I’ll be honest sometimes I go into Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival with a little hesitation. I’m not the most artsy theatregoer and critic. I can appreciate artistic expression of all types but don’t tend to enjoy the experimental and original works sometimes seen at Fringe. Fortunately this year I chose well and all 5 plays I saw are approachable and narratively easy to digest. The festival continues until August 3rd so there is still time to see these shows and others (I may attend on Sunday to see a few more but I also might want to quit while I’m ahead so let me know if you recommend anything.) Anyway, here is what I enjoyed (the 5th show I saw last week at Immigrant’s Daughter- My Brother Was a Vampire)

I would give them all recommendations

The Words at the Door

The first up was The Words at the Door put on by Sackerson. This is in the Alliance Theater Blackbox and features 2 actors in a relationship drama. The couple is portrayed by Kristina Shearer and Jason Hackney and the play is written by Jesse Nepivoda. The thing that makes this drama unique is the refreshing look at Hackney’s character’s schizophrenia.

I like that the relationship is not all steeped in trauma. We see them meet and have happy even sexy times. Even when things are getting hard the narrative feels realistic and full of humanity for both characters and their experiences. The only thing I might add is a little more context as to why Shearer’s character feels like she can’t raise children with Hackney. While I can see why one wouldn’t want to pass on a genetic condition there are ways to raise children without doing that. I did like the emphasis on our different memories and how it can be a strange thing how differently we look back on the same things. Words at the Door is directed by Matthew Ivan Bennett.

Still Life

My favorite of the festival is a little 2-hander on the Alliance mainstage called Still Life. It’s a friendship story done by Tami Anderson and Beth Anne Martin. The two women are taking their annual friendship retreat together at a wine and painting night somewhere. Martin and Anderson have crafted a very funny script that touches on issues any woman (or middle-aged person) should relate with. I also appreciate that it is purely a friendship story as sometimes I feel like all female stories these days have to be queer romances (which can be great but I also love friendship stories.) One of my favorite lines is when she says “a hot flash is not a power surge”

They time the needle drops of popular 80s songs perfectly and the voice performances add just the right touch. I really enjoyed this one and it’s too bad it’s done at the festival because more deserve to see it.

A Haircut in SLC

Next up we have another insightful comedy with A Haircut in SLC. It is written by Max Ricks and stars him as a young man who is chatting with a hairdresser about their shared Mormon to gay coming out journeys. This is obviously a very personal story for Ricks and one that touches on many local themes and issues. Autumn Bay places the hairdresser and she’s very warm and authentic. In general that’s how I would describe this play- warm and authentic.

There is a point where we learn that Bruce hasn’t been honest with Stevie as he has been telling his coming out story, and I thought he was going to admit he actually hadn’t come out but she had inspired him to do so but that’s not where it goes. Still it’s very sweet and believable. It’s not trying to judge anyone harshly but be supportive and kind. I’m sure many people will be able to connect with it which makes it a great fit for a GSL Fringe.

The Rest is Silence-

I should say that The Rest is Silence is actually written by my cousin Elise C Hansen but I didn’t know that until I was looking at the poster for the show. It is put on by New World Shakespeare Company and is in the Alliance Black Box (Everything I saw at Fringe was in the Black Box except for Still Life.)

This play has a clever concept of the characters from Shakespeare coping with the afterlife at a group therapy rage session. While I don’t think the characters needed to change in Act 2 the actors are game enough and the concept is funny enough to entertain. I do think a certain understanding of Shakespeare and his characters is required to understand (which might not be obvious from the title) but aside from Anthony and Cleopatra I got most of the jokes (I’m seeing that this summer at the Utah Shakespeare Festival for the first time.)

Probably the best joke of the play is when Hamlet (Zachari Reynolds) refuses to hold the skull and shrinks away from it. It could have been funny to have the characters battle with involuntary iambic pentameter or maybe squabble on who has the most iconic lines but still it was an amusing little one act play.

I also have to give Elise credit for playing Ophelia/Queen Elizabeth and having water dumped on her at one point. The Rest is Silence is directed by Blayne Wiley and worthy of your time.

So there you have it. This year’s GSL Fringe. What sounds appealing to you? Are you going to support our local playwrights and actors? I hope so!

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