Dandy Darkly’s All Aboard was a high energy hour of sinister story telling. “Where were you the night the Gaybird Steamer ran off her tracks?”
Resplendent storyteller Dandy Darkly served up another audacious hour of
hypnotic Southern Gothic grotesquery: creepy robots, African spider
gods, beauty shop gossip and inbred redneck freaks. Oh, also trains!
An ongoing stream in the flowing story line was the mass marketing of Lollybot, a toy that every child had to have. It had a hypnotic single eye. Of course, I couldn’t help but think of the pink Lollybot of Dog-Powered Robot fame. The mastermind behind his marketing mania was similar to Henry F. Potter from It’s a Wonderful Life. He only cared about the money that could be made. Greed ruled supreme.
The story told was delivered at a feverish pitch the entire show, much slipped by me as I concentrated on the details of costuming and the set. Giant golden spiders embellished Dandy’s shoes and lapel. Tassel’s waved and Dandy gestured. Glittering golden tights and puffy sleeves fully engrossed my attention. A golden goblet on a tiny side table lit by candles, was used to quench Dandy’s parched lips when he needed to pause to let a story point sink in. A quilt of spiders, pumpkins, top hats, Easter eggs, presents, and a one-eyed robot acted as a backdrop for all that unfolded.
The existential world of the south he painted was dark, mysterious, and sinister. Danger loomed at every turn.
Tickets are $12 plus a $10 Fringe button.
Remaining show times are:
9:00 PM
2:45 PM