Stage Takes

I must say, I haven’t laughed this hard in so long. Frank Sirracha, Club Clown, and Lord of the Rings really did great.

Disco Therapy by Liza Dealey-Thomason at The Brodwater, Second Stage

Disco Therapy by Liza Dealey-Thomason is a magical and unforgettable experience at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. The production describes itself as “a high-energy immersive cabaret blending live disco covers, comedy, storytelling, and audience participation into one unforgettable group therapy session,” and it absolutely delivers on that promise.

As a longtime admirer of Liza’s work, I couldn’t help but see Disco Therapy as a spiritual successor to her award-winning show Supernova. The piece beautifully demonstrates something I have long believed in art’s capacity to heal. In fact, the healing power of art was the focus of my master’s thesis, and witnessing an artist not just talk about healing but actively create it in real time felt genuinely moving.

Liza is a captivating performer, bringing warmth, authenticity, and remarkable presence to every moment. Even during preview-performance technical hiccups, she remained fully engaged with the audience, transforming potential disruptions into opportunities for connection. Her ability to invite audience members into the experience while carefully managing the show’s rhythm and pacing is impressive.

Part cabaret, part communal celebration, and part emotional release, Disco Therapy creates a space where joy, vulnerability, and play coexist. It’s a memorable, uplifting, and surprisingly healing theatrical experience that lingers long after the music ends. Highly recommended.

Meet the Robinsons at The Broadwater, Main Stage:

Annika Hoseth’s Meet the Robinsons: The Unoffical Musical Parody has everything you could want in a great musical. While adapted from the beloved 2007 film Meet the Robinsons, the production confidently establishes its own identity, bringing fresh ideas and original creative touches to the material. Though billed as a “musical parody,” it transcends that label, becoming a fully realized work that stands on its own merits.

The show is impressively well-structured, filled with heart, memorable music, and dynamic choreography that keeps the energy high throughout. One of its greatest strengths is its characterization. The cast manages to capture the exaggerated, cartoon-like spirit of the original film while creating characters who feel relatable, emotionally grounded, and genuinely developed. Each character is given room to grow, resulting in satisfying arcs that resonate with the audience.

Funny, heartfelt, imaginative, and bursting with creativity, Meet the Robinsons is a memorable ensemble piece that demonstrates the best of what the Hollywood Fringe Festival has to offer.

The Delulu Diaries at The Stephanie Feury Theater

Lucy Isaula stretches a fantasy premise into what becomes a raw, honest, comedic, and ultimately heartbreaking experience. The Delulu Diaries follows an unnamed woman whose apartment is broken into in the middle of the night, forcing her to confront not only a faceless intruder but also the stories and delusions she has built around herself. Through humor and vulnerability, Isaula explores struggles familiar to many young adults who find themselves carrying burdens they are not quite ready to face.

Isaula delivers a committed and engaging performance, balancing comedy and pain with sincerity. The Delulu Diaries is an ambitious piece that invites audiences into the messy, nonlinear process of confronting loss, identity, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. While the structure occasionally feels fragmented, and several blackouts toward the end interrupt the momentum, those choices also reinforce the protagonist’s fractured state of mind.

Frank Sriracha: Home Is Where The Stage Is at The Broadwater, Black Box

I think I just saw the funniest show in all of Fringe. Myself and the audience could not stop laughing for one moment. I’m laughing even reading the show description online. Max Charbonneau fully commits to the character’s ego, desperation, and unpredictability, taking theatrical risks that feel genuinely surprising. Hilarious satire of celebrity, self-importance, and the desperate need to be loved by an audience.

If you’re looking for a show that will leave your face hurting from laughter, Frank Sriracha’s Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony is an easy recommendation. One of the standout comedy experiences of the Fringe, it’s fearless, ridiculous, and unforgettable.

Club Clown at The Broadwater, Mainstage

The hottest, most exclusive nightclub in all of Fringe. A masterclass of clown work with top tier performers that will remind you how thrilling live comedy can be. This late-night showcase gathers an impressive lineup of clown performers, each bringing a uniquely bizarre, inventive, and unforgettable character to the stage. The show has an edge to it, embracing the weird, the unexpected, and the delightfully uncomfortable in ways that make live comedy feel exciting and unpredictable. Hosted by the endlessly charismatic William Thomas McFadden, the evening never loses momentum. Based on the schedule, the cast is rotating, but I can trust that each performer knows what they are doing.

The Council of Elrond: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Editon: Part 4 at The Broadwater, Black Box

A masterclass of directing film. No, a masterclass of comedy. Come revisit the making of The Lord of the Rings, with Peter Jackson and his cinematographer, with the onset conflicts that you will witness. As absurd as it sounds, yes. An excellent late night show Nonstop laughs, top tier comedy. These actors are all hilarious in how much they commit into their roles. A perfect comedy complete with majestic set props and technical effects.