Cyrano-a-Go-Go at Elgin Fringe Festival

Forget about the nose ... Cyrano de Bergerac is the classic embodiment of a surrogate voice and unrequited love. By this definition he is essentially the archetype for all actors.

In this one-man show, Brad McEntire uses the landmark play as a device for sharing personal stories, history and commentary — combinations of purported fact, impressions and opinions that combine, as art always does, to deliver truth.

Moving in and out of different discourse worlds like distinct scenes in a play, McEntire alternately recites from the original 1897 Edmond Rostand play, relates anecdotes and even comments on the piece he is presenting. One message is "We're all just story tellers." Another is that poetry and warfare are just two separate mediums for declaring love, loyalty and freedom.

Complete with a printed study guide, it's a 70-minute think piece that deserves your attention. See McEntire as Cyrano Friday at 9pm, Saturday at 10:30pm and Sunday 4:30pm at the Theater at Side Street Studio Arts.

Audacity Theatre Lab at 2018 Elgin Fringe Festival

Every great piece of theatrical art bears the stamp of something like divine intervention, in the form of a few words from the script that sum up the piece perfectly. Awash in the torrent of words that is "Robert's Eternal Goldfish" is this phrase: "horribly adorable."

The angry rants and picayune observational humor are just camouflage for a beautifully composed long-form prose poem filled with layered imagery, expressed through vivid descriptions of cafes, apartment life, memories and dreams. This piece would read beautifully on paper.

But Brad McEntire executes it convincingly as a neurotic loner in a hoodie and knit cap, with a musical and emotive delivery that fixes your attention no matter what the hour of night -- or degree of caffeination. Like anger management group therapy, you might be healed just by listening.