Good political satire seems to be a rare commodity at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival even though there are several Trump themed shows being offered. In Trump In Space , billed as a musical comedy, the satire pretty much ended with the naming of the characters. Four hundred years in the future a fleet of 50 starships that comprise the United States of Commerce are still searching for a new home planet after the Earth exploded during the first Trump administration. Capt. Natasha Trump (Gillian Bellinger who also wrote the book and lyrics with Landon Kirksey) is in charge of the 28 ships of the establishment and her crew members are named Palin and Sessions. The 22 ships of the rebellious Liberals are led by Capt. Gary Hart (Scott Palmason) whose crew members on Starship California are Clinton and Carter. Ann Coulter makes a surprise appearance. The songs (music by Tony Gonzalez and Sam Johnides) are so inconsequential that Trump and Hart each stop the other from singing a love ballad. You kind of wish that happened more often. The most fun offered in the script or perhaps Matt Zettell’s direction is all the usual sci-fi sound effects are created by the cast. That ongoing bit of business is funny, not much of the rest is.
http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/4674