Vietnam vet David Kleinberg is performing his second show at Capital Fringe, following his 2014 debut. (Photo courtesy of Capital Fringe)

Reminds us of: War stories from your grandpa — for better and for worse.

Flop, Fine or Fringe-tastic?: Fine.

The “crime” in question in this dramatic one-man show is the Vietnam War, and the person doing the returning is David Kleinberg, who last graced the Capital Fringe stage in 2014 with Hey, Hey LBJ, an account of his experiences as a soldier and Saigon correspondent. This time out, Kleinberg details a trip he took earlier this year to key places from his Vietnam experiences, in the hopes of performing Hey, Hey LBJ for a new audience that might glean a new perspective from it.

The show needs work. Kleinberg’s experiences are riveting, and the last 15 minutes build to an astonishing, satisfying climax. But much of the piece finds Kleinberg miming cell phone conversations and deploying ill-advised Italian and Vietnamese accents to stand in for various characters. Several musical cues, including recurring bars from “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel, feel like non sequiturs. And for people who haven’t seen Hey, Hey LBJ — I regrettably count myself among them — the impact of Kleinberg’s desire to revive it might be lackluster. These drawbacks aren’t crimes, but ones hope subsequent shows will resolve them.

Where to See it: Shopkeepers on July 15 at 1:15 p.m. and July 16 at 4:30 p.m. Buy tickets here.

See here for all of DCist’s 2017 Capital Fringe coverage. All shows are $17, with a button ($7) required for entry.