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| Tickets and... programs? Playbills? What's the preferred nomenclature? |
According to their website, Indy Fringe started with a planning meeting back in 2001, when it was decided to bring a Fringe Festival to Indianapolis. It’s still going strong today, scattered throughout theaters along the Mass Ave. District on the Indianapolis East Side.
Now, like I said, this is the sort of thing that isn’t on my radar. When I say it’s not on my radar, I mean, at all. Sure, I’ll see friends post about it on The Twitter, but it’s not something I would think about attending. I’m not familiar with Mass Ave. besides MacNivan’s, Mass Ave. Toys, and catching the occasional Weird Al concert at the Murat. However…
An awesome friend from The Twitter had won VIP Tickets to the show, and was looking for people to attend shows with since her husband couldn’t hit them all with her. After some discussion, I found out that one of the shows caught my interest, so I headed downtown after work and, by some miracle, found parking near all the theaters on Mass Ave. and was able to figure out the electronic meters.
Yeah, I’m not the brightest bulb in the chandelier sometimes.
So, after meeting up with Rhi, and feeling like a creeper as I’m stalking her on one side of Mass Ave. as she’s walking down the other, calling me… “No, look to your right. Keep turning… too far. Back to your left.” Yeah, that wasn’t creepy at all. Anyway, after we got coordinated, the evening of entertainment begun with the first show, “Don’t Cross The Streams: A Cease and Desist Musical.” It's a show about a theater group in New Jersey that wants to put on a show based on the very popular 80's movie about a group of paranormal investigators. Just as they get started, WHAM! Hit by a C&D by good old Columbia Pictures, and insert hijinks here as they look to work around it.
If you EVER have a chance to see this musical, do so. The characters were great, and the person portraying Louis Tully did a DEAD ON Rick Moranis. The pacing was excellent, the changes they made were hilarious, and all in all, the geek in me was sucked in and the ADD was able to be ignored for an hour.
When that show let out, Rhi and I hauled ourselves over to the next show, "Imagine That." This show was a piece about a man, his imaginary girlfriend, his brother, and a counseling session. This piece was interesting, and while it had some comedic moments, it came off to me as a serious piece that, while still entertaining, didn't hold my attention as well. However, since I had been up since 6AM, I don't blame the artists as much as I blame my lack of caffeine and dropping blood sugar.
When they let out around 9, and after a futile attempt to find a quick bite to eat, we headed over to the last show, "And I Am Not Making This Up!" I have a feeling that I would have enjoyed this one a LOT more had I been awake. The stories and the performance were both interesting, but her voice was a bit too calm, the theater a bit too dark, and the seats a bit too comfy for someone who had been up all day. However, I did catch all of her show, which was entertaining. I just wish I had grabbed a nap during the day so I'd have been more attentive!
We finished up the night trying to find some food. We found some pub grub at the Mass Ave. Pub. Unfortunately, it was after the cooks had left, and our waitress wasn't too familiar with the menu or how to work the deep fryer. Luckily, it was I with the iron stomach who found the undercooked chicken, and was able to warn Rhi before she bit into a piece. Luckily, the next round of chicken was fully cooked, and the mozzarella sticks were decent, but when we saw another table get nachos, we were kinda bummed because, well, nachos are awesome.
Little mis-steps like that, and the lack of sleep aside, it was a great evening, and I'm glad Rhi put up with my tired arse. This is something I think I'm going to try to hit next year, making sure I'm well rested and more mentally prepared for live theater, especially for three back to back shows with totally different vibes.
Thanks again to Rhiannon for inviting me along and covering for the post-show snacks! I owe you and Kevin for this! I really appreciate it!
See you all Friday,
Tony
If you EVER have a chance to see this musical, do so. The characters were great, and the person portraying Louis Tully did a DEAD ON Rick Moranis. The pacing was excellent, the changes they made were hilarious, and all in all, the geek in me was sucked in and the ADD was able to be ignored for an hour.
When that show let out, Rhi and I hauled ourselves over to the next show, "Imagine That." This show was a piece about a man, his imaginary girlfriend, his brother, and a counseling session. This piece was interesting, and while it had some comedic moments, it came off to me as a serious piece that, while still entertaining, didn't hold my attention as well. However, since I had been up since 6AM, I don't blame the artists as much as I blame my lack of caffeine and dropping blood sugar.
When they let out around 9, and after a futile attempt to find a quick bite to eat, we headed over to the last show, "And I Am Not Making This Up!" I have a feeling that I would have enjoyed this one a LOT more had I been awake. The stories and the performance were both interesting, but her voice was a bit too calm, the theater a bit too dark, and the seats a bit too comfy for someone who had been up all day. However, I did catch all of her show, which was entertaining. I just wish I had grabbed a nap during the day so I'd have been more attentive!
We finished up the night trying to find some food. We found some pub grub at the Mass Ave. Pub. Unfortunately, it was after the cooks had left, and our waitress wasn't too familiar with the menu or how to work the deep fryer. Luckily, it was I with the iron stomach who found the undercooked chicken, and was able to warn Rhi before she bit into a piece. Luckily, the next round of chicken was fully cooked, and the mozzarella sticks were decent, but when we saw another table get nachos, we were kinda bummed because, well, nachos are awesome.
Little mis-steps like that, and the lack of sleep aside, it was a great evening, and I'm glad Rhi put up with my tired arse. This is something I think I'm going to try to hit next year, making sure I'm well rested and more mentally prepared for live theater, especially for three back to back shows with totally different vibes.
Thanks again to Rhiannon for inviting me along and covering for the post-show snacks! I owe you and Kevin for this! I really appreciate it!
See you all Friday,
Tony
I've wanted to hit Fringe for YEARS. It hit the scene when I was just exiting the theatre scene to become a mommy and it always falls at a time that I can't go to any of the shows. I'm jealous!
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