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Sunday, August 13, 2017

Fringe Festival 2017: "STRANGER"

Day: 10

Show: 39

Title: STRANGER

Category: Drama

By: Perspectives Theater Company

Created by: Morgan Holmes and Erika Levy

Location: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Summary: A rumination on the intersection of race and faith using movement, music, and dialogue.

Highlights: STRANGER is a beautiful, truthful, quiet, thoughtful show that really brings the audience into the unique experience of being a Jewish person of color. The three actors (Fernanda Badeo, Gabrielle Dominique, Ricardo Beaird) are all beautifully honest in their portrayal as they tell the varied stories of Jews of color (collected from extensive interviews). One of the best things that theater can do is provide a place for different voices to be heard, and this is a voice and a story I haven't heard much. Movement (designed by Emily Madigan) and sound (designed by Izzy Burger Welsh) are thoughtfully used to help tell the stories, which include a Jewish woman from Brazil whose parents move to the U.S. in search of a better life, an African American man who chooses to become Jewish, and a little black girl who's teased by the other kids for observing Passover instead of eating Easter candy. Much attention to detail is paid in the storytelling and the result is a poignant, moving, cohesive show in which people are allowed to give voice their own experiences.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.