"The Awakening" by Savage Umbrella at the Southern Theater

The 1899 novel The Awakening by Kate Chopin was ahead of its time. It depicts a woman who feels constrained and unsatisfied within the strict confines of the gender roles of the time, namely as wife and mother (like a precursor to Betty Draper). Only after Kate Chopin's death was The Awakening appreciated for the feminist work that it is, and it's appropriate that Savage Umbrella is bringing us their version of the story during Women's History Month, adapted by director Laura Leffler-McCabe and created with the ensemble. With a large cast utilizing physical theater techniques, live music performed by an onstage three-person band, and beautiful production design, The Awakening is a truly lovely and moving story of a woman's struggles to find her place in a world that doesn't accept her.

Fringe Festival: "Into the Unreal City"

Day: 4

Show: 15

Title: Into the Unreal City

Category: Musical theater

By: Catalog Models

Written by: Gemma Irish and Mark Sweeney

Location: a walking tour that begins outside the Rarig Center

Summary: Zeke and Bet are a young married couple struggling with the small and big questions in life. The audience follows them around the city as they discuss, sing, remember their past, and dream of their future.

Highlights: One of four all new "site-specific" shows at the fringe, Into the Real City takes place on the city streets and campus walkways of the West Bank neighborhood.* Musician Zeke and writer Bet are happily married but struggling to find time for each other and their dreams. As we follow them, they run into younger and older versions of themselves. Not much happens; they sing a few songs, ask questions, and look forward hopefully into the future - "the doing and the learning and the figuring." It's unabashedly sincere and romantic - the cynical need not apply. Along the way you get to experience the sights and sounds and smells of the neighborhood in an immersive experience. Yes sometimes you can't hear them, or there's a bit of awkward silence while wait-wait-waiting for the light to change, but that's part of the uniqueness of the experience. The trio of Zekes (Russell Dugger, Tristan Miller, and Mark Sweeney) and Bets (Amber Davis, Laura Mason, and Shaina Ferguson) are all lovely and appealing (and do get as close as you can to the performers, they won't bite, and it will enhance your experience). This is a wonderfully unique theater experience - just what the Fringe is for (this is one that you definitely want to reserve in advance - with an audience of just 20, it's a high sell-out risk).

*You will be walking outside and going up and down stairs, so plan accordingly.