By Liz Eichler
Believe it or not, while some shows have yet to open, some are closing soon. Catch these before they go~
Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Road Side Review: The Saints Dizzy Miss Lizzie’s Roadside Revue (Baltimore, Maryland)
This charming duo—Debra Buonaccorsi and Steve McWilliams—hails from Baltimore, and this is their first foray into the Cincinnati Fringe. Let’s show them some love!
If you’ve always wanted a mashup of Fringe and VBS (Vacation Bible School) this one is for you, featuring music, saints, and puppets. They actually have multiple shows with multiple themes, but this one focuses on the strange and mystifying backgrounds of Catholic Saints. Overall, they sum up many regular people–now saints–who were driven to do good and follow their faith. The team leans into music, magic, miracles, and mirth.
They cover some of the best-known saints—Francis of Assisi, Bernadette, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, and others—so Catholics will enjoy revisiting familiar stories, while everyone else gets a crash course in centuries of religious lore.
For example, the four Virgin Martyrs were trying to dedicate their life to God, but their parents wanted them wed–to some “yucky guys.” When they insisted no, they were punished–like thrown into a brothel, or beheaded…or worse.
There’s also “Augustine’s Hard Truth Hoedown,” in which we learn about the early life of one of the most revered Doctors of the Church. Augustine apparently “did his research” when it came to sin, and when he turned to God, he left behind a mistress. Naturally, the mistress gets a song.
The audience particularly enjoyed the golden Barbies portraying the Virgin Martyrs (Lucy, Agatha, Katherine, and Ursula, look ’em up!) along with Ken as St. George in the dragon story. Hiya!
This is a duo with a lot of energy, a bit of audience involvement, a lot of original songs, and these really interesting puppet shows. Since there’s no shortage of weird and wacky saints, I’d love to see them lean even further into the strange, bizarre, and gruesome aspects of these stories.
Also–huzzah–the tech all worked!!!
Remaining Performances of DMLRR: The Saints at Know Theatre Stage
- Thursday, June 4 at 8:30 pm
- Friday, June 5 at 6:45 pm
- Saturday, June 6 at 4 pm
- Sunday, June 7 at 2:15 pm
The Boy from Bantay Jeremy Rafal (New York, NY)
Finally! We get to hear a story about how classical music inspired someone to become a concert pianist—a real person, not Bugs Bunny
In this energetic production, Jeremy Rafal shares his upbringing in the Philippines, his move to Hawaii, and eventually his decision to study piano in Indiana, with a detour through Europe along the way. The show moves quickly, with Rafal skillfully embodying many of the people who helped shape his journey. Throughout, he returns to the idea that time moves forward, even when we don’t all keep the same rhythm.
Along the way, we hear several beautifully performed classical selections. But first, anyone who ever had a piano teacher will recognize themselves in young Jeremy—whether struggling through lessons or sheepishly admitting they didn’t practice enough.
Yet it wasn’t Beethoven or Chopin that first lit the fire. It was Merrie Melodies, Looney Tunes, He-Man, and other cartoons that sparked his fascination with classical music and eventually inspired him to learn to play. He points out that in addition to the obvious Barber of Seville and similar episodes, some theme songs of his favorite shows were based on classical music. Rafal makes a case that popular culture has artistic and social value. As a child, he would spend hours watching cartoons on the neighborhood’s only color television, a gift from an absent father. He and his brother invited local children to join them, building communal memories while they watched good triumphing over evil. Those cartoons he holds dear.
Rafal makes clever use of an old Sony Trinitron television, rigged to play the clips that help illustrate his story, and add a dose of nostalgia to many in the audience.
The Boy from Bantay is a warm and engaging. It reminds us that great artists are often shaped not only by formal training, but also by the stories, music, and shared experiences of childhood. Recommended.
Remaining Performances of The Boy from Bantay:
- June 4 at 6:45 pm
Tickets to all Cincy Fringe shows, May 29-June 13 are available at the Know Theatre Box Office, aka Fringe HQ.
