I saw GRRL! Friday night at the Fringe. I had it written on top of my list of things to see; to be frank, I fully expected it to be a train wreck, and I was morbidly curious. GRRL!, at first glance, seemed like it would be one of those pieces that perfectly fits the “fringe”; an artsy, scarf-wearing, mime-filled and non-sequitur-crazed hour of weird. The marketing did it — the trailer was so frantic and bizarre (maybe you saw it — “BIG MAAAAAAAAAAAC”) I was ready to walk away from the piece with little to show for it but a good story for my friends at the Bedlam later.
I hereby owe Heidi Arneson an apology for my weak-minded assumption. GRRL! is bizarre, there’s no denying it. But it’s also lovely, full of heart, generous, rife with sweet abandon, and in spite of its spastic pace, it makes effortless sense. Arneson plays a series of characters ranging from her first grade teacher, Mrs. Carlson, to her junior high friends, to her first lover, to a plastic woman from the future. GRRL! is a series of moments (embarrassing and funny) that define one woman — and it turns out to be a series of moments that make sense to everyone in the audience. It’s lovingly played, and it’s unsettling; I get the feeling Arneson wants it that way. Ms. Arneson, change your marketing ploy — you’re really not that crazy. Everyone else, check out GRRL!. It’s worth seeing, and it’s still a good story for later.
Mimi
