San Francisco Fringe Festival Reviews #2-4
Like we said before, you never really quite know what you’re going to get at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. But last night we did a marathon Fringe, seeing three shows between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. that ran the spectrum between existential absurdity to full-out hysterical, offensive comedy, and a rock show. We had the perfect Fringe experience.
We started out with Go: A Life in Progress, conceived and performed by Gillian Chadsey and Michelle Talgarow, a wonderfully cheeky study in trying to make it through the day--or through life--in one piece. Amidst a stage littered with desks, chairs and vintage luggage, Chadsey, as "A," picks up a suitcase and frantically runs in place. She falls, gets up, runs, and falls again. "This is my routine," she explains. Indeed, "A" and "B" (Talgarow) desperately try to get from "here" to "there," without screwing things up too much along the way. This collage of movement, dialogue, anything, includes humorous passages on everything from getting ready in the morning to a list of self-criticism ("my butt is like a wall") to an explanation of why they can never "start my shit" to a wonderfully absurd rendition of Internet personal ads using little plastic figurines. Some may find Go strays at times into self-indulgence, but Chadsey and Talgarow are studied, professional actors and thoughtful creators, which is what sets this show apart from most navel-gazing, amateurish performance art.
Next up was The Oops Guys in Lounge-Zilla, which took us to the other end of the spectrum so fast we almost got whiplash. Featuring gay bitch Fiely Matias with composer/lyricist/accompanist Dennis T. Giacino, Lounge-Zilla is billed as a "the worst cabaret lounge act ever." Like there's such a thing as a good lounge act? Matias appears in a kimono, which quickly gives way to a floral woman's bathing suit with a strategically placed fake lily, and sings of fag hags and of wanting to be a girl. The songs are nicely offensive, but not always brilliantly so. However, Matias's stand-up banter makes this a Fringe must-see. From his microphone at center stage, he'll greet the entering audience members. He'll figure out "who's fucking who" and who's a top or bottom. He'll encourage you to sit in the front row, "I need someone to spit on." No one's safe. Check your inhibitions and PC tendencies at the door. The thing is, Matias is so cute and disarming that he can get away with most of his shenanigans. Like we said in our preview, Lounge-Zilla ends with an X-rated 3-D act (the audience gets 3-D glasses), inspired by 1950s B movies, about a boy scout who's "disfigured" after camping on a nuclear waste dump. That's all we'll say. You just have to see this for yourself.
After getting picked on by Matias (even the press isn't safe), we headed outside for some air. We bumped into a guy talking on his cell phone, who was pulled up onstage in the past two shows. We were sure he was a plant. He was leaving a voicemail message, "Dude, I'm in"--he held the phone to us, so we said "San Francisco"--and he continued, "Hear that? And I've found out I'm gay. It must have been that last show." He hung up and said to us, "Is that a weird thing to say to a friend? It was just that, wow, after kissing that guy [Matias] on stage, well."
"Ah, come on," we said. "You're a plant."
"No, really, I'm not."
We expected to see him in the last show, El Camino Loco, but he must have taken our advice and gone to the gay clubs.
Conceived, written and directed by, and starring Kym Priess, El Camino Loco features a schizophrenic lead singer and her band, The Sticky Goldstars, which is, we guess, supposed to be imaginary. The show is really like seeing a local band play, but with a loose plot--if you could call it that. It goes something like, Jamie Peters (Priess), a nice Kansas girl, is trying to convince the diva Coca La Loca (Priess) to take her meds. In between diversions like Coca marrying a Nicaraguan, committing murder and going to jail, she performs some pretty kick-ass songs with her cross-dressing band. The songs work; the show really doesn't. We were really perplexed when, during a song, Coca does a handstand in front of one of the band members, who, dressed in a full-on gorilla suit, splits Coca's legs and buries his face between them. Most of the audience didn't get it either. Priess is a talented and charismatic singer, but it seems El Camino Loco needs a music venue rather than a theater venue--or, at least, a club audience. If you fit in the latter, check it out.
Go plays Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday at 7 p.m., next Saturday at 2:30 p.m., and Sunday at 5:30 p.m. Lounge-Zillla plays today at 2:30 p.m. (run), Sunday at 8:30 p.m., Tuesday at 10 p.m., next Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m. El Camino Loco plays Tuesday and next Saturday at 7 p.m., and Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
Photo: Fiely Matias in Lounge-Zilla.