11 hot tickets

In honor of the 11 days of Hollywood Fringe, I have assembled a list of eleven Fringe productions I'm looking forward to seeing. Don't get me wrong - this is by far NOT a complete list of all the shows I want to see, and it's not in any particular order.

- Valentino: A Play in Verse - “Shakespeare meets The Godfather” Italy, 1502. Duke Valentino must face the sins of his past in order to protect his family. Brilliant and ambitious, Valentino wages a war to reclaim the Papal States for Rome, but he is haunted by the memory of murdering his brother. His beloved sister, Lucrezia Borgia, may already be plotting his destruction. Now his mercenary captains have formed a conspiracy against him. Valentino’s only hope for survival lies with two Florentine men of genius: Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli. Written and directed by David Wisehart. “It’s a lot of fun. It’s actually brilliant. I advise all you listeners to run out and see it!” — Paul Strickland, “Thursday Matinee” KHTS AM 1220

- ! Death 40 Feet Tall ! - A story of two best friends, their geek life and giant robots. When she spent The Two Greatest Days Of Her Life fleeing invisible robots in downtown Los Angeles at the command of Michael Bay Himself, he listened in – and fretted – from a distance. Though they were united in their absolute love for giant robots, they vehemently disagreed whether this new incarnation would be worthy of the mythos. Knock down, drag out nerd fights ensued. And she’s still mad about the whole “why won’t you be my boyfriend” thing, which didn’t help. Everything changed when life intervened and she was left with no one to nerd fight with but herself: When the one person who is your bedrock is gone, is it possible to become your own Prime? One woman’s tale of geeks, grief, transformation … and the healing power of giant robots.

- Crack'd Nutz: Nutrageous Comedy! - The Crack’d Nutz Sketch Comedy Show stars Karen Malina White (Leon On Me, The Cosby Show, Different World), Leonard Thomas (School Daze, Do The Right Thing, Coach Carter), PaSean Wilson Ashley, Jaimyon Parker, Crystal Jackson, and Teo. This hilarious group will have you laughing right out of your seat with their unique and witty brand of comedy!

- The Birthday Boys - Al Asad Air force base is generally regarded as the safest of green zones in Iraq. Just outside of Baghdad, it stations a large staff of marines whose day to day jobs range from security to supplies. “The Birthday Boys” is the heroic story of three U.S. Marines taken capture during an unheard of infiltration of Al Asad. Bound and blindfolded, the three marines are left to ponder their uncertain futures in an isolated warehouse as they struggle to cope with fear, boredom, and betrayal; morale their only ally. A tale of honor and redemption, unaffiliated with partisan politics; this is the life-changing journey of three American heroes.

- Happy Birthday, Mom - Olivia flies home to surprise her Mom on her 55th birthday only to find her clad in leather, waiting for a young man off craigslist to come over for sex. When Olivia shames her mother into locking herself in the bathroom, she is left to deal with the offending young man as well as a host of other friends and family members who decide to show up for their own version of a birthday celebration.

- Pagan Play - PAGAN PLAY is a new work composed of original as well as found and borrowed text, created through the collaborative efforts of the members of Moving Parts Theatre Company. The production is set within the forest, a forest in which one might find a princess as well as a coven of witches, a grocery store as well as a sacrificial altar, a family of tourists as well as a herd of centaurs. This is a piece about being lost, being joyful, being afraid, being beastly, and knights. Also witches and buses. We may also show you a little bit about love, sex, and the intersection between the lives we live and the magic we imagine within them. THE FAUN travels to the forest and, without explanation, brutally murders the King. The forest is “locked down” for security reasons, and its inhabitants (including A FAMILY OF TOURISTS, A CENTAUR, THE QUEEN, A COVEN OF WITCHES and others) degenerate and reintegrate, devolve and ascend. “Deep in the heart of man there lies a beast, deep in the heart of beasts lies a man. And it is that whom we fear.”

- Defending Against Eros - What happens when you take a painting by Bouguereau, and ask three playwrights with completely different styles to write a one act inspired by the painting? You have Defending Against Eros: Three One Act Plays. Eros, by Bryy Miller: Eros, Dionysus, Athena, and Phoebus are on a trip to the Getty Museum, at Eros’ request, to view the painting, “A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros.” The events that transpire reveal the baggage and humanity that the gods carry with them. Interrogation, by Nicholas Doan, Dramatists Guild Member: When one broken-hearted man decides to rid the world of the unloved, he forces an unwilling participant to acknowledge the love that she’s denied herself. Coda, by Cynthia Glucksman, Dramatists Guild Member, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights: Four strangers in a Co-Dependents Anonymous meeting reveal the complexities of love and the power of dependency. What they ultimately discover is that resisting love is easier than surrendering to vulnerability.

- The Poxy Boggards - Known as the Drinking Group With a Singing Problem, the Poxy Boggards are a 13-man band, performing original and traditional songs of drinking, women and general revelry. They have been delighting audiences at the Renaissance Pleasure Faire for 18 years, but have recently expanded their performance schedule into more mainstream venues, including near-sell-out headlining shows at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana and the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles. Their most popular song, “I Wear No Pants”, was recently used in a national commercial for Dockers. The Poxy Boggards’ music is a mix of tight, right harmonies, rocking instrumentation with traditional folk instruments (bouzouki, mandolin, accordion, bodhran, upright bass) and an irreverent, often shocking sense of humor and lack of decorum.

- Booth & Pat: Two Guys, One Guitar, No Standards - “Part cabaret, part improv, part stand-up – expect routines that defy genre labels” – The New York Times After taking the East Coast by storm, the irreverent music/comedy stylings of Booth & Pat are heading to the Hollywood Fringe 2010! “The Smothers Brothers on crystal meth” (Broadway World), Booth & Pat present an hour of song, shtick and sketch idiotic in its observations, but ridiculous in its infectiousness. From the original and insightful “Where Have All the Straight Girls Gone?” lamenting Pat’s ability to convert the women he dates into lesbians, to a skewering of the beloved “Let It Be”, to a parody of Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” where the undynamic duo dream of all the outdated things they could make stylish(#I’m bringing dial-up back / Those slow connections are where it’s at#). It’s like Entourage. Minus the cars. And the money. And the HBO contract. But with singing! Booth Daniels and Patrick Frankfort (and his guitar) met while studying at The Boston Conservatory. And after a decade of twisted tomfoolery, insomnia-induced ramblings, and disagreements over whose name should be first, Booth & Pat was born! In New York, they’ve appeared at Carolines, Gotham Comedy Club, Comix, Rockwood Music Hall, Mercury Lounge, Crash Mansion, The Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, the P.I.T., and Broadway Comedy Club. Gathering an armful of rave reviews and a new legion of fans, Booth & Pat are regulars on the Joey Reynolds Show on the WOR Radio Network. Selected for the 2008 Los Angeles Comedy Festival, in 2009 they were nominated for a MAC Award and headlined the Sarasota Improv Festival in Florida. Now, New York’s most preposterous music/comedy duo return to the West Coast this June 21-25 with Booth & Pat: Two Guys, One Guitar, No Standards. Be there or be square! (oh yes, we said it).

- Mess - A weird, mostly happy exploration on being a mess by Kirsten Vangsness.

- There is Truth, Love is Real - After a successful premiere in March/April, There is Truth, Love is Real will be re-presented for the first ever Hollywood Fringe Festival on Friday and Saturday nights, June 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 7:00pm in The Flight Theatre at The Complex. Two leads, six ensemble members, one band’s album and no spoken dialogue, There is Truth, Love is Real explores the places one goes after a breakup through the lyrics of The Postal Service’s album Give Up. Like a music video brought to the stage, a musician’s journey to fame costs him the love of his life as he lip-syncs his lyrics and travels between dreams and reality. Supported by a physically dynamic ensemble, the story is conveyed with compelling movement and choreography, coupled with the music of The Postal Service for a unique theatrical experience.

There's a whole ton of other shows I want to check out. Things like The Wrong Show (featuring Red Snapper & Mr. Snapper from Theatre Unleashed), State of Theatre in LA: Critic's Panel Discussion, Den of Thieves by Stephen Adly Guirgis, 8 Bits: A Sketch Show about Video Games, Dancing With Crazies, Ain't We Got Fun, That's Funny, You Didn't Sound Black on the Phone and I Do Card Tricks and I'm Funny. Jesus Christ... that's a lot of shows. I need to start working on cloning technology. Like, yesterday. So, hopefully, after checking this out, you'll want to not only see Friends Like These, but a whole bunch of other cool stuff, too!