Traveling Showcase from California bring their musical cabaret to the Fringe for the first time as
In just 40 minutes we warm to Lydia Trueblood owing much to the performance of Eldridge and her experience.
Based on one of America’s first female serial killers Lydia stars songwriter Liz Eldridge who performs the songs whilst playing ukulele and harmonium with support from Annabelle played by Clara Dykstra on trumpet and accordion. Eldridge wrote the show with director Efrain Schunior who uses the stage well with minimum props, dark backdrop and clever use of lighting to evoke the moods of the piece. Widow Lydia Trueblood is a powerful character in burlesque wear commanding attention as the story develops through prose and song. Everybody Love Me opens the show in powerful fashion and songs like Dark Water, Whiskey and The Crone tell the story with live music. This small intimate theatre lends itself to the closeness of the characters. With no amplification the experience heightens as the action becomes personal to the audience and we warm to the widow rather than dislike her for her crimes. The introduction of Mr Lawman (played by Bryan Bertone making his Fringe debut) suggests the end of Lydia’s crimes but the outcome is revealed before the concluding song Back On The Prowl (parts one and two).
In just 40 minutes we warm to Lydia Trueblood owing much to the performance of Eldridge and her experience. After all, she has sung at the Viper Room in LA with her band Many Distant Cities and appeared in Hannah Montana among many TV credits and can add her Fringe triumph also.
