“Clockstoppers” – Hephzibah Dutt, Fringe Reviewer

Lil Theatre Company out of Orlando, FL claims in its tagline, “We make big projects out of lil’ ideas.” With “Clockstoppers”, they have indeed attempted a vast project: a two-person, 60-minute historical survey of late 19th century personages and emerging technology, geographically chaptered from New York to San Francisco via Kansas City, in the format of a musical review of pop song parodies. Phew!

The audience will recognize songs Beyonce’s All The Single Ladies and Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA rewritten to narrate significant events surrounding the “railroad empire” era in the United States. The day time was standardized into four zones (“Five, including Canada!”), the conflict between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison (possible historical inaccuracies here, no doubt for comic effect), and the emergence of Coca-Cola (cocaine included!) during Prohibition are just of the few of historical song-and-dance snapshots.

The show abounds with energy, joie de vivre and comic charm, all which match the enterprising and exciting historical period survey here. An indulgent and charmed audience seemed to disregard the lack of polish during several song-and-dance numbers, delighted instead by educational, humorous flashbacks. And while I could turn a blind eye and deaf ear to those moments as well, I couldn’t help but be disappointed in the absence of a critical dimension to an otherwise intriguing project.

The show is marketed as a “two-woman musical romp” and I had anticipated a critical or satiric purpose to two women cross-dressing to perform the accomplishments of a plethora of men during a time when women were systematically being denied entrance onto the public scene. Indeed the appearance of Annie Oakley as the singular female stands out like a sore thumb. For, amidst the science and technology contributions showcased by the writers, the one woman featured here was a wild west show spectacle. She is portrayed like an awkward deer in the headlights, swings her gun around and strides around to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.

The talented scriptwriters and performers, Lindsay Taylor and Lara Zvirbulis, are not unknowing here either: they reference the suffragette movement and women’s role in starting the time of Temperance. Indeed, the show often seems to swoop in on critical commentary around issues of oppression that were pertinent in the 1880’s (and still existent today), but the references are often in passing. They barely skim the surface before lofting again into the high plains of song and dance. Despite this, I appreciated the sincere efforts to comment on USA’s double standards regarding immigrants: the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was held up as a sad, subtle mirror to our current climate.

As it stands now “Clockstoppers” is a cheery, anachronistic framework for an historical-educational show. I am confident that future iterations of this project—after significantly more polish, and a little more critical consideration of what it is meant to achieve (and realistically can take on)—will be a delight to audiences of all ages.