BlueSky post: MN Fringe show #3: The Kendra Plant Variety Hour - Plant is a charming host; all 3 guests crackle with how good they are at what they do; stunning Japanese dragon dance, drumming and pipe; heartfelt songs of trans liberation; eye-popping ballet contortions plus burlesque; variety indeed; 4.5 stars
“The Kendra Plant Variety Hour: Good Things Edition, with Special Guests” is a great assortment of talent all gathered in one place for an hour of Fringe time, just a fine sampler of very different types of performance. The show starts with Kendra doing an opening speech (from cards, smart move, as someone who himself will frequently go off on a tangent and then forget things I really meant to say). Plant has her patter down and makes the case for live performance, and audiences sharing space together, not just watching screens at home. “100 percent human artists on stage tonight” is a good rallying cry in disconnected, artificial times like these.
First up are the stunning dance moves and music of Taiko Arts Midwest and the Edo Bayashi Ensemble (Jeff Ellsworth, Emily Harada, Junko Kumamato, Chiaki O’Brien, and Hiroshi Yoshino) performing traditional Shishimai - Japanese Lion Dance. The troupe just got a brand new puppet/lion outfit and it’s beautiful. You could mistake it for a dragon, I guess, because it shares a lot of the same features, but it has a glorious white furry mane that moves with the rest of the lion costume. The ears also have independent articulation, and the mouth makes a menacing clacking sound. The dancer/puppeteer under that lion outfit is skilled at moving both the puppet/mask and their own body, often in what appears to be opposing directions. The dance is accompanied by Taiko drumming and bamboo flute, and they work off each other with really impressive precision. The lion develops its own personality, and a sense of playfulness, very aware of the audience watching it, and with its own sense of humor. There’s a bit with a piece of fruit I won’t spoil (no pun intended).
The second act is composer Emily Boyajian, singing two of her own compositions from last year’s opera/chamber orchestra musical, Transition: a Story of 2 Trans People Becoming Themselves. Emily accompanied herself on the electric keyboard, and while she doesn’t have the same soaring operatic voices of the two performers who presented her work in 2024, she more than makes up for that with her connection to and passion for the purpose of these songs. She garnered a lot of enthusiastic whoops and applause for her renditions of these tunes and it was well-deserved.
Last but not least on the roster was Jolie Meshbesher, starting by mixing her former ballet moves at the dance bar with contortions of her body finding her hanging off the bar in eye-catching ways, creating picture after picture with her frame either upright or on the floor, as an instrumental piece of piano and strings provided an aural backdrop. Then a switch in music and mood at the end to a joyful burlesque striptease, freeing her from her corset and pretty much everything else she was wearing. The precision of her moves throughout the whole sequence was mind-boggling.
The only quibble I might have with the show as a whole is just to work on the transitions between artists, which were fine as they were, everyone was very efficient, but also they were all segmented off from one another. Jolie Meshbesher, for example, was very self-reliant and speedy getting her balancing bar set up and secured, but I felt a bit badly at the same time for poor Emily Boyajian packing up her large keyboard and feeling the need to hobble off with it all in one quick awkward trip, hunched over with everything under her arms. (It also didn’t look entirely safe.). If Emily and Jolie both knew they could each take their time and not feel individually rushed, and we were all just being presented to the joys of live theater - or if someone could give Emily a hand, or if the artists could help one another out. I know it probably also depends on how much you want someone else touching your equipment but… that’s really the only rough edges the show had. Each segment in and of itself was spot on. Maybe some additional patter from the host between segments to cover the transitions. All sorts of options, and a minor problem in the larger scheme of things. The parts of the show are all clicking, and that’s the key thing.
“The Kendra Plant Variety Hour” is a great showcase of three very different styles of art that all make a strong case for the importance and impact of live performance. If you want a change of pace, you’re probably not seeing any of these kinds of performances anywhere else in the festival this year. It’s a great place to catch them all in one hour.
4.5 stars, Very Highly Recommended
Here’s some handy links to coverage of 5 Star and 4.5 Star Shows I've Seen (VERY Highly Recommend), 4 Star and 3.5 Star Shows I've Seen (Highly Recommended), Other Shows I've Seen (3 Stars or Less), as well as my Fringe Top 10, Top 11 to 20 and Returning Favorites lists for this year, and all the coverage of this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.
As I’m sure many artists are, I find myself struggling with the idea of
just “taking time off” (what a luxury) and submerging myself in a whole
lot of theater for 11 days while the world is on fire so… I’m going to
put some phrases and links down here (and at the end of each post going
forward) and if you find yourself compelled to explore one or more of
them, so much the better. There’s a lot going on, and it can be easy to
get overwhelmed and tune out, but as Congresswoman Sarah McBride
recently said, “If everybody shows a little courage, nobody needs to be a
hero.” I freely admit this list and these links are hardly
exhaustive. It's just something to get started. Do what you can, where
you can, however you can. Let’s help one another get through this.
Contacting your elected officials about the issues that matter to you (and protesting as necessary)
Starvation in the Gaza Strip
Immigration raids around the United States
Ukraine fighting off invasion by Russia
Trans rights
Climate change action
Housing shortage and the unhoused
Reproductive Rights
Voting rights, and running for office
The courts, from the Supreme Court on down to the local level
Don’t forget to laugh - even gallows humor is still humor
No comments:
Post a Comment