Sneasons of Liz

Once you get past the bizarre premise of Sneasons of Liz... well, actually you can’t really get past it, it’s so insane. A cabaret Bildungsroman told by a tragically allergy-ridden Brooklyn broad, complete with a hand sanitizer dispenser perched on the piano and a sizable box of Kleenex? Is this some sort of symbol of life’s prosaic realities or a broader metaphor for mainstream oppression? 

 Whatever it is it would take a mountain of Kleenex to mop up Liz Merendino’s inherent glamour. The velvet-voiced vivid raconteur hails from Hong Kong and makes her glossy Fringe debut in this collaboration with the never-understated Universal Arts Festival.

Sneasons of Liz describes Merendino her cross-continent gallivantings in search of love and good health. “It’s always spring when you have allergies.” She drawls between lingering jazz numbers, ventriloquising her domineering mother with the aid of some oversized glasses. Later she queries, “Did you know that pollen is produced by male trees?”, as her every holiday romance falls foul. The Venezuelan has a wife, the Brit is a closet transvestite and the Tokyo lover is a cheat, but throughout her voice carries serio-comic heartbreak to a sublime level. Particularly outstanding is the bluesy “Stormy Monday”. 

Resolutely original, Merendino’s medium may be anachronistic but it’s riddled with pop culture references, including her debilitating allergy to the perfume ‘Paris Hilton’ by Paris Hilton. Still, you’ll be longing for a thirties cocktail and some thick cigarette smoke to accompany Merendino’s throwback charms. Undeniably distinct, Sneasons of Liz is a perfectly polished sneeze oddity.