Rating: 4
The House of Fitzcarraldo
KC Fringe Festival
I thought of 'Goodbye, Kansas' when I saw this. Why? As I wrote, 'G, K' is incoherent. Is that necessarily a bad thing? No. But it is if you've little else to offer.
'House of Fitzcarraldo' is more or less incoherent. It ever-so-thinly hinges on the filming of Werner Herzog's 'Fitzcarraldo'. Avid film fanatics have seen that film. It's less likely that the same can be said of avid theatergoers.
In the case of 'HoF', that hardly matters. The creators have made sure that you get the small amount of info necessary about not only the film but the love/hate relationship of its director and star.
And from there, you're on your own. And that's not a bad place to be. 'Hof' sets out to entertain - period. With that aim, it largely succeeds.
Does everything work? No. A few segments (i.e., the interview sequences & a few others) could be funnier, given their potential. But, for the most part, 'HoF' is a very entertaining show. (One very clever bit has a cast member speaking with the show's director - who, here, is a somewhat foul-mouthed hand puppet. Another inspired bit comes in the form of a phone call from a library re: an overdue fine.) The ensemble is very much on the same silly page, clowning around wonderfully. And occasionally they take us to esp. hilarious heights. (The 'Das Boot' song is so successful that you might wonder why there aren't more original songs in the show.)
While 'HoF' suffers a bit from padding, that is ultimately easily forgiven. Overall, the feel of the show is infectious. And it has a great finish!
read the review at KC Stage
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