SD Fringe: The Test and Mysterium: A Magic Show

The Test Katie Brady wrote this musical about “surviving college application hysteria” and says it’s best described as: “Sara Bareilles meets Stephen Schwartz,” but the Coronado resident also cites 10,000 Maniacs and Jason Mraz as musical influences.

Directed by Courtney Corey, founder and director of Theatre Arts School of San Diego, the cast of 11 features seven high school students, most of them enrolled in Corey’s acting conservatory.

Brady wanted to create a musical comedy about the college-application process because, as a mom, she found the subject matter to be highly relatable. Acknowledging that every system is flawed, she wanted her play to be funny, poignant, and meaningful, but in a non-judgmental way. And she did just that. The show is bright, insightful, and witty. Better yet, the songs are highly enjoyable.

The young castmembers shine with a stage presence far beyond their years.

Natasha Partnoy is a joy to watch as Mimi, who stresses out about her grades and parental pressure to be “the best.” Her clear soprano voice creates theatrical magic with her songs “Once Upon a Time” and “A Girl Like Me.”

Other performers making an impression: Clara Agrella, Bradley Beamon, Asella Medina-Smith, and Katie O’Leary.

Mysterium: A Magic Show The traditional stunts at most magic shows will not be seen here. No woman is sawed in half, no rabbit hops from a hat. Nor will the magician be trapped in a water tank, bound with chains and locks.

No, this magic show by Keith Boudreau and Erica Valen is vastly different in tone and style. Boudreau is a sleight-of-hand master of illusion, which is a more sophisticated art and very intimate.

And Valen is not the usual smiling assistant. She’s a gifted psychic with many abilities put to use during the show.

Their work has been described as “ethereal and mystical.” Boudreau says he wants to “restore the sense of awe and wonder in all of us.”

This he does, with an expertise and polish that are a joy to watch. He pulls playing cards out of thin air, materializes quarters from his ears, and seemingly can read our minds.

More than a show, Mysterium is an exploration of magic and illusion that goes way beyond what one expects from this type of entertainment. Even a skeptic can enjoy what happens because it’s done in a simple, quiet, almost unassuming manner.

One can’t help but get caught up in the raw excitement Boudreau and Valen create.