Fringe - Day 5 - Part 2

Beauty and the Beast
Intermedia Arts

Uh...wow.

I'm left kind of stunned, still, almost a day later.

One of the many great things about the Fringe is that it makes it so very easier to explore different performance genres that might be outside of your normal viewing patterns.

I know zippo about dance.

I had, I'm embarrassed to admit still, never seen Ballet of the Dolls, despite living in this town well over a decade.

So many have already commented on the athleticism of the dancers, but it bears repeating. The Dolls do some amazing things, creating some bizarre and beautiful stage pictures as they do so.

The costumes crank up the visual spectacle several more notches.

The ecclectic soundtrack, mixing Tom Waits, David Bowie and other contemporary musicians with show tunes from (naturally) Beauty and the Beast, but also, quite appropriately, My Fair Lady, built on itself song by song, backing up the narrative of the dancers' actions and creating a haunting yet fun and ultimately romantic atmosphere.

The aerial work, building off a simple setup, was just amazing.

Sadly, I lack the vocabulary of movement to give the show its full due, but trust me when I say it was stunning spectacle that deserved the sold out crowd it got and gave them all more than their money's worth. See it, if you can be among the lucky crowd to get in.