FRINGE REVIEW: Bang

The greatly-hyped Bang lives up to its reputation but not because of its bare-assed nudity.

options

FRINGE REVIEW: Bang

POSTED: Sunday, September 9, 2012, 2:15 PM

Every year, there's hundreds and hundreds 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. Here at Critical Mass we're sending writers to as many shows as we possibly can for 75 pocket-sized reviews over the course of the fest. Check back in with us at On The Fringe every day for real talk on what these things actually are!

SHOW: Bang

GROUP: Charlotte Ford

GENRE: Theater/Musical

ATTENDED: Sat., Sept. 8, 8 p.m.

CLOSES: Wed., Sept. 12

BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: A hilariously bold and dangerously inventive comedic-clown-theater-spectacular, Bang answers the question — under the glow of a pink neon sex show sign — what happens if you get what you want? Three of Philadelphia’s top physical and comedic performers — Charlotte Ford, Lee Etzold, and Sarah Sanford (of Pig Iron Theatre Company) — take the stage for a no-holds barred, sexually explicit, and hilarious exploration of nudity, desire, gender roles, and sexual arousal. Hosting are Cheyenne, a new-age spiritualist in indigo Thai fisherman pants; Gayle, who wears mom jeans, 5-inch cougar heels and is desperately in search of a sperm donor; and Barb, who recites Canterbury Tales in the original Old English, yet has mad tap skills.

WE THINK: The greatly-hyped Bang lives up to its reputation but not because of its bare-assed nudity. Rather, its bold potency comes from the frank sense of female empowerment and the clever clowning provided it by the woman who conceived it (Ford), her co-creating co-performers (Lee Etzold, Sarah Sanford) and its clown-expert director Emmanuelle Delpech. The nervous awkwardness of the mom-jean-wearing Etzold and the buttoned-up Sanford is handsomely balanced by Ford’s hippie-dippy-ish confidence when the trio acts as one unit. It’s each actress’ solo that shows off their true physical-comedy prowess, their innovative use of time-worn props (the comfy chair with fake back) and new scenic totems such as ladders and cheese-puffs.

—A.D. Amorosi

Posted by A.D. Amorosi @ 2:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Comments (0)

Q&A with SHARI SOLANIS: "The goal isn't pornography"
What we're trying to do this weekend
SEXY TIME Q&A: I've never had an orgasm during sex with a man — and I'm 30!
NOW SEE THIS: Transit cop arrests marijuana activist for alleged disorderly conduct.
CONCERT REVIEW: Primus (3D & quadraphonic sound) @ The Tower 10/17
Q&A with Tony Goldwyn: "Life is gray, and relationships are, too"
ICEPACK ILLUSTRATED: The Archbishop meets the Geator, the Mayor goes suit shopping, Le Bec Fin fin.
ICE CUBE: In Memoriam: Joe Tartaglia
Coming soon to Philly: Two cockamamie movie promotion schemes
SWIMMING HOLES: Some of our favorite places to get wet

About this blog

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.

Follow Critical Mass editors Patrick Rapa and Emily Guendelsberger on Twitter:

@mission2denmark | @emilygee

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January

Past Archives: