The Devil's Passion

This was one of my favorite shows so far. It is the story of the last days of Christ as told by The Devil. It's brilliantly written and acted. As described in the program:

“…eloquent, compelling…”, “…at times darkly funny…” this unique retelling of “the greatest story ever told” challenges the comfortable complacency and insidiousness through which individuals and institutions have used that story to perpetrate some of the worst behaviors visited person upon person. A timely, whirlwind of a ride through the last days of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of the man who put it all together – Satan himself. The “greatest story” has been politically usurped and perhaps it is only the Devil himself who can make us see the truth.

I was a bit disappointed by the ending, though. Although very high-concept and articulate, it is conventional. Jesus wins, Satan loses. It might have been more interesting if there was some ambiguity or irony.

#MeToo, Her Voice Must Be Heard

The Fringe is back in session tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. GO. And it's okay to tip the photographer.

This show is multiple art form meditation upon the many abuses women have suffered, only recently brought into the open. There were some very powerful voices and personalities. As the producers describe it:

The 2018 #VoicesUnleashedSTL Featured Show* #MeToo, Her Voice must be Heard is a project that highlights the stories of sexual abuse/assault/harassment survivors through poetry, monologues, dance, music and more. In the wake of recent stories coming to light in Hollywood and other industries, we wanted to give local women in the community, who are our sisters, girlfriends, co-workers, etc., the opportunity to have her voice heard in the community that otherwise may not get heard in Hollywood, on TV or any other famous arena.

 There is one more chance to catch this, Saturday night at 9:30.

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The Vicious Hillbilly, Or Dating in the Deep South

That's the name of Dawn Larsen's one-woman show. As described in the festival website:

It all began when Dawn was ordering songs on a CD released in March 2016. She realized the songs were literally a chronicle of her very pathetic love life through online dating since moving to the deep South. See, she figured out that the best way for her to work through obsessing over something(one) was to write a song about it and perform it. Thus, this show. Dawn has uncovered eleven valuable lessons, which she shares with you in this story of her discovery of who she is, what she wants, and that love is her divine right.

A middle-aged woman diving into online dating in the deep South? That could be sorrowful or hilarious. The show was both. Larsen wove together her songs with a series of stories about the experience. The stories each had an accompanying illustration (example above). One bad experience after another led to a conclusion: to thine own self be true.

You can find out more or even get a CD of her songs on her website. 

Empathy On Sale

Krish Mohan is a stand up comedian, but not the usual type. Nothing raunchy. He demands attention and perceptiveness from the audience, which, IMHO, he got from from some parts and not from others. 

His family is from India, which gives him the ability to see American race issues acutely but not from the center of the conflict. So, um, Krish is not a nickname for Christopher and his last name is not Irish, even though it sounds like it. The act is certainly political and definitely from a gauche point of view, something our family is quite comfortable with.

Not sure what the title is about, unless it refers to the price of a ticket. 

Shooting one-person shows can be tough for a photographer. Not a lot of visual variety. It's like a long portrait session with an uncooperative subject.    

Madeleine Monday - Fifth Birthday

Time, indeed, marches on. My favorite moppet is five today. Since she just started kindergarten she doesn't have a lot of friends to invite to a party. Just the family this year. All of her presents were books, which delighted her. Well, mom got her a stuffed birthday bear a few days early, which was also a big hit. 

Phone cam shots but not too bad.   

Drama

I've taken more than 5,000 pix over the first four days of The Fringe, with next weekend still to go. Lots of them are junk, of course, but there some gold nuggets amidst the gravel. This was taken yesterday and is the one that sticks with me the most. The play is called Pain by Tony Marr, Jr. It is about the lives of young black men and the huge barriers that face them, try as they may to do the right thing.

This scene was a drug deal gone bad. Toy gun, of course. So much more to edit. The festival resumes Thursday night.   

Drip Painting Explained

A favorite from last year's Fringe, Matthew Marcum, returned for another performance of Pollock: A Frequency Parable. It is hard to explain. The show starts with images and words from the painter Jackson Pollock. It proceeds with the energy of Pollock's painting technique through physical expression, singing that slips into ululation, ecstatic, seemingly out of control but leading to an emotional conclusion. Once again, I thought it was a knockout.