FRINGE REVIEW: The Walls

POSTED: Friday, September 7, 2012, 2:55 PM

Filed Under: Arts | On the Fringe Theater

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: The Walls

GROUP: Ira Brind School

GENRE: Theater

ATTENDED: Thu., Sept. 6, 8 p.m.

CLOSES: Sun., Sept. 9

BRIEF SELF-DESCRIPTION: A scholarly young woman must confront the issue of her mother's untimely death and the possible consequences of her own complicated inheritance in this time-bending play about the elusive nature of madness. The Philadelphia premiere of a provocative drama from a prize-winning Chicago playwright.

WE THINK: UArts' undergrad ensemble exceeds expectations with Lisa Dillman's well-crafted drama about women coping with diagnoses of madness. Meaghan O'Hare fascinates as Carrie, a writer investigating historical atrocities represented by 1880s Jane (Mary Beth Shrader) and 1920s Alice (Tess Kunik), unfairly institutionalized by controlling men. She also copes with her mother's (faculty actress D'Arcy Webb) mental illness, befriends unstable Lucy (Merri Rashoyan) and fears her own instability. Amy Feinberg's has put together a smart, beautiful, involving production; Sarah Ganek's terrific multilevel set is expertly lit by Rachel Sampley; and students give mature performances playing extremes that would challenge any professional actor.

—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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