Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

"Fear Factor: Canine Edition" is the kind of play that can get lost amid flashier, louder, and the more fantastical elements of New York theatre. It doesn't shout, boast, or feature a series of increasingly preposterous stories, each one outdoing the last. What it does have is an engaging story and an excellent lead actor. "Fear Factor" has a soft and endearing voice that will speak to anyone who sees it with an open mind. While it is around for its limited run in the Frigid Festival, this solo piece shines.

Despite its awkward title, the play is an elegantly slim offering coming in at around 50 minutes. The story revolves around writer/performer John Grady and his dog. Grady begins in a circuitous way by first addressing his audience with the lights up to talk about his favorite show: Fear Factor. He was particularly fond Fear Factor Couples, where married teams engage in stunts and dares of the highest level.  As the pressure rises in each stunt, the weaker braggart couples fall apart. The survivors are the ones who have an effortless calm. They don't have to boast or chest bump to show their camaraderie. They just get the job done with quiet confidence as if they were working with one mind and heart. As the lights dim, Grady takes us to into his East Village world where he has the same confidence and ease with his longest committed relationship: to Abby, his 13-year-old Bernese therapy dog. 

"Fear Factor"  tracks the relationship of a man and dog backward, beginning from the day Grady knew it was time to put Abby to sleep. Grady, who wrote and stars in the piece, narrates us through time back into specific incidents in his life. He tells these stories in a plain, matter-of-fact way that is the performer's understated Canadian charisma. Occasionally there is just a bit of nudge and wink to his audience, but nothing vaudevillian or cartoonish. Grady stands on stage with just a chair for decoration. The bareness and lack of things, draws the audience even closer into the performer. He is the narrator, the dog, all the characters, the entire world. Grady holds the stage with just his thin frame, calm assertive voice, and crisp words. 

Abby's presence and importance comes through clearly in this devoted eulogy. This wasn't just a story of a pet. Abby was a therapy dog, trained to offer comfort and love to the sick. Amidst, Grady's vicious girlfriends, callous associates, and chaotic patients, Abby is a beacon of love. It goes straight to matter of why animals are not only great for therapy but why millions of people have pets: love. What Grady is getting at is love in its most platonic and pure form. For that reason, it is quite a surprising and engaging solo piece.

As if to emulate Grady's point, outside the Kraine Theatre a couple walked their twin dogs. They came across another dog owner out for a walk as well. The dogs began sniffing each other and engaged in playful pawing. The owners struck up a conversation and were soon laughing, talking about their dogs likes and dislikes. All the hardness and aversion melted away as three random people stood on a New York street corner sharing a moment. In a city of hard stares and sharp shoulders, the sound of innocent laughter among strangers is a miracle. And this miracle was created by the dogs who were playing with each other like old friends. No questions, no facebook profile. The dogs were completely free to love and, in their freedom, we too are released. 

"Fear Factor" stands much like its author: as a little gem of light against a some times barren and cynical world.