FRINGE REVIEW: Barbie Blended

POSTED: Friday, September 7, 2012, 1:45 PM

Every year, there's hundred and hundred of performances at the Philly Fringe and Live Arts Festival, and unless it's one of the big shows, it's sometimes hard to tell what you're going to get. Critical Mass, therefore, is sending writers to as many shows as we possibly can for 75 pocket-sized reviews over the course of the fest. Check in every day!

SHOW: BARBIE BLENDED: A Pop Rockin' Musical

GROUP: Theatre Underground

GENRE: Theater

ATTENDED: Sat., Sept 1, 2 p.m.

CLOSES: Sun., Sept. 9

BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: Sophie wants to be a rock star. Her mom wants her to be a beauty queen. Her neighbor wants her to look like Megan Fox. And Barbie wants her to become a woman. A world premiere musical that investigates the consequences of growing up in the caffeinated age of twitter, pop music, and pornography.

WE THINK: "Blending" is a common rite of passage for pre-adults, but in Beth Hyland and Haygen Brice Walker's too-new musical, it also means kids literally pulverizing their toys in a blender. The wacky dystopian notion sputters, however, in this "pop rockin'" show about hyperactive Sophie (Kat Borelli) and BF Frankie (Bryan Black) discovering sex through useless Family Life classes. Meggie Seigrist shines as Sophie's favorite Barbie, but the show it self is more loud than original (like a soon-to-be-dated 50 Shades of Grey spoof and the icky love song "I Ate His Booger") and doesn't match the performers' skills.

—Mark Cofta

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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