Here are Orlando Fringe Festival reviews of “Breaking Brains: A Lewd Lesson in Polyamory” “Nevermore,” “Pursuit of H-Word,” “Unity” and “Younger Us.”
‘Pursuit of H-Word’
Bobby Wesley just wants us to be happy. And by the end of his pointedly funny faux-seminar “Pursuit of H-Word” (Scarlet, 60 minutes), you’ll want him to be happy, too.
Wesley has a knack for tapping into the zeitgeist; here he takes on AI and health supplements and algorithms and “the happy industrial complex,” and when you aren’t laughing at the well-crafted jokes, you’ll be nodding your head in sympathetic understanding. Or maybe crying bitter tears at the state of things.
But, wait, no crying: This is a show about finding happiness. A couple of personal stories illustrate the elusive nature of the feeling well, and if Wesley’s delivery loses a little polish from time to time, it never feels less than from the heart. I’m sure he’d be happy to know that “Pursuit of H-Word” really brightened my day.
‘Breaking Brains’
Miss Dana’s class is in session in “Breaking Brains: A Lewd Lesson in Polyamory” (Ivanhoe 1915, 60 minutes), and she really is teaching about polyamory and those who practice it. You will learn terms like “relationship escalator” and “metamour,” which sounded to me like a new Calvin Klein fragance until I was educated.
Although lewd is in the title, this isn’t actually sexual in nature, though of course sex does come up. Frequently. Still, it’s quite a respectable adult lesson and full of information, but Danielle Bloom’s script is far from a boring lecture. As directed by Bri Joseph, teacher Dana Prince will hold your attention. She imparts her info with flair and fun, and shares real-world examples from her own life.
Now I need to figure out how to work limerence (a state of intense infatuation) and compersion (a feeling of joy at seeing a loved one experience pleasure) into a sentence. It’s good to learn new things and expand your mind.
‘Unity’
This is the second Fringe show this year in which the audience is asked to form its own orchestra. In “Unity” (outdoors, on the side of the Shakespeare Center toward the Science Center, 30 minutes), creator Nathan Felix has helpfully given his budding “musicians” minute-by-minute instructions on what to do.
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We are equipped with rocks, dog toys, pens and pages from the Orlando Sentinel — hey, a new use for newspapers! — the timer starts counting, and away we go. Despite the instructions, there is a lot of freedom and creativity in how we choose to play together. In the spirit of unity, I give one of my rocks to a latecomer.
The show is designed to relax you and let your inner kid emerge. Mine did, down to the green tongue from making music with Pop Rocks.
‘Younger Us’
Marc (Tony Haberman) is throwing a celebration of life for his dead partner, Peter (Sean McKinley) and has invited their friends and relations, including a narcissistic aunt, self-proclaimed ladies man, and a couple that had a bad breakup. What could go wrong?
In “Younger Us” (Brown, 60 minutes), playwright Soph Rubin-Siegel tackles a lot and in doing so the play often feels unfocused. I’m still not sure if this was meant to be Marc’s story or the story of the feuding exes (Rubin-Siegel and Kyle Huey, who have good chemistry) as both plot threads vie for stage time. The ghost rules seem fuzzy, too: Peter’s apparition seems to be a dramatic device for Marc’s grief, but the spectre wanders through other scenes as well.
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If the writing isn’t quite there yet, this is an idea with a lot of promise and a committed cast. And, as directed by Josa Eve Alvarez and Jeremy Herbert, Haberman is particularly touching as the grieving partner turned unwilling host of a party he never wanted to have.
‘Nevermore’
The Lost Boys are worried about winter’s approach, Peter Pan is nowhere to be found, and Neverland is dying — even the trees are giving up. Such is the grim premise of “Nevermore (Outside Orlando Museum of Art on the Orlando Family Stage side, billed as 90 minutes but actually 60).
We learn this information at the start of the play by writer-director Rachel Kalski, and then the characters spend the next half hour talking about those same points over and over. There are action sequences to interrupt the neverending debate over waiting for Peter or leaving Neverland altogether, but the plot advances at a snail’s pace.
Micah Gregory and Zo Henry give the strongest performances as combatants on opposite sides of the should-we-stay-or-should-we-go question, and ultimately the play seems to be a meditation on how and when to leave childhood and childish expectations behind. But a tighter focus and faster pace are called for here.
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Orlando Fringe Festival
• Where: Shows at Loch Haven Park are in color-coded venues; off-campus locations are identified by name.
• When: Through May 25.
• Cost: $10 button required for ticketed shows, then individual performance tickets are no more than $15.
• Schedule, tickets, more info: OrlandoFringe.org
• More reviews: OrlandoSentinel.com/fringe