Fringe Show Reviews

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Breaking Rank!

Written by: Howard Petrick

Presented by: Howard Petrick, San Francisco, CA

Venue 3: The Playhouse Studio

Our Rating: Your Average Rating:

07/20/2012 1:47 PM | Comments: 0

Although there’s currently no draft in place, this autobiographical tale of a naive Minnesota kid’s fight against the Vietnam War machine is still highly relevant.

San Francisco’s Howard Petrick is not a natural actor. But his laid-back style and “aw shucks” attitude will keep you hooked along every step of his remarkable odyssey from wide-eyed 19-year-old “screwing handles on screwdrivers” to folk hero (who actually had a folk song written about him) and role model for the antiwar movement.

Petrick brings more than 20 characters to life, from crybaby recruits to butt-scratching cooks to military brass confounded by his stubborn insistence on thinking for himself. The result is often hilarious.

But as he reminds us at the end of the show, with a plea to support military whistleblower and Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning, this is more than just a Vietnam flashback.

— Carolin Vesely

From the Fringe program:

The autobiographical solo show of a Vietnam-era draftee who fights against the military bureaucracy for his right to organize his fellow GIs against the war.

"It's a dazzling display with a self-deprecating honesty." – Kings River Life

"It's an engaging tale, often funny…Petrick's writing is strong…valuable as a piece of history in a time when for much of the population, Vietnam is just a vague, long-ago event." - Fresno Bee

"Relevant and real" - Culture Vulture, Victoria

"Fascinating… engaging." - CBC

Recommended For: Mature Audience

Length: 60 min

Tickets: $10

Discount Tickets: $8 for Matinees, Students, Seniors, Veterans

Under 14 not admitted.

Warnings: Language

History

Updated on Friday, July 20, 2012 at 1:47 PM CDT:
Adds review

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