Review: Finding Beauty Within

In a world of beauty, fashion, and image, comes a story of a young girl who breaks free from her insecurities and finds herself as an amateur beauty queen and model. Written and performed by Julia Sun, Acute Girl, a story inspired true events, is a solo show of subtle humor that tackles themes that are all too real. Acute Girl tells the story of a young girl who just wants to be pretty and wear nice things. As she grows up through adolescence, she finds herself as amateur model and the state representative of a teen beauty pageant all while discovering outer beauty is not all that it’s cracked up to be.
As a performer, Julia Sun is a subtle comedian. Her style is slight, relying on the delicacies of her text to get the laughs. The trouble is the jokes and references are hidden so deep that the audience may not pick up on it. Sun portrays a character that is finding herself in an age of youth. The persona is very monotonous. Though not necessarily bad, the way director Christine Renee Miller tackled the overall concept may not have been the strongest for the piece.
Miller gave Sun the barebones to work with, hoping the storytelling would be the draw for the audience. Sadly, with little to look at and a whole lot of pantomime to fill the void, there felt as if something was missing. Perhaps some sort of visual aid or additional soundtrack could have been beneficial. Additionally, the stage of the Kraine Theatre was mighty vast for Sun to navigate. With a black stage and black scenic elements, breaking up the uniformity.
They say a performer feeds off an audience. It’s a shame when the audience doesn’t react to strong work. Maybe amping the production value could elevate a worthy script.