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Last of the Red-Hot Dadas

by Kerry Reid

column by James Sullivan in SF Chronicle (August 1, 2002)
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Eccentric Baroness Elsa von
Freytag-Loringhoven really gets
around

Her gray hair is dyed with blue and red leopard
spots. She wears salvaged silverware as jewelry
and, at one point, a crown adorned with models of
a certain male body part.

Though all but forgotten, the absurdist Baroness
Elsa von Freytag- Loringhoven is such a rich
subject for performance that playwright Kerry Reid
has written two shows featuring her.

The circumstances are convoluted, but for one night
only -- Aug. 9 -- Christina Augello's one-woman
show based on the life of the baroness, "The Last of
the Red Hot Dadas," will go head to head with
Reid's work "Unhampered by Sanity." The latter
pairs the outrageous baroness, whom many
considered to be the first American Dadaist (and
one of the few female ones), with a fictional
character loosely based on "a certain punk rock
widow."

Meanwhile, Augello's portrayal of the "Mother of
Dada," offered at Exit Cafe, is a big achievement in
a little package. The character -- the world's most
eccentric noblewoman or its most majestic bag
lady, take your pick -- is so convincing, it's a
wonder the baroness didn't get her 15 minutes
sooner. .

"The Last of the Red Hot Dadas," 8:30 p.m. Friday
and Aug. 9 at Exit Cafe, 156 Eddy St., San
Francisco. Tickets $10. (415) 673-3847. Also
"Unhampered by Sanity," 8 p.m. Thursdays through
Saturdays Aug. 8-31 at the Phoenix Theatre, 414
Mason St., sixth floor. Tickets $15. (415)
841-1262.

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