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Last of the Red-Hot Dadas

by Kerry Reid

review by Holland Gidney in Toronto Eye July 10, 2003
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***

Featuring Christina Augello. Written by Kerry Reid. Directed by John Warren. July 10, 6:30pm; July 11, 8pm; July 12, 6:30pm; July 13, 5:30pm. Tranzac Club Main Hall, 292 Brunswick, Toronto.

With an over-the-top costume and hair and makeup more colourful than a rainbow, Christina Auguello brings to life Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, a multi-hued, German-born character, who was part of the New York Dadaist movement and one of America's first performance artists. Switching between recounting the baroness' life story, reciting her poetry and using puppets to represent key figures in her life, Auguello is sometimes hard to understand because of her affected German accent but she makes a convincing eccentric artist. Credit should be given to her for animating her puppets so successfully, truly making characters out of a simple stethoscope and a piece of lace, among other things. Partly a poetry recital, partly a puppet show, Last of the Red-Hot Dadas is art come to life onstage, though ultimately, this portrayal of the baroness is more caricature than homage.

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