Reviews of shows from the New York International Fringe Festival will appear on ArtsBeat through the festival's close on Aug. 26. For more information, go to fringenyc.org.
Likability counts when you ask an audience to pay to hear a slice of your life story. Even if you're baring uncomfortable truths or idiosyncratic family details - as so many one-person Fringe shows do - it helps when you seem as if you'd still be fun to be around when you're not talking about yourself.
The playwright Armando Merlo doesn't have an especially dark or stormy tale to share in “Salamander Starts Over.†It's 60 minutes of growing up, suburban-Jersey-style: tempestuous parents, druggie friends, Catholic high school, and the travails and triumphs that come with being an 88-pound novice on the wrestling team. But Mr. Merlo is physically agile and a good mimic. He's the performer as kid brother - likable, which makes his show likable, too .
Crisply directed by Leigh Ann Pedra, “Salamander Starts Over†takes its title from the nickname that a teammate slaps on Mr. Merlo: “You little pipsqueak … you're slippery and slimy, no one can grab you.†But the show's heart is in Mr. Merlo's portrait of his gruff father and wise, weakened-by-illness Cuban mother, for whom grape Slurpees are a secret treat.
“There are two types of people in life - the watchers and the doers,†she warns when he's thinking of quitting the squad. As this solo performance makes clear, Mr. Merlo got the message.
“Salamander Starts Over†continues through Sunday at The White Box, 440 Studios, 440 Lafayette Street, Third Floor, East Village; (866) 468-7619
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