Festival Fringe

ARTIE (director Will O'Connell), a zookeeper, writes crummy songs, and dreams of fame. His wife Bananas (Sonya Kelly) is insane. Horrendous girlfriend Bunny (a snappy, if wistful Charlotte Harrison) nags Artie about running off to Hollywood; and the Pope has come to New York to end the Vietnam war.

John Guare's hilarious, painful, often vicious play is confidently handled by an inventive, lively young cast well able to sustain the surreal comedy. Kelly's touching, wackily despairing, deftly detailed Bananas dominates this energetic, flamboyantly-directed production. Rebecca O'Mara's subversive portrayal of a Cagney-like nun also impresses. The show to see.