2 Shorts in Black and White:  Count Dracula’s Cafe
Goethe-Institut —- Gallery

Remaining Performances
Sunday, July 12 at 2:30 pm.  Thursday, July 16 at 9:00 pm.  Thursday, July 23 at 6:00 pm.  Sunday, July 26 at 6:00 pm.

They Say: 2 short plays: Count Dracula lost his creativity because the FDA doesn’t accept gays blood… now Drac needs a good man to suck!  Then, a man dies and returns to life with power to foretell the future.

Ann’s Take: Clever occasionally, disjointed primarily, Scot Walker’s two shorts deliver as advertised without adding much more.

The first piece, Count Dracula’s Cafe, tells the tale of two vampires who take over a Starbucks in an effort to attract the gay blood they desperately need.  The how’s and why’s of their struggles are never fully fleshed out because the 10-minute sketch is really just an opportunity to crack a steady stream of not-so-witty gay one-liners.  Like, Liza Minnelli one-liners.  I challenge you to come up with a gay cliché that wasn’t covered in this sketch.  After every “suck” joke was exhausted, the stand up routine abruptly ends with a well-meaning but  unsophisticated discussion of the Supreme Court.  Fringe bonus points for delivering political message through a barechested man in hotpants.

The evening’s second piece , Molasses Toast and French Fried Eels, attempts a more serious look at life and choices.   Kenneth, the quintessential common man, dies, comes back to life,  and proceeds to predict the deaths of his three companions.  Really, really long predictions that struggle to add value to the story.  For those of us who mustered the strength to pay attention until the end without nodding off to stare at the ceiling tiles, we are rewarded with a conclusion that can only be described as – Huh?  I’ll leave it at that.

The scripts could have benefited from some serious red ink, but a patient Fringe-goer  may catch the rare, well-timed quip lurking within the clumsy dialogue.  I do recall smiling once or twice.  Plus, the cast is endearing.  You can’t help but root for actors trying to enunciate “homosexual” in ill-fitting fangs.

See it if: You want to know how toast and death are similar.

Skip it if: You actually want to know how toast and death are similar.