I’ve loved hanging out with Erin Sheppard in the naked show I’m in (or, I’ve loved hanging out with Erin Sheppard naked in the show I’m in), and she is presenting Bump in the Night at the Rarig Proscenium. This is a horror dance show, which translates into lots of ghoulish, funny and interesting dance pieces broken up by creepy stories from local storytelling mistress Courtney McLean. The stories are over the top, racy and outlandish (but in a good way), and the dances are plainly awesome. I really loved it. Bob, the dance curmudgeon, really loved it. Bump this to the top of your list, and see it Thursday at 10 or Sunday at 4.
Some years there are really excellent shows that just sort of slip through the cracks. I feel this is the case with Malcolm Grissom’s Can’t Ain’t Nothing but a Four Letter Word at New Century. Malcolm (photo above) came off the wait list late in the game, but still traveled in from San Francisco to bring his one-man story to our stage. I’ve enjoyed hanging out with Malcolm around the festival. He’s awesome. His show talks about being black and disabled, but it isn’t at all what I was expecting. First of all (and Malcolm covers this in his show), there is no obvious sign of his disability. (His blackness is a little more apparent.) And neither his blackness nor his disability has affected his sense of humor. Malcolm is a very, very funny guy, and his story is absolutely lovely. He morphs into characters from his life that are endearing and engaging and the only thing missing in the recipe to make this show a hit is an audience. This is a perfect Fringe show: an engaging storyteller with a unique perspective. Malcolm is absolutely worth seeing and I implore you to check out his show. Thursday at 10, Saturday at 7, Sunday at 5:30 at New Century Theatre. Malcolm’s shows are sandwiched between lots of shows at New Century that have received bigger buzz – making it easy to just add him to your schedule. Do it.
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