Here are Orlando Fringe Festival reviews of \u201cBreaking Brains: A Lewd Lesson in Polyamory\u201d \u201cNevermore,\u201d \u201cPursuit of H-Word,\u201d \u201cUnity\u201d and \u201cYounger Us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Pursuit of H-Word\u2019<\/p>\n
Bobby Wesley just wants us to be happy. And by the end of his pointedly funny faux-seminar \u201cPursuit of H-Word\u201d (Scarlet, 60 minutes), you\u2019ll want him to be happy, too.<\/p>\n
Wesley has a knack for tapping into the zeitgeist; here he takes on AI and health supplements and algorithms and \u201cthe happy industrial complex,\u201d and when you aren\u2019t laughing at the well-crafted jokes, you\u2019ll be nodding your head in sympathetic understanding. Or maybe crying bitter tears at the state of things.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s delivery loses a little polish from time to time, it never feels less than from the heart. I\u2019m sure he\u2019d be happy to know that \u201cPursuit of H-Word\u201d really brightened my day.<\/p>\n
\u2018Breaking Brains\u2019<\/p>\n
Miss Dana\u2019s class is in session in \u201cBreaking Brains: A Lewd Lesson in Polyamory\u201d (Ivanhoe 1915, 60 minutes), and she really is teaching about polyamory and those who practice it. You will learn terms like \u201crelationship escalator\u201d and \u201cmetamour,\u201d which sounded to me like a new Calvin Klein fragance until I was educated.<\/p>\n
Although lewd is in the title, this isn\u2019t actually sexual in nature, though of course sex does come up. Frequently. Still, it\u2019s quite a respectable adult lesson and full of information, but Danielle Bloom\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s good to learn new things and expand your mind.<\/p>\n
\u2018Unity\u2019<\/p>\n
This is the second Fringe show this year in which the audience is asked to form its own orchestra. In \u201cUnity\u201d (outdoors, on the side of the Shakespeare Center toward the Science Center, 30 minutes), creator Nathan Felix has helpfully given his budding \u201cmusicians\u201d minute-by-minute instructions on what to do.<\/p>\n
Orlando Fringe Festival reviews: Tea, wars, escaping and measuring up<\/a><\/p>\n We are equipped with rocks, dog toys, pens and pages from the Orlando Sentinel \u2014 hey, a new use for newspapers! \u2014 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u2018Younger Us\u2019<\/p>\n 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?<\/p>\n In \u201cYounger Us\u201d (Brown, 60 minutes), playwright Soph Rubin-Siegel tackles a lot and in doing so the play often feels unfocused. I\u2019m still not sure if this was meant to be Marc\u2019s 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\u2019s apparition seems to be a dramatic device for Marc\u2019s grief, but the spectre wanders through other scenes as well.<\/p>\n Orlando Fringe Festival reviews: Dogs, dating, daring and Deadwood<\/a><\/p>\n If the writing isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n \u2018Nevermore\u2019<\/p>\n The Lost Boys are worried about winter\u2019s approach, Peter Pan is nowhere to be found, and Neverland is dying \u2014 even the trees are giving up. Such is the grim premise of \u201cNevermore (Outside Orlando Museum of Art on the Orlando Family Stage side, billed as 90 minutes but actually 60).<\/p>\n 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\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n mpalm@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n Orlando Fringe Festival reviews: Fathers, sons and mysterious thongs<\/a><\/p>\n Orlando Fringe Festival<\/p>\n \u2022 Where: Shows at Loch Haven Park are in color-coded venues; off-campus locations are identified by name.<\/p>\n \u2022 When: Through May 25.<\/p>\n \u2022 Cost: $10 button required for ticketed shows, then individual performance tickets are no more than $15.<\/p>\n \u2022 Schedule, tickets, more info: OrlandoFringe.org<\/a><\/p>\n