by Terrance McArthur & Mallory Moad

It is Rogue Festival time again! This year’s festival takes place from February 28-March 8 in the Tower District of Fresno, CA. This is the first of many show reviews coming over the next few days! Before Rogue opened, we published several Rogue Festival Performer Preview articles, as well as an article about Rogue itself.
You will be able to find all of our coverage in our Rogue Festival category, and more info including some performer press releases on our Rogue Festival event page over on KRL News and Reviews. You can purchase tickets on the Rogue website.

Idiot Abroad Comedy Show with Joey Rinaldi
Review by Mallory Moad

“Buckle up – it could get weird.” These are comedian Joey Rinaldi’s words of warning at the beginning of Idiot Abroad Comedy Show. I’d put the emphasis more on comedy than weirdness, especially considering the packed house was howling with laughter within the first five minutes of the show.

Energetic, animated, loud and likable, Joey serves as his own warmup act in his usual standup style with jokes about career day, drinking, books and religion. Then it’s on to the main attraction as he shares his adventures in foreign locales, with a few detours along the way, and the mistakes he made in the process.

Most of these errors are pretty stupid and Joey owns them in his charming, self-deprecating way. The man has no shame and he’s just so engaging we can’t condemn him for his bad choices, most of which are the result of being young and foolish (or just foolish). We willingly go along for the ride and keep rooting for him. By laughing at himself, he gives us permission to laugh, too. And boy, do we!

We are introduced to various supporting characters in the narrative, including his dad, who has embraced wokeness, his mother and her personal method of judging the quality of Christmas cards, and a suspicious girlfriend who definitely earned her title of “ex.” Depicted as flawed and funny, they’re closer to reality than caricature.

The material in Idiot Abroad Comedy Show is clearly adult oriented but Joey never stoops to crassness, vulgarity or insult. His delivery, while fast-paced, isn’t frenetic or out of control. With calculated timing that feels natural, he has the skills to keep the audience involved without wearing them out.

If you’re a fan of standup comedy and/or would like to try something that goes beyond jokes, I recommend this show.

Idiot Abroad
Remaining Shows-
2:00 p.m. Sunday March 2nd
6:30 p.m. Sunday March 2nd
WHERE: Hart’s Haven – 950 N Van Ness Ave, Fresno, CA 93728
HOW MUCH: 10 Dollars All tickets
RUNNING TIME: 50 minutes
TICKETS: fresnoroguefestival.org/performance/idiot-abroad-comedy-show/2025-02-28

Mallory Moad is a visual/performance artist, vocalist in the jazz band Scats on The Sly and a proud Central San Joaquin Valley native.

Witch With Her Skirt On Fire
Review by Terrance McArthur

Megan Markham is her own person, and that person fills the Hart Hangout (a tent behind the Hart’s Haven bookstore) with life in her Fresno Rogue Festival debut, Witch with Her Skirt on Fire.

Markham swirls in a black skirt accented by red, blue, and purple panels of design, topped by a black top with black lace sleeves, and hair that echoes some of the colors of her ensemble. It’s a striking visual statement pulling the audience toward her.

Witch with Her Skirt on Fire introduces us to three phases of witchery: the Maiden, the Adventurer, and the Crone. The innocence of the Maiden leads to the confusion of the Adventurer who seeks knowledge from the statue like Crone, who tells of the rejection by society that turns her to glass. It’s a new form of storytelling for Markham, and it’s premiering in Fresno. Her command of storytelling techniques have won awards, and an hour spent with her characters will take you places you’ve never imagined.

Witch with Her Skirt on Fire remaining shows are Sunday, March 2 at 3:30 pm; Friday, March 7 at 7:00 pm, and Saturday, March 8 at 6:30 pm. The Hart’s Hangout tent is behind Hart’s Haven, 950 N. Van Ness Ave. Tickets are $13.

Terrance V. Mc Arthur worked for the Fresno County Public Library for three decades. He is retired, but not retiring. A storyteller, puppeteer, writer, actor, magician, basketmaker, and all-around interesting person, his goal is to make life more unusual for everyone he meets.

If you love theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean.

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.