Monday, July 13, 2009

Fringe 2009 - FFA 1 - Sideway Stories from Wayside School

Favorite moment - Noah Bremer as the gym teacher dealing with the fact that his fake moustache is not adhering to his face during the climactic apple eating sequence.

Four Humors Theater

Sideways Stories from Wayside School

There is something you ought to know about Wayside School. It was accidentally built sideways. It was supposed to be only one story high, with thirty classrooms all in a row. Instead, it is thirty stories high, with one classroom in each story. The builder said he was very sorry. It has been said that the children at Wayside School are strange and silly. That is probably true. However, when I told stories about you to the children at Wayside, they thought you were strange and silly. That is probably also true."

The creators of hit shows "Mortem Capiendum", "Bards" and "Deviled Eggs" play in the sideways world of Louis Sachar's Wayside School Novels.

Adapted by John Olive from the Louis Sachar's Wayside School Novels.


So the Four Humors crowd is also going the teen/kids Fringe route this time out. Unexpected choice. But everyone's having fun up there onstage, and that travels out to the audience. The source stories are suitably odd, and they've been translated to the stage well. A teacher gets zapped by her own magic spell and ends up turning into an apple - just one of many subplots from the sound of it. As they say, hilarity and awkwardness will no doubt ensue. The preview took their full allotted time into red light/three-minute territory, but it timed out pretty much right on the money. Well-played.

Their show page

Their website - fourhumorstheater.com

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