2015 Hollywood Fringe: Smile, Baby

The Others Theater Company returns to Hollywood Fringe this year with Smile, Baby – a smart and often hilarious show about the decidedly unfunny topic of street harassment.  Through a brisk and breezy 50 minutes, the audience is presented with a multitude of sketches that highlight the damaging implications behind a simple “smile, baby.”  While it appropriately addresses the seriousness of harassment, the show never forgets that its primary objective is to entertain.

One memorable sketch – the fashion show – teaches women how to dress to in a way that will repel men and send a clear message that they are “not asking for it.”  Whether it be gaudy mismatched prints that will blind anyone who gazes upon them or covered in so many layers as to be virtually unrecognizable as a human shape, women are given several options to achieve “the hottest look to get you overlooked.”

The strongest piece involves a therapy session with a lesbian couple and “the other man.”  In this case, the other man is the pretend boyfriend one of the women invents in order to deflect the unwanted advances from men at bars.  Her girlfriend is jealous of this pretend boyfriend Brock, who has become such a fixture in her girlfriend’s life as to have received a name, a job, a whole background story.  The sketch becomes delightfully absurd as the situation is pushed to the extreme.  Yet, wisely the piece remains tethered to reality: we are able to identify with the girlfriend who cannot help but feel like she’s in competition with Brock who can protect her girlfriend better than she can. 

Amidst the humor are a few moments of education as well – particularly for the portion of the audience who hasn’t experienced frequent street harassment.  One moment finds a woman explaining why even a friendly hello or seemingly innocuous catcall from a stranger can be unsettling: “It’s never just baby.  It all blends together.   Baby.  Sexy.  Bitch.  Whore.  I can’t tell the difference anymore.”  When two women who meet at a bus stop late at night must part ways, their parting farewell – a simple “good luck” - is chilling. 

The all-female cast is strong, but the writing is truly the star.  Savannah Dooley has crafted a remarkable range of material – each piece contributes something new to the conversation, and while a few moments feel a little instructional, on the whole, the show admirably resists the temptation to get in its own way by turning into a sermon or fact sheet.  Smile, Baby will undoubtedly be one of the best of the fest this year.  

You can catch Smile, Baby at The Complex on June 19th (11:00 PM), 20th (7:00 PM), 21st (7:45 PM), 26th (9:30 PM), and 27th (5:00 PM).  Find tickets here.

Dan Johnson is a freelance writer in Los Angeles helping cover the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival for Cinesnatch.