Domino's Pizza Saved My Life

Fringe review: 'Domino's Pizza Saved My Life'
By Stephanie Merry
Monday, July 16, 2012

Sometimes the best way to determine a Fringe performer’s experience is to watch what happens when things veer off-script. For example, when a woman fumbled into the dark, nearly-packed theater searching for her seat just as performer Dylan Fresco was strolling in for his big, guitar-strumming entrance, he didn’t miss a beat.

“Can we turn the lights back on?” he offered compassionately and then scampered backstage for a do-over after shooting the audience a deadpan look with, “now forget everything you just saw.”

Fresco is in town from Minneapolis, taking “Domino’s Pizza Saved My Life” on the road after sell-out crowds during the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Over the course of an hour, Fresco regales audiences with personal stories, detailing his experiences in summer camp, how his Turkish grandfather immigrated to the U.S. and why he holds one pizza chain in such high regard. He punctuates his tales with ditties, including one in Russian (with helpful periodic translations), accompanied by guitar or ukulele.

While early delivery could use some polish and some serious bits border on overly earnest, Fresco’s storytelling is certainly worth a look. He has a way of bringing the past to life and transforming frightening situations into tales that had audience members snorting with laughter.

Even though the show may have kicked off with some uncertainty, it ended, both figuratively and quite literally, on a high note (made by a ukulele).