Erik Blair

blackboxing

erik blair · June 07, 2019 certified reviewer
A very smart parody of the one-man show, Ritchey shows his talent in creation and characterization in surprising and engaging ways.... full review

Sins

erik blair · June 07, 2019 certified reviewer
A show with a unique twist that makes it a great example of how to have fun within a Fringe show.... full review

Laertes Loves Hamlet Loves Ophelia

erik blair · June 13, 2018 uncertified reviewer
It is a rare thing to see a cast that is this in sync with each other. Each character has moments that are specifically relevant to the overall narrative and the actors know -exactly- how to let the actor and character have those moments. It's a perfectly choreographed scenario that is surprising in both its simplicity and its effectiveness. ... full review

Red Flags

erik blair · June 22, 2017 certified reviewer
It's incredibly hard to describe an experience like this without immediately giving away either too much or too little about what actually happens in this situation. That's why people are saying "it's a first date". Because it IS--and it's much more, as well. It's a LARP, and an immersive experience, and a first date and a performance with a narrative structure hidden deep within it. All of that and...and yet.... And yet, I think the experience will be entirely different for every single ... full review

Thugnadian's: Thug in the Sun tour.

erik blair · June 18, 2017 certified reviewer
DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW. PERIOD. This is one of the most unique and interesting one-man shows happening at this year's Fringe festival and you will regret not seeing the first incarnation of this amazing character from Zachary Johnson-Dunlop.... full review

Airplane LIVE!

erik blair · June 18, 2017 certified reviewer
I wanted to like this show. I truly did. And while there were moments that I laughed, pulling off a parody of a parody is an INCREDIBLY tough idea. And in this case, for me the show fails to manage to do so throughout most of its performance.... full review

Sweet Dreams: The Prologue

erik blair · June 18, 2017 certified reviewer
I grabbed a ticket for this as fast as I possibly could--and I'm glad I did. Immersive theater grows rapidly in Los Angeles, and while this is just a taste of a larger experience to come in October, that taste is both creepy, compelling and VERY interactive indeed.... full review

Human Hothouse: The Aftershow

erik blair · June 18, 2017 certified reviewer
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS SHOW. And I hate after shows. HATE them. I think having a show that's nothing but overblown fan appreciation stretched out to an hour is the height of wasted space in an hyper-saturated media. It caught the nature of this type of self-promoting nonsense perfectly and then added real twists and intrigue into the middle of the fluffy irrelevant crap. Beautifully done, beautifully acted, beautiful across the board.... full review

Absolute Zero (How Lovers and Sad People Hold Up the World)

erik blair · June 24, 2016 certified reviewer
I came into this play with no conception of what I was going to see. What I found was a play that ultimately is about the meaning of love. What is love--who can love whom--is love fragile--is it forever--is it powerful--is it salvation, or damnation, or worthless? The characters in this play are all circling around the idea of love and that's a play that is really worth seeing. Unfortunately, the play that currently exists is deeply flawed and in need of revision before that greater play can ... full review

The Wrong Show: Trigger Happy

erik blair · June 24, 2016 certified reviewer
I have spent a long time in Los Angeles looking for great burlesque. There are many troupes and teams in the city and area that claim to be great--and my hopes are nearly always dashed. So when I met Lemi Atom at one of the Fringe meetups and was told that this particular show was going to be different, I came with pretty diminished expectations. I left surprisingly impressed with a show that managed to be both brave, inspired and in several cases STELLAR burlesque. Some of the numbers were ok... full review

erik blair