Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
Emotions and feelings from the past and present are absorbed by the body in about six seconds. By holding onto our feelings and being a slave to them, we can go numb and get lost in the enchanted forest of sentiment.
In this dark and sometimes silly tale, we follow Mary Lynn, a sunny, middle-aged woman in arrested development with a predilection for escapism and pretending in every way-including that she is "just fine!"
She has lost her job, husband, purpose, and dignity and is realizing life's not turning out like she expected. With one fateful bite of cake, she unwittingly takes a trip inside her own head to confront the feelings she spent a lifetime blocking-and blacking-out. With the help of an irresistible cast of characters including Dr. Dom, Mistress of Emotions and Holly, a spiritualist in an unexpected form, Mary Lynn faces her greatest agents of escape. Boys and Booze. Will she return from this head trip victorious, or is she doomed to spend her remaining years in a blackout?'
A silly thing about serious things, considering it is one woman's dark comic reckoning with emotions, as a true story exposes the woman with control issues and the complexity of imprisonment by her own feelings. She wears a mask for the monster in her dreams. Her outer life reflects her inner state.
Deeply real, honest and heartfelt, many of us can associate with our own self-destruction habits and understand that only we ourselves can get liberty and sunshine into our lives.
Created and performed by Kerri Van Auken and developed with and directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson (another great production under her fingertips), Blackout - No Hard Feelings is produced by Soaring Solo Studios. Kerri's portrayal of her enlightening journey of self-discovery, acceptance and freedom is hilariously entertaining. The show is well developed, and the comedic moments are precise with perfect timing.
This production is at the Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave, 90046, during the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2025. The remaining performances will be June 15th at 2:45 pm and June 26th at 5:15 pm. Runtime is 70 minutes.
Tickets are $15 and are available on the Hollywood Fringe Website.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/11924