Fringe Forever

We came. We saw. And then we saw some more. Our elite corps of Fringe Festival reviewers has covered an unprecedented amount of theater this past week, all the way from original musicals to opera, sketch comedy to the merely sketchy, one-person shows to large-cast extravaganzas. So check out our picks, then check out the festival; believe it or not, there's plenty more than what we were able to see, and as with all live theater, if you miss your chance now, forget about checking it out on video at a later date. The festival ends March 21, so grab a guide and hurry.

Inside the OPM Den II
by Leroy Chin and OPM
Last year's Fringe production by this Asian-American satirical troupe was a hoot: devilishly funny one minute, gleefully, unapologetically stereotypical the next. But this year's sequel, a series of 14 sketches with such commercial interruptions as a message warning about DWA (that's Driving While Asian) falls into a lackluster rhythm, partly due to the absence of Leroy Chin, the group's founder and the show's producer. Without Chin, even such promising material as "Charlie Chan's Angels" and an Asian Actors' Reunion failed to ignite. Standouts, however, were Serin Ngai in multiple roles and Charles Kim as a cable-access hip-hop host.—Emily Baillargeon

Susanna's Secret
Off-Center Opera
Count Gil thinks his wife's taken a lover, but the truth is even more scandalous—at least by the standards of 1909, when Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari wrote this intermezzo, one of the finest one-act comic operas ever. It's really just an extended duet (sung in English translation), but it packs a lot of beloved operatic devices into its 45 minutes. The voices of Emily Riesser and Cliff Watson are strong enough to make Wolf-Ferrari's perkily lyrical music sound appropriately glorious. Rachel Levy and Tom Sunderland play the two mute servant roles with verve, and pianist Beth Kirchhoff fills in for the orchestra. Elegant silliness. —Gavin Borchert

The Adventures of the Merry Monk & Frog Prince Freddie
Monkfrog Productions
Two best friends, one a juggling monk and the other a frog (played by a hand puppet), set off on a journey of redemption after the divine is defrocked for sleeping through one too many mornings of chanting. Performer Colin Ernst works in juggling tricks, trombone playing, unicycle riding, and a complete disregard for traditional stagecraft into a show that's sort of a live-action version of a Crumb comic. Ernst does have an overindulged tendency to rush offstage for costume changes and props while leaving the inert Freddie to entertain us, but it's still a gloriously silly show that will produce a goofy grin.—John Longenbaugh

Cirque Flambe
DAFT Coop
Appealing to the hearts of pyromaniacs everywhere, this Fremont-based group of "fire artists" is a bunch of folks who enjoy courting third-degree burns for fun. This big-top-themed show has fire clowns, stilt walkers, a "poodle" trained to jump through a fiery hoop, and several erotic tangos that literally smolder. Live music, a tornado of flame, and the grand finale involving the veritable explosion of "Pyro Boy" make this the most fun I've had since melting my first GI Joe.—J.L.

Urban Legend Follies
L'eau Theque Productions
The Gozas must have interesting family meals, if this all-singin', all-dancin', all-sketch-comedy piece is anything to go by. Mom Kimberly directs, acts, choreographs, and does the scenery; Dad Dennis writes and acts; and 8-year-old Zephyr is one of those stage kids who's equal parts endearing and eerily professional. Switching costumes and characters at a dizzying pace, this is a cheery but very corny show that tries to stuff more than 70 urban legends into one hour, and does so only by sacrificing subtlety and stampeding over many of its own laughs. Still, it's sweet to watch this threesome obviously having such a blast.—J.L.

A Surreal Circus
Circus Contraption
This collection of musicians, aerialists, jugglers, dancers, and comedians are involved in a monstrously ambitious endeavor to use traditional circus skills in a way that's disturbing and original. Hats off to them, but it's a decidedly uneven result. Some elements, particularly the music of Armitage Shanks and the Flat Joint Fives, a mushroom-induced Sprite Dance, and several aerialist acts, are wonderful. But much of the comedy falls flat, and a backstage conflict involving the ringmaster and his janitor flunky fizzles. A fun ramble down the midway that might end up tighter and funnier in its next incarnation.—J.L.

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Three Dragons Productions
Blithe and breezy, this production of Shakespeare's giddy roundelay proceeds at a feverish pace, as the eight actors try to fit every scene into 90 minutes. The company is particularly good with slapstick bits, and the Peter Quince play-within-a-play subplot is masterfully handled. Occasionally a line gets swallowed, but these players, outfitted with costumes and a set that are clever but minimal and their infectious enthusiasm, conjure just the magical atmosphere that allows a Dream to flourish.—Jackie McCarthy

I Am the Pirate King
Full Moon/Schmab Productions
In Cecelia Frye-Georges' funny and sweet one-woman show, she chronicles the glories and pains of the tumultuous years in which she finally said goodbye to childhood (and such joys as bike riding, playing pirate, and running around without a T-shirt on) and found herself with perhaps too much experience at an early age. What keeps the material from sliding into a public therapy session is the performer's sense of humor about her early misdeeds and misunderstandings, and her triumphant conclusion that even as an adult, it is indeed a glorious thing, every once in a while, to be a Pirate King.—J.L.