Truth in advertising: this is what happened. But it’s not the only thing that happened. In what was undoubtedly the most Dada entry in the Fringe Fest, this free show packed the Spiegeltent. And then the drama began—not with the gorilla clad in a fawn-colored sport coat with matching flat cap, wearing glasses and holding a pipe. It became a festival of audience participation. First the “whoahs” as he sped up and slowed down his rocking. Then a canned drink and a kiss were delivered by a woman and greeted with applause and cheers.
The floodgates opened with a mind-boggling panoply of participation. Multiple selfies were taken, the rocking chair was moved several times, including a hoisting up, à la a Jewish wedding. There was a marriage proposal, and one group gathered to play cards, kindly dealing the gorilla in. Hats upon hats were stacked on his head, and one lovely lass proposed while a brave dude strolled across the stage wearing only an orange g-string. Twice. The score to the Bills game was updated a few times, with the corresponding Bills song in response. A local author quoted from his book. Carl Poteraychke and his brother Song Boy plugged Just to Be Close to You. An actress from Anti-Gone groomed the gorilla.
Someone tried to get the gorilla to sign a contract; the audience wisely advised him not to sign anything. He didn’t, of course.
But it wasn’t all applause and “aws.” In a shocking act of hostility, a jilted lover threw her ice water at the gorilla and stormed off. Boos ensued, and in a moment of kindness, two women came onstage from separate sections to clean up the gorilla and mop up the mess. Later, a gent cleaned the gorilla’s glasses and adjusted his coat. When a guy chugged the aforementioned canned drink, threw the can on the stage and left, another immediately admonished him for littering and removed the trash. Moments of redemption, rewarded with cheers and applause.
So maybe that’s what this was: an absorbing and amusing sociological experiment that proved that, in the end, we are more kind than cruel and more thoughtful than unthinking. Or maybe sometimes a young man dressed as a gorilla dressed as an old man rocking in a rocking chair is just a young man dressed as a gorilla dressed as an old man rocking in a rocking chair.
A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes and Then Leaves was a one-time-only Fringe event in the Spiegeltent on Thursday, September 18.
Featured photo: David Schiffhauer, provided by Rochester Fringe Festival.
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