Tag: BABA

Fringe Recap: Alex Mahgoub & Baba and St. Francis

BabaI wasn’t planning to do a recap but since we are smack in the middle of the run and Lucky Chick and My Ass (in the world) are totally kicking asses with sold out shows, I figured hey, why not?

I didn’t get to see as many shows as I wanted but the ones I have seen have been super awesome. I’ll start with Baba.

One of my favorite sayings is that it all comes out in the light. That popped in my head as I read Brene Brown’s quote in the program. In a nutshell, owning our story is hard but not as difficult as running from it. Then the lights come up on Alex Mahgoub and we are instantly pulled into his story that most wouldn’t share because it’s painful. Mahgoub shares his story of growing up in Trenton, the son of self-made business man who emigrated to the states from Egypt. Mahgoub’s father is a tough man who started in a bagel shop and ends up owning several real estate properties and businesses. He was murdered when Alex was nine years old.

The one man performance is more storytelling rather than a performance. I appreciated that because this is a harrowing, moving, touching story of what could be living in the shadow of his father but breaking through the breakdown. And it is FUNNY.  Even as he moves through the characters, Mahgoub doesn’t forget about the audience who he has already let into the story at the top of the show.
TWO MORE SHOWS:
Thurs, Aug 27 @ 3:45PM
Sat, Aug 29 @ 7PM
Venue #04: Spectrum
121 Ludlow Street, 2nd Floor

BIAS ALERT. I went to grad school with playwright and actress Miranda Jonte, assistant director, Kerry Flanagan, and co-producer, Michael Bitalvo of St. Francis.

St. Francis is the patron saint of animals so if you are an animal lover, this is a heart wrenching tale of a young veterinarian fighting for them and herself. Under the flawless direction of Stephen Brotebeck, Jonte tightly written 75 minute play hits the audience in all the right places as she is pressured to find a new home for her animals before a corporation takes over; she is triggered by feelings when her old lover returns to town; she is the mentor of all mentors to her young assistant; and she tries to mend the pieces of her broken relationship with her dad.
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