What鈥檚 it like to have a mother whose seven-foot-tongue slices your arm (eight stitches!) and a wife who greets your boss in thigh-high boots and consistently claims she's on the phone with "nobody?"
Sounds like a family on the fringe. And that's fitting, because it's the storyline of production of The fourth-wall-breaking comedy is staged six times during this year鈥檚 annual festival of performing arts, which runs through Saturday, June 27.
Joe Hanrahan of Midnight Theatre Company plays Victor, the sole character in the play that's directed by Sarah Whitney.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really as 鈥楩ringe-y鈥欌�� if I can use that as a term 鈥� a show as I鈥檝e ever run across,鈥� Hanrahan said.
Even so, Victor is an everyman.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those shows that make you understand a little more, feel a little more about what it鈥檚 like to be human,鈥� Hanrahan said.
"House" begins with frantic chair-throwing then settles into a rhythm of absurdist fantasies (dog couples dancing to Lionel Richie) and fast jokes, like the one about Victor's AA meetings: "The last bastion of macrame is 'group.'"
For St. Louis theater-goers who know Hanrahan, it's worth the price of admission ($10) just to see him mock-seriously dance to club music.
Dance, music and mustaches
Before the Thursday night performance of "House," a handful of people took pictures of sculptures near the Fringe box office in Straus Park. They're provided by
Box-office merch includes multi-colored Fringe-labeled umbrella hats ($5), which, if the rain continues, could rival ticket sales as a money-maker.
In its fourth year, the Fringe offers dozens of shows. You can . As in past years, Fringe accepts acts on a first-come, first-served basis. Many, like 鈥淗ouse,鈥� hold multiple performances throughout the 11-day period.
Here鈥檚 a throw-a-dart list of :
- shuffles and stomps at the Kranzberg Arts Center on Friday and Saturday, June 19-20. offers original choreography for $15 a pop.
- is onstage at the Kranzberg Arts Center on Friday through Saturday, June 19-21. It鈥檚 a stand-up show about how a mustache-shaped cross-country bike ride changed one man鈥檚 life. Tickets go for the proverbial cost of 20 shaves-and-a-haircut, or $5.
- is not actually held in a spooky lower level but at the Stage at KDHX, Thursday through Saturday, June 25-27. is a St. Louis improve team and the 2014 winner of the 2014 Fringe Crush Award and the Spirit of Fringe award. For $5, you'll get a series of improve games and a long-form show based on single audience suggestion.
- is a solo dance performance that explores our land, including the Earth, at the Kranzberg Arts Center, Thursday through Saturday, June 25-27. Featuring , the show oddly quotes both Rick Santorum and Miley Cyrus in its description, and costs $5.
- is not a command but a one-man music show featuring whose message is 鈥淏lack Lives Matter." It runs Friday and Saturday, June 26-27 at Duet performance space, and costs $10. Songs on the playlist include 鈥淲rong Turn鈥� and 鈥淢istaken Identity.鈥�
THE BASICS
St. Lou Fringe
Where: Fringe: Grand Center, various locations; "House": CEL Center for Architecture + Design, 3307 Washington Ave.
When: Fringe is Wednesday-Saturday, June 17-27; "House" runs Friday-Saturday, June 19-20 and Thursday-Saturday, June 25-27
How much: $5 badge gets you in the festival area for the entire run; in addition. $10 buys a 鈥淗ouse鈥� ticket. Other individual shows cost up to $15.
Tickets: Badges sold in (across from The Fox)
Information:
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