Winnipeg Free Press
Randall King, July 26, 2006
San Francisco-based fringe perennial Rutherford offers up a music-laced memoir about letting go, in the emotional sense and also…well, suffice it to say, the last third of the 90 minute work recounts “the cleansing,” a lower-intestinal irrigation involving 24 gallons of “pristine” water.
The title makes sense now, right?
“hummingbird woman,” a dazzling, sexy 50-year-old lover who introduces Randy to a) fabulous midlife sex, and b) the “open marriage” lifestyle of the California swinger. (He really likes the former, but he’s not entirely sold on the later.)
It’s funny and sad but unfailingly entertaining; Rutherford demonstrates you’re never too old to feel like an awkward adolescent. He is the kind of fringe vet who makes it all look easy, but you only have to see one bad one-man show to appreciate how very good he is.
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See Magazine (Edmonton)
Catalyst Theatre
"Best of Fringe"
It does feel a little funny, this show, like climbing into a tub of warm cream of mushroom soup: it may be comfy, but… you know… it’s mushroom soup.
Randy Rutherford engenders that kind of uncomfortable comfort, gently and winningly revealing the intimate details of his emotional, sexual, and colonic life in this one-man show.
The fringe veteran recounts his experiences as a recently divorced late-forty-something, lonely and a little horny but uncomfortable with people—feeling especially closed amidst the physically and sexually open inhabitants of California—until he’s seduced by the freest of the
free, the hummingbird woman.
He’s achingly honest—about his insecurity, his jealously, his bruised heart, or his badly maintained intestine—but without the taint of exhibitionism. Maybe that’s the hallmark of true honesty.
’s buildup doesn’t exactly draw an entirely logical line to his simple but dramatic climax, but the show’s sustained equilibrium between joy and sorrow feels right.
And, oh yeah, despite being hearing impaired, Rutherford punctuates his monologue with tenderly sentimental songs, accompanying himself on guitar. Utterly unflashy but quietly smart.
(Best of Fringe Pick)
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The London Free Press
Noel Gallagher, August 7, 2006
Randy Rutherford’s This May Feel A Little Funny probes the human condition in a lively and amusing way. Of course, Rutherford will make news when he fails to bring a special solo show to the Fringe. His previous offerings - Weaverville Waltz (2003), My Brother Sang Like Roy Orbison (2004) and One Frigid Shiny Knight (2005) – were major festival hits.
His status as a Fringe favorite was evidenced by the enthusiastic crowd of applause which greeted his appearance on the Spriet Family Theatre stage Saturday evening. “I guess I’m off to a pretty good start,” quipped the San Francisco actor-writer-musician before beginning his autobiographical monologue.
The 80-minute presentation profiles the midlife crises confronting the 50-ish Rutherford. They include the unpleasant side effects of aging, divorce, time spent in therapy, and an awkward return to single life. His dating chances are doomed by woeful pick-up lines: “I’m Randy. That’s my name – and I’m a little randy, too.”
The shows central issue emerges when he encounters a sexually liberated Samantha, whose non-stop energy earns her the nickname Hummingbird Woman. Rutherford’s pursuit of this beautiful, flighty creature produces hilarity as she introduces him to the “wacky” California lifestyle, complete with uninhibited sex, vegetarianism and various rejuvenating health measures. Among them is the high colonic, an intestinal cleansing procedure that produces the show’s most hilarious scene, opening with the line “This may feel a little funny.”
The skilled performer punctuates his anecdotes with nostalgic, romantic songs played on his acoustic guitar. As for his fiery relationship with Hummingbird Woman, it inevitably leads to painful disappointment. Yet, from that heartbreak emerges the sage life lessons detailed in the show’s bittersweet, closing tune, The Glory of Love. This May Feel A Little Funny is a masterful blend of humor, poignance and music that’s become Rutherford’s reliable trademark.
