Black Box Theatre Solo Fringe Fest, August 29 through 31

Friday, August 29, through Sunday, August 31

Black Box Theatre, 1623 Fifth Avenue, Moline IL

Treating audiences to a number of enthralling, one-person performances over the course of Labor Day Weekend, Moline's Black Box Theatre will host its inaugural Solo Fringe Fest from August 29 through 31, this celebration of music, drama, comedy, dance, and storytelling boasting stellar talents whose work has taken them throughout the Midwest, across the country, and overseas.

On Friday, August 29, the Solo Fringe Fest will begin at 5 p.m. with Jeff Adamson's Twisted Tales of the Quad Cities, in which the area author, comedian, and producer of Guys In Ties improv will present entertaining and strange histories tied to the local area. Previously presented at such venues as the Putnam Museum & Science Center, the German American Heritage Center, and Rock Island's Hauberg Estate, Featuring tales ranging from a misplaced river to our local connection to the JFK assassination, Adamson's solo vehicle was described by WVIK radio as "a pictorial smorgasbord of our QC history" that "will test your beliefs and fill your brain with things you should know."

Then, at 7:30 p.m. on August 29, the Black Box's Solo Fringe Fest will boast Shelley Cooper's Rag Doll on a Bomb Site, which the area actor, director, and Augustana College assistant professor performed at the Hollywood Fringe Festival only a few months ago, and which The Hollywood Reporter said "weaves a poetic spell.". Cooper's one-woman musical is set in 1928 Berlin, and shows famed performer Lotte Lenya in crisis just before the world premiere of the musical classic The Threepenny Opera. The drama unfolds in Lenya's dressing room as she performs from her legendary repertoire and recounts experiences from her past, including the many compromises she was forced to make in order to survive as an entertainer, and a human being. Nominated at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for “Best Dance and Physical Theatre Show," infusing a new contemporary score composed by two-time off-Broadway award winner Shelley Cooper, and boasting contemporary choreography, this solo musical dance show takes a gritty look at a woman who fled her abusive home and survived adversity.

On Saturday, August 30, day two of the Solo Fringe Fest gets underway with Ballet Quad Cities' latest "Dance Me a Story" presentation for young audiences, with Emily Kate Long reading and dancing to Shel Silverstein’s “Danny O’Dare, the dancin’ bear, Ran away from the County Fair, Ran right up to my back stair And thought he’d do some dancin’ there.”  Area musician Paxton Sherbeyn performs from his repertoire at 5 p.m., playing those old blues, country, and soul tunes you haven't heard for a while, as well as original compositions. And at 7:30 p.m., Tommy Mulligan will bring to the stage American Dreamer: The Life & Times of Henry A. Wallace, a solo vehicle about the agricultural innovator and founder of Pioneer Hi-Bred seed corn company who became U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and later Vice President and Secretary of Commerce under President Franklin Roosevelt. Named “the most influential Iowan of the 20th Century," Wallace’s legacy includes accomplishments in science, journalism, business, academics, politics and humanitarian efforts. 

The Black Box's Solo Fringe Fest will wrap up on Sunday, August 31, its first event a 3 p.m. staging of Dan Haughey's A Poe: Edgar Allan Poe's Imagination, the author, performer, and Theatre Professor Emeritus from Black Hawk College well-regarded for his previous solo presentation Mr. U.S. Grant: A Man & a Patriot. In Haughey's latest solo venture, he becomes a modern critic for a prominent metropolitan newspaper as he reflects on and illuminates – through the art of oral interpretation – the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe. Some of Poe's greatest poems, short stories, and a satire or two, will be featured as Haughey both expresses the emotion of Poe’s works, and criticizes them in the guise of a skeptical rock and roll music critic.

A solo concert set with area musician Richard Roberts Jr will follow at 5 p.m., the set boasting a delightful blend of Americana, country, folk, and blues. And the festival will officially conclude that night with the 7:30 p.m. on Elissa Dynes' one-woman piece Ro, which explores the complex gender dynamics and economic pressures that shape many relationships today. The story follows Ro, a 28-year-old woman, as she navigates emotional and financial hardships of being in a relationship, ultimately leading Ro to confront what she must do to put herself first. A native of Annawan, Illinois, Dynes' interest in women and politics began during her undergraduate studies at the University of Dubuque, where she earned a BA in Theatre and Politics, and Ro is a contemporary adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s one-woman play Before Breakfast. Developed as part of Dynes’ Independent Research Project for her MFA in International Theatre Practice and Performance at Rose Bruford College (London), this adaptation reimagines O’Neill’s classic within a modern context, and Dynes' production includes references to mental illness, drugs, nude photos, and opioids.

Admission to the performances in the inaugural Solo Fringe Fest is “pay what it's worth” pricing, and more information on the weekend is available by calling (563)284-2350 and visiting TheBlackBoxTheatre.com.