Photo by flipperman75

The seventh annual Capital Fringe Festival comes to a close this weekend. We’ve had fun covering as many of the 134 as we could, and hopefully you’ve found some good ones to see yourselves.

To the artists out there, we appreciate your work (oftentimes, anyway) and thank you for stopping by to see what we thought. Kudos to the staff and volunteers for putting on another successful and ever growing festival. And for the DCist readers that could live without so many Fringe reviews, the updated site format certainly offered relief when you didn’t care to see another.

There’s still time to see a show this weekend! Here we give you a run down with recommendations of all the shows we’ve seen, noting which ones have final performances remaining. Venues are small and shows often sell out, so buying tickets in advance is advisable to avoid disappointment.

In one housekeeping note, I’m scheduled to join former DCist contributor Chris Klimek on Saturday night for one of his Fringe & PurgeCasts. Chris, now a regular contributor for the City Paper, heads up its thorough Fringe Festival coverage. Check out the podcast next week to hear what we thought about the festival or whatever else he wants to talk about.

Highly Recommended

A Year of Giving
“And just when you think it’s so sincere, so much of a self-pat on the back for a deed well done you could vomit, you may find yourself starting to tear up, just as [Reed] Sandridge comes close to when sharing how one interaction or another turns out. It succeeds in telling a tale about individual human stories about human kindness.” – Josh Novikoff
Remaining performances: Sat 6 p.m.

D.C. Trash
“For as difficult and divisive as discussing change, gentrification and the past can be, Litman wonderfully puts it all in perspective. That his perspective is trash—literally—adds needed levity to the topic, but he doesn’t shy away from being sharply honest when it’s most appropriate.” – Martin Austermuhle
Remaining performances: Sat 11 p.m., Sun 3:30 p.m.

Colony
“The tension between emotional distance and intimacy is bridged in a sequence I won’t reveal, but let’;s say it’s as simple as it is disarming, convincing yet at a safe remove.” – Pat Padua
Remaining performances: Sat 7:15 p.m.

My Princess Bride
“[Joe] Brack wisely expands upon the story by interweaving stories from his own biography, some are funny, some embarrassing, some touching…but it’s doubtful that someone unfamiliar with the book or movie would bother seeing this play.” – Sriram Gopal
Remaining performances: Fri 8 p.m, Sat 8 p.m., Sat 11:59 p.m, Sun 3:00 p.m.

Superhero Celebrity Rehab, The Musical
“Filled with pithy one-liners and catchy, if not entirely memorable songs, Superhero Celebrity Rehab follows the story of Supernova, a cocky, cape-wearing hero with a coke habit.” – Alicia Mazzara
No remaining performances.

Recommended

Aaaaaagh! Murder!
While some of the dialogue tries too hard to be funny and a few of the characters are too effusive for their own good, the play remains engaging because it never takes itself too seriously. – Martin Austermuhle
No remaining performances.

Cabaret XXX: Love the One You’re With
“The cabaret reaches its climax, literally, with a group rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” reworked as a paean to self-love with toys—and one lucky volunteer from the audience.” – Josh Novikoff
Remaining performances: Fri 9:45 p.m.

In the Company of de Sade
An early rehearsal that includes a full-cast orgy does wonders for troupe chemistry. But doubts about whether the hardcore pornography they’re about to engage in counts as the pursuit of art or not begin to creep in. – Josh Novikoff
Remaining performances: Sun 2:30 p.m.

The Every Fringe Show You Want to See in One Fringe Show Fringe Show

Fringe Show is out to parody the recurring themes, trials and tribulations of performing in and watching plays at the Fringe, declare that incorporating chickens into your comedy is a quintessential part of the festival. – Josh Novikoff
Remaining performances: Sun 2:15 p.m.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
“That said, it’s worth staying until the end as the final vignette, the briefest of the seven actually shows the most scathing but perhaps the most original social commentary shown within the hour.” – Valerie Paschal
Remaining performances: Sun 3 p.m.

Recommended with Reservations

Wild Night: A Burlesque Adventure
The stunning Miss Joule ends the evening with a cute and gory number that brings the adventure to its grave fruition—and is not to be missed. – Josh Novikoff
Remaining performances: 6:30 p.m.

DADA Returns!
“[T]he chaos and confusion are nothing if not pure dada. Ultimately, DADA Returns! raises questions about the line between theater and reality, truth and lies—in its own whimsical, nonsensical way.” – Alicia Mazzara
Remaining performances: Sat 4 p.m., Sun, 12 p.m.

The Diamond Star Project
“[Author Catherine] Asaro admits that this rock opera based on her book is a work in progress, but the black canvas of the Warehouse’s stage lends it a touching air of the creative struggle…This is still a rough diamond, but in the Earthly arena of the Capital Fringe festival, I’ll take its sincerity over slickness any time. – Pat Padua
Remaining performances: Fri 7:45 p.m., Sun 12 p.m.

Not Recommended

All-Nude College-Girl Review or Why I Can’t Pass the Vetting
“[T]he entire performance is all about her, and it’s hard to get past the feeling that she simply thought that personal stories about sex and drugs would be enough to entertain a paying audience for an hour.” – Martin Austermuhle
No remaining performances.

Cupcake Cabaret: A Brief History of “Bad” Women
“The structure and worthwhile story are there—but Cupcake Cabaret stops short insead of going further with its material.” – Josh Novikoff
Remaining performances: Fri 11 p.m., Sun 6:15 p.m.

Making Love Legal
“The funniest and best parts of the play involve Abdul trying to separately convince a Kennedy-like Irish Catholic from Massachusetts, a Jew from the Bronx, and a Southern Baptist that he shares their belief…It’s a pity Making Love Last goes so far off the rails in its second half as it plods towards its conclusion.” – Josh Novikoff
Remaining performances: Sat 12 p.m.