Shows weave eclectic tapestry

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

The inaugural Capital Fringe Festival is front-loaded with theater and performance art. Here's a sampling of the offerings, which range from more traditional one-person shows and wily cult film send-ups to a cheesy lounge act and a trailer-trash, all-girl retelling of "Waiting for Godot."

• 'Self-Obsession in Blue'

"Thelma and Louise meet Samuel Beckett" is how actress Jennifer Harder describes this dark comedy by Kelleen Conway Greenfield, which will be staged by the New York-based the Management theater company at the Fringe. "It follows 'Waiting for Godot' very closely, except that instead of male characters, there are these two women stuck in the desert after their 1972 Pinto breaks down," Miss Harder says. "The characters are exactly like Thelma and Louise -- one so childlike and naive, one jaded and cynical."

The comedy boasts explosions, death, beer and a drive-by from God, and Miss Harder reveals that audiences also should expect "extreme, perverse humor and a message that is ultimately uplifting. There is a sense of wonder about it. Life doesn't drag on and on forever, like with 'Godot.'"

Though Miss Harder does not go so far as to say "Self-Obsession" is a family show -- "no violence or adult situations, but a few expletives here and there" -- she notes that the "clown aspect" of the piece might appeal to audiences well below the boomer generation. "The characters are so self-obsessed they are more creatures than people. And there is the whole aspect of friendship -- these two women are such great friends they are almost enemies."

"Self-Obsession in Blue" will be performed at the Warehouse Theater, 1021 Seventh St. NW, on July 22, 26, 29 and 30. For ticket information and times, call 800/811-4111.

• 'The Eddie Lounge Show'

By day, he's a desk jockey. By night, he's a lounge lizard, tickling the ivories and twirling swizzle sticks.

Ed Spitzberg and his cocktail-loving alter ego, Eddie Lounge, have been entertaining audiences and taking requests from San Francisco to the Vegas strip since 2001. It's the first time in the District for Eddie and his saucy (or is that sauced?) sidekicks Mo Heeto and Gina Tonic and his band, the Cosmos -- but they hope to make the Warehouse Theater a steady gig.