“A College Drop-Out, Stand-up Comedian from Kentucky Walks into a Bar…” … Okay, it wasn’t a bar, but it was a full house at the Unicorn Theatre’s Jerome Stage for Stewart Huff’s “Donating Sperm to My Sister’s Wife.” The stand-up comedian is relatively new to Fringe festivals, and this is his first time bringing the…

Sebastian Smith captured the audience from the moment he walked on stage. Setting out his props, an array of food and over-the-counter medications, he sat himself in front of the mic and began to tell the audience the story of his immigrant family. In a mixture of English and Spanish, which he helpfully translated, he…

A perennial Fringe favorite, KC’s Magic Showcase is a family-friendly show which entertains all ages. The magicians are members of the Society of American Magicians and they are in all senses pros. Each performance features different magicians, so each show is different. This show was emceed by Cosmo and included a master of rope tricks,…

Comedian Emmy Rivera uses Puerto Rican American Gothic to tell the story of what happens when a Puerto Rican Jersey girl moves to the mid-western college town of Lawrence, KS. Her performance is intended to show the struggles she faced while working through the struggles of being a “perfect” grandmother despite her long-ago buried party…

My first Annie Kalahurka experience was almost exactly what I expected.  Wonderful. Her sold-out performance of Help Me Help You Me captured me and the audience from its very first moments. Bursting with energy and a wonderful sense of self, she commanded the stage during the entirety of her part musical, part comedy, part drama performance. Her…

‘With Me, and Such as Me, It is Different’ is a one person performance of half poetic speeches, half dance, and half concert. Yes, there are that many halves. One could not help but smile from the energy pouring out of Ahafia Jurkiewicz-Miles. An impassioned hybrid of speech and poem, Ahafia Jurkiewicz-Milescould could not stand…

Caddy Shakes hit the stage of the Buffalo Room for the 2019 Kansas City Fringe Festival, to great acclaim. A Shakespearean mash-up of the American comedy film Caddyshack, the three person, one act play included appearances by Lavinia Bottom, Dardanius, Asst. Greenskeeper, Carliolanus, Gophers, Kenny Loggins, and a Baby Ruth. Shimmying through parodies of famous…

Do you know that feeling you get when you start a new book, very first page immediately grabs your insides, you just know you are hooked and can’t wait to finish the book, but also that you are going to enjoy the wonderful ride? That’s how I felt watching ‘Deceit’, a truly enthralling play written…

Brie Henderson’s Six Degrees Of Defecation is an anthology of several “poo stories” set in a courtroom with witnesses “testifying” to their horrific experiences in several “real life” situations. While this performance is very ambitious and original in its scope, it was at times uneven in delivery. Ms. Henderson was quite inventive with the variety…