There are so many wonderful shows up in this year's Hollywood Fringe Festival, but here are our favorites:

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Villain: An American Story

From The Gut Creations

http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4968

“Villain” compares the lives of two families who have to deal with the aftermath of the same tragedy, the shooting of a black teenage boy by a white police officer. This modern play examines the culture that portrays African American men as dangerous criminals and the consequences that carries in the justice system. Devon Clark, age 17, is shot by Officer William P. Thompson in Long Beach California, early one fall evening. “Villain” takes place in the 24 hours after the incident.

 

Kassandra

http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4926

Adapted from the novel by Christa Wolf and set against the backdrop of the mythological story of Trojan War, Kassandra tells the timeless story of the struggle between men and women, the will of the masses and the individual and the destructive force of war, where in the end she chooses autonomy over life.

 

Othello and Otis

Bag O’ Bones Collective

http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4904

From the team that brought you Shakespeare & Chill to last year’s fringe, a stunning visual dreamscape that explores white apathy towards the African American community via the voices of Otis Redding, Solange, Ibeyi, Shakespeare, James Baldwin and others. Devised by Francesca Gámez & Tinks Lovelace. Directed by Tinks Lovelace. Choreographed by Paulina Gámiz. Assitant Directed by Francesca Gámez. Produced by BAG O’ BONES Collective

 

Converted

http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5291

CONVERTED, the Exorcism of Matthew Hall, is an original one-act comedy about the dangers and absurdity of conversion therapy. The play follows the story of Matt and Zeke, two boys who are caught having sex while attending a conversion therapy retreat in southern Ohio. Repulsed by the boldness of their actions, the eccentric leader of the retreat, Brother Mike, decides to perform an exorcism on Matt in order to free him from the demons possessing his soul. Through a series of exercises, all of which have been found to be actual methods used in conversion therapy, Brother Mike and his partner, Sister Constance, attempt to convert the boys to a heterosexual lifestyle, thus saving them from eternal damnation.

 

The Women of Lockerbie

http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5080

A modern, Greek tragedy about the triumph of love over hate. This poetic play is about a mother from New Jersey who roams the hills of Lockerbie Scotland, looking for her son’s remains, which were lost in the crash of Pan Am 103. She meets the women fof Lockerbie, who are fighting the US Government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the plane’s wreckage. Determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, the women want to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victim’s families. “A powerful, thoughtful exploration of how grief changes over time” The New Yorker

 

The Goddesses Guide: Adura for the Women of the African Diaspora

http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4934?

Follow the revealing journey of three Yoruba goddesses as they grapple with the responsibility of creating a guide for black women trying to survive in a world that doesn’t always allow them to thrive.

When summoned by three modern day women, Oba, Oshun, and Oya, powerful Orisha sisters, attempt to make sense of societal obstacles unique to women of African Diaspora. They discover that the task at hand is challenging, even for goddesses.

*2018 Fringe Fest Scholarship Winner

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Hercules Insane

School of Night

http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5303

Juno, Queen of the Gods, is pissed. It’s bad enough her husband Jove has a habit of seducing mortals. But it’s intolerable such an infidelity has spawned the semi-divine hero Hercules. By dispatching countless monsters to eliminate Jove’s bastard, Juno has inadvertently furnished him serial triumphs to cement his fame. And now Hercules has invaded the underworld to conquer death itself.

But Juno has one last trick to try. Employing darkest magic she curses her hated stepson to go insane.

When Hercules returns from the underworld to discover Greece conquered by a tyrannical warlord, he leaps into martial action in his homeland’s defense. His certain triumph may prove short lived, however. For when Juno’s curse takes hold Greece will face the unstoppable wrath and violent rage of a demi-God gone murderously insane.