The Greatest-Er Show at Fringe – Review by Halle Parris

‘The Greatest-Er Show at Fringe’ was visually enticing with some impressive feats, such as women with rope tricks, hula hoop aerialists, tap dancers, and the like. Might one say it was the Greatest-Er Show at Fringe? Close, but not quite.

Setting itself with high standards, some of the acts fell flat. Particularly, a juggling act wherein the juggler dropped a few balls as nearby aerialists attempted to distract the audience with hula hoop tricks. There were some good dance scenes, however. Namely, the Indian inspired dances and the Cat Quartet dancing girls. Another good performance was the rope woman. But hands down, the blind aerialist finale was the most impressive.

Ultimately, the Greatest-er Show at Fringe was good. In order to be great, this show needed more breath-taking stunts. Where was the promised knife thrower? Where were the aerialists gliding through the sky towards each other like butterflies? With very short acts, the better performances felt too short and the bad ones felt too long. It’s a reminder that less is more. Had VidaDance Company and KC Aerial Arts focused on their most popular tricks and practiced better coordination and transitions, this could’ve easily been the best show at Fringe. If only, if only..