Honorees De Ballsack | Rob Salerno's Balls! narrowly wins our "Best Fringe Cancer Play" face off.
Little kids like to while away lazy summer afternoons by arguing whether The Flash could outrun Superman or if The Incredible Hulk could beat up Wolverine. During the Fringe, we here at SEE spent our summer afternoons sitting in the beer tent and imagining slightly more cultured battles taking place. For instance, which of The Big Kahuna’s two cancer plays really is the best, we wondered? Which of the two adaptations of Hamlet is the least rotten in the state of Denmark? And do any of those ridiculously long Fringe titles are concealing the best play underneath all those dozens of words?
Look no further to find out the answers. Like Iron Chef’s Chairman Kaga, we have gone ahead and pitted these plays against each other in our critical stadium to determine once and for all whose scenes reign supreme.
BATTLE #1: DUELING HAMLETS
Actor Raoul Bhaneja would seem to be at a distinct disadvantage in this fight—as the only actor onstage in Hamlet (Solo), he’s outnumbered by the cast of Hamletmachine four to one, and he doesn’t even have any props onstage with him to use as a weapon. But as SEE reviewer Paul Matwychuk argued our special Fringe Review Edition, Bhaneja’s solitariness is his shows greatest asset: “He slips effortlessly from one role to another,” Matwychuk wrote, “changing his voice and body language just enough to differentiate the characters without the whole thing turning into an overheated vaudeville turn.... Even with all the conventional theatrical trappings stripped away, Hamlet (Solo) is a rich dramatic experience.”
Still, fellow reviewer Giorgia Severini makes Hamletmachine sound like a fierce competitor: “Hamletmachine chews up all your familiar memories of Hamlet and spits them out, leaving plenty of crumbs of Freud and Marx still clinging to its beard.” But in Severini’s view, Hamletmachine’s engine quickly runs out of gas. “There are many moments that should be shocking and uncomfortable, but the three actresses are either too inexperienced or unsure of themselves to act—much like Hamlet himself, come to think of it.”
Hamlet (Solo): 4 Stars
Hamletmachine: 2 Stars
WINNER: Hamlet (Solo)
BATTLE #2: CANCER PLAYS
MiLF vs. Balls!... a play about breast cancer versus a play about testicular cancer. This was a tough one for the referee to rule on—both playwrights are tough-minded survivors, and both of their shows pack a powerful comic/dramatic one-two punch. MiLF pairs up a raw talent (Susan Jane Markus, making her stage debut in a script written by her daughter Ava Jane Markus) with an experienced cornerman, Fringe vet Jeff Page, who our reviewer Fawnda Mithrush says “directs the show with his usual sure touch.” Surprisingly, the dramatic crux of MiLF isn’t Mother Markus’ battle with cancer; instead, Mithrush says, “it’s Ava Jane’s affectionate tribute to her onstage mother... who more than holds her own.”
But Balls! has a powerful weapon on its side: ballsack jokes, and lots of them! Actor/playwright Rob Salerno’s script even includes something called a Scrotathon, says reviewer Elliot Kerr, who discreetly neglects to describe just what that might be. “But it’s all just a ruse,” he says, “to get you into a very serious, seriously hilarious drama.... Salerno and Adam Goldhamer are amazingly diverse performers, switching between the heartfelt moments and the over-the-top scrotum gags as swiftly as a kick to the... well, you get the idea.” It’s close, but we’re going to have to award Balls! a TKO... a testicular knockout.
MiLF: 5 Stars
Balls: 4 Stars
WINNER: Balls!
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