ON STAGE

Sarah Rudinoff's Go There Turns Adrian Ryan Into a Praise-Spewing Fool

Go There

 Re-bar

Through May 24. Intermission ! I seriously thought she was going to get a standing ovation at intermission! And you know what? She would have deserved it.

If I gave Sarah Rudinoff all the adulation her talent warrants, people would think we were fucking. Sarah Rudinoff is so talented it's goddamn ridiculous. What others do horribly wrong, Sarah does sublimely right. Where lesser actors cover lack of ability with theatrical gimmicks and emotionally manipulative tricks, Sarah blazes with fierce, funny honesty and grace. She's a pageant of moxie, a carnival of fabulous, and her one-

Stranger Suggests
'Go There'

After a good couple years wowing crowds in other people's shows, performer extraordinaire Sarah Rudinoff hits the stage at Re-bar with a solo play all her own. For those not in the know, Rudinoff is a fearless actress, a brilliant comedienne, and she possesses the most amazing singing voice I've ever heard out of someone who's not already a worldwide superstar. Plus, in Go There , she's surrounded herself with some of the most talented people around, namely Nick Garrison (who shared a stage with Rudinoff in Re-bar's Hedwig , and here takes on director's duties) and Chris Jeffries , the musical mastermind behind Empty Space's Vera Wilde and Annex's I See London, I See France . Unless something goes horribly, horribly wrong, Go There should be an entirely wonderful night of theater. ( Re-bar, 1114 Howell St, 323-0388, 8 pm, $13, 21 and over. Opens Fri April 25, plays Thurs-Sat through May 24. ) DAVID SCHMADER

person show (directed by her former Hedwig costar,
Nick Garrison) is just about the best one-person show I've seen this side of ever.

This tight, smart, clued-in work is the perfect vehicle to showcase Rudinoff's smart, clued-in self. Her

adventures from birth until just now are told with generosity of spirit and humor. She can spin a yarn
about getting dressed for a cocktail soiree and make it
as fun as a day at Knott's Berry Farm and follow it all up with a song. Her stage presence is thermonuclear (in a darling kind of way) and the golden gospel gravel of her sometimes soprano can ride a jazzy tune like a Harley }on the bad road to heaven.

ut I was intensely worried when Sarah wandered over into 9/11 land. Every poor fool who's staged a one-manner since September 11 has worked it into the act, and always in the most awful, ingenuous, and saccharine ways--tantamount to bringing sad puppies with broken legs on stage and beating them to death with blind gay orphans. But, to my great surprise and immeasurable happiness, Sarah's 9/11 moment was the only funny, remotely honest, and non-barf-inducing one I've seen to date. There isn't a moment of this show I'd change, and that's the most I can say for any show. And this is the first time I've ever said it. Viva la Rudinoff! Go see this show. ADRIAN RYAN