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Home, Sweet, _____

Created and Performed by Collette Campbell
Part of the 2018 New York International Fringe Festival

Off Off Broadway, Solo Show
Runs through 10.22.18
FringeHUB, 685 Washington Street

 

by Sarah Gallegos on 10.21.18

 

Home Sweet _____Collette Campbell in Home, Sweet, ____. Photo by Bindlestiff Circus.

 

BOTTOM LINE: A lovely, playful clown show that pulls at the heart strings.

Home, Sweet, ____ starts the clowning with the first strum of the guitar. Although it is billed as a one-woman show, a guitarist (the engaging and musically impressive Sean Skahill) warms the audience up with some clever instrumental clowning that successfully prefaces the vibe of the rest of the piece. The plot of this show is quite simple: our protagonist (a charmingly honest Collette Campbell) is trying to figure out how to replicate "home," which is represented here by a drawing of a suburban house, complete with chimney and two-car garage. We follow along as Campbell comedically embraces trial and error until she finally discovers what home truly means to her.

This show feels like a warm bath, or a breath of fresh air. At forty minutes, it is a simple story that doesn’t feel self-indulgent or too brief. The rapport between Skahill and Campbell is easygoing and organic, which helps ease the audience into a form that isn’t always the easiest to engage. The music plays as a secondary character throughout, which helps illustrate the clown’s struggles and triumphs. Collette Campbell is a skilled clown, specific and rarely pushing for laughs, with a heartbreaking vulnerability that makes it as easy to laugh at her follies as it is to genuinely feel for her as she tries to find a way home. She is at ease with the audience, unafraid to look into our eyes, and seemingly unafraid of the silence if one of her bits falls flat.

I was shocked at how moved I was by the end of the piece, wiping a tear or two away as the final message of the piece is offered to the audience: home is where the heart is. And tonight my heart was at home spending time with Collette Campbell and Sean Skahill.

(Home, Sweet, _____ plays at FringeHUB, 685 Washington Street at Charles Street, through October 22, 2018. Meet at the PINK FringeNYC flag. The running time is 40 minutes. Performances are Sat 10/13 at 3, Wed 10/17 at 7, Fri 10/19 at 7, Sun 10/21 at 7, and Mon 10/22 at 5:30. There is no late seating at FringeNYC. Tickets are $22 (plus $3.69 ticketing fee), $16 (plus $3.51) for seniors, and are ONLY available online at fringenyc.org. For more information visit collettecampbell.com.)

Home, Sweet, _____ is created and performed by Collette Campbell. Music composed and performed by Sean Skahill.