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Remaining Performances:
Sunday, July 14, 3:15 p.m. Saturday, July 20, 4:15 p.m.
They say: “Getting smacked around at an Indian yoga retreat, training an invisible Turkish dog, teaching a Peruvian cabbie “Mamma Mia”… join one woman as she figures out what we all have in common. There must be a formula for humanity, right?”
Cara’s Take: Cigdem Oktem is funny. She manages to be so by looking at herself and those around her through an essentially forgiving lens.
The algorithm of the title (“A Person = …”) is divided into four parts, and Ms Oktem illustrates each one through stories and anecdotes. Most are detailed and self-deprecating, but a segment on control freaks offers some excellent examples in Russian Premier Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Reccep Erdogan. Oktem has traveled widely, and her personal moments come from a wide variety of places and situations. Her stories are nuanced and well-observed.
So far in my Capital Fringe reviews, I haven’t felt the need to worry about spoilers, but this one is different. I worry that if I share a moment I found amusing or thought-provoking, its impact will be lost when Oktem tells it. The show benefits from the shape it’s been given by the simple equation of what makes a person, but it’s the Oktem’s delivery and outlook othat makes it art.
See it if: You enjoy a wry take on life’s little moments of insanity.
Skip it if: You don’t enjoy occasionally scatological humor.