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EdFringe 2017 – The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign at Assembly Roxy

August 5, 2017 by Carmen Paddock Leave a Comment

Review of: The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign
Price:
£12-£13

Reviewed by: Carmen Paddock
Rating:
4
On August 5, 2017
Last modified:August 6, 2017

Summary:

The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign brings the glamour, dreams, and desperation of early twentieth century America – largely but not limited to the 1940s Los Angeles area – to life in a one-woman show with song, showmanship, and sympathy.

More Details

Seventy years later, the allure of Hollywood’s Golden Age is still strong.  When producers vied for the most bankable faces and the Great Depression / World War II double whammy boosted the motion picture industry, the overwhelming focus on the stars and studios often ignored, or romanticised, those who slipped through the cracks.  Joanne Hartstone – writer, performer, and true devotee of the era’s styles and stars – does neither.  Instead, she gives us a human portrayal of a flawed but determined young woman trying to break into a system innately closed to her.  The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign brings the glamour, dreams, and desperation of early twentieth century America – largely but not limited to the 1940s Los Angeles area – to life in a one-woman show with song, showmanship, and sympathy.

The set-up is simple; Evie Edwards, a wannabe starlet, reaches the top of the Hollywood ‘H’ and tells us – her mind, her audience – her life story and the events which lead to this drastic place.  The chronology of Evie’s life against real-life events mentioned is a bit difficult to determine, but it does not detract from the overall performance.  The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign is a very polished show otherwise, and Hartstone exudes confidence in her character and material.  Her magnetism and sharp embodiments sells Evie’s humanity and the strongly defined figures – her father, the MGM lot manager, her dance instructor, the studio executives – who shape her life and choices.  Hartstone further embodies the era through spot-on recreations of its song and dance; these numbers are high points.

A surprisingly brilliant touch to the piece is that some anecdotes given – such as Jean Harlow’s cause of death and the timing of Judy Garland’s second suicide attempt – are rumours that have been debunked now.  Far from carelessness on the production’s part, however, they firmly root the show in its age and peoples.  Evie is a young woman as immersed in the lore and legend as she is in the time and place; it is only natural she clings to the most extreme tales and tragedies of the time.  That said, while rumours are by nature exaggerations, the truths beneath the surface – the sexism, greed, and lack of control Hollywood’s women were (and arguably are still) faced with – are tangible and believable as causes of Evie’s demise.

The play loses a bit of suspense and drama through the titular set-up – Evie is going to jump, and from the context it is not difficult to surmise that this is due to a show business failure and broken dreams.  Additionally, the pace throughout the seventy-minute run time is uneven; there are stretches of exposition where focus wanders.  These do not unduly dampen the show, but it feels that a production which has travelled across the globe to two Fringes (the Adelaide and the Hollywood, to be precise) before Edinburgh should feel a bit tighter.

On the whole, however, Hartstone’s piece is a captivating way to spend a mid-morning in Edinburgh.  If looking to be starstruck, look no further.

The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign plays at the Assembly Roxy (venue 139) from 5-13th August and 16-28th August.  All shows are at 11.30, and tickets cost £13 (£12 concessions).  Two for one tickets are available on Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th August.  All Fringe information and tickets can be found at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/girl-who-jumped-off-the-hollywood-sign.

 

Performer: Joanne Hartstone

Writer: Joanne Hartstone

Director: Vince Fusco

Production Manager: Lucy Mitchell

Production Assistants: Alabama Nutt and Roseby Franklin

Publicist: Chris Hislop

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Author: Carmen Paddock

Theatre goer and theatre writer
T: Twitter

Filed Under: Review Tagged With: alabama nutt, chris hislop, Edinburgh Fringe 2017, joanne hartstone, lucy mitchell, roseby franklin, the girl who jumped off the hollywood sign, vince fusco

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    Carmen Paddock
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  • August 5th, 2017
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