Fringe's "Weinermobile" Is A Journey Relished

Robin Gelfenbien, performer and writer of "My Salvation Has a First Name: A Wienermobile Journey" offers a charming likable persona on a journey so special that, as she says, "You just can't make this stuff up." The one woman autobiographical piece tells the story of her post college experience working as a goodwill ambassador for Oscar Mayer; where she traveled the country spreading the good word of every one's favorite pre-packaged pork product. It's a humorous situation riddled with characters that you would simply want to be on the road with.

The story centers around Ms. Gelfenbien herself, and carries certain themes besides humorous deli meat puns, that Ms. Gelfenbien enjoys equally as much as the audience. Her story begins in the early nineties when she was a curly haired college student, facing ridicule and bullying. Left depressed and unsure Ms. Gelfenbien carries her woe on the open road with a jocky young dumb ass named Jason (and I mean that in the nicest way.) The bullying theme to Ms. Gelfenbien's credit does stick with the arch of the story. However despite the tole it apparently took on the early 20's Robin, through a lack of perspective and a less then objective telling the theme falls short, and sympathy can be difficult to stir.

It is true Ms. Gelfenbien is an oddity in herself, in both past and present. There is a blind optimism and wit about her that is irresistible. Not every sullen, recent college graduate finds hope in a twenty three foot drivable hot dog. The moment she discovers that she wants to be an Oscar Meyer wiener is the moment when I decided that I liked my heroine. her genuine excitement and passion for mas market meat and the insurmountable effort she placed into getting the job, (she tap danced at her job interview) takes the story to a far more interesting place.

Perhaps Ms. Gelfenbien's trauma is lost not by it's substance but by the form of story telling. Gelfenbien as an impressionist does not display her best. The bullies are awful not because the performer shows me as they were but because I was told how I was supposed to view them. Through the performance I was not able to make my own choices towards how I felt about the characters. Jason, her wiener in crime is performed with with a similar vagueness, although the character's charm shines through.. The actions of the story are mostly described through back and forth dialogue between 22 year old Robin and the other wieners in her life. The play would play to the performer's strengths through a more narrative, objective style. Let the story be true, and it will speak for itself.

Not Ms Gelfenbien and director Rachel Eckerling don't rely on other mediums. There a songs and projected images and videos from her life on the road. Unfortunately I didn't want to rely on them to understand the characters at hand.

The journey despite it all is a fun one. A girl who finds herself in the strangest of ways. A more uplifting tale can't be told.

"My Salvation Has A First Name: A Wienermobile Journey" by Robin Gelfenbien performed as part of the Chicago Fringe Festival at the Dream Theater 556 W. 18th St.

Performance attended by Michael Monteiro