Alli Miller's "Ice Cats" A Hilarious & Heart-Felt Journey into Death & Hoarding
Saturday, June 15th, Los Angeles, CA
written by Entertainment Editor Dan Ruth
It’s become a staple in the world of wellness and self-care to let go of things that no longer serve you; to purge, toss, burn, ugly cry, anything to take your life back. There’s a catch, it ain’t easy and it usually sucks. It’s hard to take responsibility for yourself and to tell yourself, “I don’t need this anymore.” Now imagine having to grind through that same process for another person who couldn't do it for themselves. Alli Miller had to let go of her Mom and all of her Mom's belongings. Her Mom was a hoarder who left this world with an insurmountable amount of garbage in three different houses and in multiple storage units in multiple states. Climbing the heaping mountain of garbage to see the light on the other side means dealing with a lot of pain, but in the end, Alli Miller has crafted the hilarious and heart-felt Ice Cats and she has succeeded in turning her pain into art.
Alli Miller is a force of nature and for this particular show, she’s invited us to the eulogy of her dead Mother, Cathy. “Eulogy is a weird fucking word,” says Miller, nearly incapable of pronouncing the word herself. Miller quickly goes through some pointers for creating an “effective eulogy” and with the help of a few audience members who also lost their Moms, she pulls her audience close to her. Ice Cats makes it clear early on, that laughing about death is a good thing. Using projections and song parody, Miller has us laughing and crying and cheering her on the whole way, but there’s one unanswered nagging question: why isn’t her Mom sending her signs from the after-world? Alli Miller isn't sure what she did but she’s got a hunch that it has something to do with the final “task” that was left for her as she descended over that mountain of garbage. Now, I hate spoilers and if nobody’s left the cat out of the bag, I will say that you need to find out for yourself. This guy didn’t read the fine print, so let’s say that both Alli Miller’s show and its title, pulled a Sixth Sense on me, and I’m so glad it was a surprise.
Ice Cats is a master class in the crafting of a multi-media solo performance, and one of the most human and screamingly funny stories I’ve had the joy of watching (and singing Karaoke with) in this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival. There aren’t enough accolades in my vocabulary for Alli Miller and Ice Cats. This "Traumedy" captures her journey in all of its darkness, with a wildly-calibrated performance that tosses out the garbage and all the dead mice but leaves us with riotous humor, love, compassion and sheer brilliance. Alli Miller, you done your Mom proud.
Get your tickets for Ice Cats now playing at The Three Clubs. Do not wait. Brilliantly directed by Broadway’s Marrisa Winokur.
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