Review: PANDORA'S BOOMBOX at Actors Company
absurdist, delightful metaphysical clown show through June 28th
Pandora’s Boombox is a metaphysical, absurdist, family-friendly clown show through June 28th at the Actors Company on Formosa, as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. This is the kind of show that I always hope to see at Fringe - clever, wildly unusual and imaginative, hugely entertaining, and nothing you would ever usually see in a standard theatre season.
By Karen Hall and More Play Productions, Pandora’s Boombox is thoroughly enchanting and surprisingly family-friendly. My little ones, age 7 and 8 years old, loved it every bit as much as the adults in the theatre. The two-person, one-hour mime production is very accessible, with almost no dialogue, which is refreshing. As a writer who loves to over-write, I admit that I have a weakness for words and a tendency to use a lot of them, in compulsory, lavish overabundance. But Pandora’s Boombox has almost no dialogue, and it is a master class in how little we need to words to tell an entertaining, vibrant, richly nuanced story.
Cota and Karen Hall have sparkling comedic chemistry together. Pandora's Boombox tells a mythical story about an Adam and Eve style fall from grace, when Hall unleashes Pandora-like chaos into the serene world by tapping on four mini white boomboxes. In contrast to another show that I recently saw at Fringe, Pandora’s Boombox has a brilliant use of aesthetic. The props, down to the smallest bird feather and candy-colored rotary phone, are vibrant and quirky and delightful, with an Amélie - like resonance.
There are many hilarious moments in the show, like Cota's brilliant impersonation of a dandified cowboy slinging wild gun-fingers, and Hall answering an infinitely ringing phone with increasing swings of panic, mania, and despair. As a comment on humanity and the nature of modernity, Pandora's Boombox has a kind of understated and compelling brilliance, but it also wickedly enjoyable as pure entertainment.
This is the Fringe show you do not want to miss.
Pandora's Boombox runs at the Actors Company through June 28th, as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. The Actors Company is located at 916 N.Formosa Ave. There is street parking on nearby streets. For tickets and more information, please click on the button below:
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