I don't think it was by accident that VarieTease: No. 24 has a couple of 4:20 p.m. performances this year; after seeing the show I felt I was at a disadvantage watching it sober.
Brightly colored boxes, ladders, balloons, pinwheels and the like fill the performance area with dancers dressed as dolls in tutus gone wild. Performers (that include men, women, men dressed like women, men dressed like robot dogs) lip-sync to high-energy dance music including The Commodores' "Brickhouse" and the Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc."
This installment of VarieTease, which has been performed at the Parliament House, is called Doll Factory, and don't even expect me to give you a plotline because that would be muddled (and probably wrong) at best. Plot is secondary, the dancing and costumes are key to this production and executed fabulously causing a party atmosphere. Appropriate enough, considering this was originally staged at a theater in a nightclub.
This is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. At times, I felt I was trapped in a David Lynch flick, but for the most part the choreography and non-stop energy of the performers had me wanting to dance along with them.
VarieTEASE: No. 24 The Doll Factory
May 18th, 2008 by Carl-Gauze
VarieTEASE: No. 24 The Doll Factory
Conceived and Choreographed by Blue
babyBLUESTAR Productions
Orange Venue
Orlando International Theater Fringe Festival, Orlando, FL
In this VarieTEASE show, bits and pieces of dolls litter the stage along with complete and fully functional dancers. As the crowd filters in, stage hands place props and body parts on stage, occasionally parading around a shelf full of heads to make a point. As the lights fade and the preshow announcements are dispatched, the music rises and The Buyer (Nick Gray) descends the stairs form the back of the theater. As he examinees the wares, Willy the Dollmaker and his assistant Ben begin adjusting the girls, setting them into motion with glowing screwdrivers. As Robot Dog (Chris) ignores his guard duties to frolic with the dolls, Blue ventures out into the audience as an ambassador of doll land.
It’s hard to fault a show featuring a chainsaw wielding dwarf attacking the audience, but “The Doll Factory” lacks the over the top spectacle of last years “Carnivale.” The music could be louder, and while there’s action all around the stage, the best dancing came form energetic Willy, particularly in the second half. This is a good, solid show with great production values, brilliant props, and non-stop action. The problem? We were spoiled last year.
This show is presented as part of the 17th Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival. Information on times, tickets, and venue location my be found at http://www.orlandofringe.com/
Shee Haw
Conceived and Choreographed by Blue
babyBLUESTAR Productions
Footlights Theater, Orlando, FL
For over 15 years, "Hee Haw" provided America with what it needs most - corny jokes, busty women, and maudlin songs. Blue and her VarieTEASE company use this classic syndicated show as a template for a wild evening of live, lip synced, and flat out funny singing. The loose premise is a TV show run by the singing duo Toy Clark and Fuck Owens. There's some preshow antics about a feud between Owens and Dolly Parton (Danielle Hunter), but soon we enter the down home ambience of Cornfield County. Besides Owens and Clark, local favorite Missy Sammy does a creditable Minnie Pearl imitation, although I suspect half the audience has no idea why there's a price tag hanging off her Sunday bonnet.
The musical covered all over the map - there were classics like "Elvira," "These Boots are Made for Walking," and "Walking After Midnight," as well a newer numbers like "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy." The highlight was a trippy lip sync of "Stairway to Heaven" by Ms. Parton, which surprisingly enough is off a real album. There was enthusiastic if disorganized tap dancing by the Patty Cakes, and the jokes? Well, they were pretty corny.
Despite all the campy weirdness, there was a real story buried in here. When Dolly sang Stairway, she was a goner and for as good a reason as anyone ever gets killed on stage. As she went, there was a sort of strip involving more underwear than most women use these days, and a sort of tear formed in my eye as the show wrapped up. I know a few of you out there don't really appreciate C&W, but after exposure to the VarieTEASE version, you might rethink your position, at least for a few hours.