Indianapolis
American Cabaret Theatre

While I have seen playwright Matt Graber’s show in various incarnations, this time the story keeps going, taking us past the restaurant; a continuation so to speak. Under the new artistic direction of Ty Stover, the show is still raunchy, wrong and really funny. Starting off where it has before, we see what happens when a zombie wanders into a restaurant where the wait staff is too self-absorbed to notice just how messed up their customer is. While the zombie lets food fly, a bus boy humps a chair and a waitress tries to seduce an oblivious waiter. Later, the bus boy and the zombie are driving to a party when a cop stops them. Zany, crazy stuff. It’s stupid, it’s juvenile, but it’s lots of fun. However, I knocked off half a star because it does drag on too long. Performances Saturday at 5:30 and Sunday at 7. —LG

Thanks for the Scabies, Jerkface!

Four stars
Dan Bernitt, Lexington, Ky.
Theatre on the Square (Stage II)

Why do I prefer the tortured teenage ramblings of a gay male to the sensitive remembrances of a sadder but wiser girl (see Bliss)? Neither gay nor male, I simply prefer, like Dan Bernitt, to look back with wickedly informed laughter. In four monologues separated by poetry recitations, Bernitt gleefully turns his most embarrassing memories into crowning achievements of self-deprecation and self-discovery. In deep, unapologetic tones, Bernitt takes us behind the “fluffy” curtain that shielded his eyes as his urologist removed a small tube from well inside his body through his penis. He relives both a blissful erotic encounter and the excruciating afterglow, the itch of death called scabies. During the third monologue, which Bernitt read from a script without the physicality of the first ones, I found myself oddly in awe of a young man who could enter a drag queen contest armed only with preppy clothes and original poetry. A master storyteller in the making, Bernitt slides into home with a touching description of his parents’ eerie attachment to his old stuffed animals. Performances Saturday at 10 and Sunday at 4. —JB

TransActions

Four stars
Theatre Non Nobis, Indianapolis
Auditorium at the Athenaeum
This show will not be for everyone. But, if you are open-minded about transgenderism, it will be an interesting introduction into that world. The issues are so complex that they cannot possibly fit into an hour. While gay-themed shows are in theaters regularly now, transgender issues are still not often explored. Here, three people who have transitioned (two male-to-female and one female-to-male) collaborated with director Jeffrey Barnes and one other transgendered non-performer to create the show, so the stories, which are mostly monologued, are their own experiences. Touching and insightful, even more so because the people performing it lived it. A Q&A is offered after each show, and the performers are open to discussing often personal topics. Performances Saturday at 10 and Sunday at 7. —LG

Trigger

Four stars
Brianna Fledderman, Indianapolis
Theater on the Square (Stage II)

This show was unlike any other Fringe show I went to. No laughing, no outlandish stories. Instead, the stories were intense, very sad and at times hard to hear. Based on real interviews, Trigger consists of five actors telling people’s accounts of sexual abuse. The group of five were varied, all having completely different circumstances, yet all were determined to survive and not be victims. It was a moving performance for sure, and received a standing ovation the night that I saw it. This subject matter is never easy to approach or deal with, and I applaud this group for taking it on in such a powerful and honest manner. Performances Thursday and Friday at 7:30 and Sunday at 5:30. —CI

Two Small Bodies

One star
bogey free projects, Indianapolis
Theatre on the Square (Stage II)

The characters in this show have two gears: shrill and psychotic, often at the same time. The set-up is that a slutty mom’s two children are missing and a weird-o detective shows up a lot to talk dirty to her. Their interaction consists of lots of screaming, a series of non sequiturs and excessive use of the word “fuck.” That’s about it. Performances Saturday at 5:30 and Sunday at 7. —LG

Unexceptional Tricks

One star
rada dada, Pahoa, Hawaii
Auditorium at the Athenaeum

The best to say about rada dada is he’s truthful. His performance-patter, tricks and music are so unexceptional they make David Letterman’s stupid animal tricks seem like Einstein. Examples: place a rope on the floor, walk alongside it; call it a rope trick. Ask audience members to hold up bills: ones, fives, 20s; rada dada collects them and pockets them; he doesn’t return them at the end of the show. Some of us wasted time attending while others were bilked out of milk money, so to speak. That’s bad form. Fringe management, take note, please. Performances Saturday at 5:30, Sunday at 4. —RK

War to End All Wars

Two and a half stars
Inklings Theatre, Indianapolis
Theatre on the Square (Main Stage)

Writer and director William Gebby’s play is about a WWI soldier who is suffering from what today would be called post-traumatic stress disorder. After experiencing a hellish combat situation, Guy renounces war and embraces pacifism, and his psychiatrist wants to “cure” him of this and “make him a man” again. The story is sweet and straightforward, but not unique or mind-blowing enough to be that memorable. Except that Guy reclaims his soul by saving a horse. Performances Saturday at 5:30 and Sunday at 2:30. —LG

Key to writers reviewing Fringe shows:

JB: Josefa Beyer
LG: Lisa Gauthier
DH: David Hoppe
CI: Chantal Incandela
RK: Rita Kohn
JP: Jim Poyser