by Tod Caviness
George Wallace is enjoying his stint as general manager at the Orlando International Fringe Festival, or at least the perks of it. Wallace joined his co-hosts Eric Pinder and Gidget Galore Monday night at this year’s fall fundraiser show in a dapper suit, with a swim-trunk clad Vinnie (Parliament House’s beefcake-in-residence) on his arm.
“It’s nice to know that even with all the changes, Fringe is still going to be as gay as it ever was!” quipped Pinder.
Pretty indefinable, actually, judging from the varied performers at the fundraiser. The show eschewed the “All Hallows” Halloween theme of past years, opting instead for an “anything goes” lineup composed mostly of Fringe vets and some new favorites. It was also an opportunity to unveil the flashy new Fringe logo, which you can check out in Matt Palm’s previous post.
Some highlights from the show:
- Greater Orlando Actors Theatre showcasing some of their solid young singers. A couple of songs from their recent production of “Spring Awakening” definitely made me regret missing the show.
- “Truth or Dare” host Pepe’s kind shout-outs to performer John “Tweeka Weed” Barber and the Sentinel’s own Kelly Fitzpatrick, both recently departed. Leave it to Pepe not to let it get gloomy for long, though, as he announced that this Thursday’s Truth or Dare show at the Peacock Room would be specially dedicated to “sex and drinking” in their honor. (If you’ve ever been to one of Pepe’s always-racy shows, there’s your punchline.)
- Strong showings from Emotions Dance (who showed off some new male dancers) and Yow Dance (with some inventive and fun choreography from Christin Carlow and Eric Yow).
- Stephen J. Miller’s cute and clever “Mime Readers” courtesy of Playwrights’ Round Table, which gave us a listen into the inner monologues of a pair of bickering mimes (Tara Corless and Drew McCalmon).
- The Mud Flappers, whose jazz-folk peppiness lifted the show after an uneven first act. When you get the hosts dancing in the background and the audience clapping along through an entire song, you’re doing it right.
- The wonderfully inappropriate Fringe darlings Winifred Sassy and Didi Panache, visibly elated to be back in Orlando. Winifred’s live auction of a Fringe superpass was as entertaining as their “Top 10 Reasons Obama Will Stay President,” none of which I can reprint here.
