[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival review of First Time, Kendall Brezinski’s deeply personal, funny, fearless and beautifully written solo show.
I know there were many many shows at Fringe this year, and probably a good 30 percent of them dealt with sex and dating and coming out in one way or another, particularly the solo shows. Because solo shows are predominantly about one person’s life experience, and that involves a lot of sex, dating, and coming out in one way or another.
However, Kendal Bresinski’s First Time was something else entirely. The show was about his life, of course. However, it became much more analytical than most, exploratory and thoughtful, poetic and quietly profound. He sits and talks and adds props and costume pieces piece by piece as he reminisces about pivotal moments in his life. It plays almost as a kind of subtle performance piece. Playful yes, but also astute, brash at times and always, always brutally honest.
Growing up as a gay man is far from simple. So many other stresses to navigate than straight white people. Although I can attest to the fact that there is crap on all sides to deal with! Kendal delves into the dark and the light of his experience with equal frankness and brevity. He is a truly gifted writer, and honestly, for a ‘first time’ solo show First Time was pretty extraordinary.
In the small space of the Actors Coop, where you are basically nose to nose with the actor, this show performed almost like a confessional. But a confessional where the audience is the priest and there is no convenient screen between us. And the confessor holds us in his steady gaze, unflinching, relentless and phenomenally entertaining.
What could have been a therapy session felt much more like a conversation between lovers. Before the clothes come off, but after you know you are completely in love and able to be utterly yourself. As if that moment were everything and you expect to be heartbroken and to never see them again. Very Prussian. But very beautiful in the uncomfortable and unforgettable way something perfect is.
First Time is perfect. Kendal Brezinski is an absolutely superb actor, he has presence and panache. There’s a real style to his performance and his words are so riveting that I found myself holding my breath in places. But then I am a bit of a sap about art. And this was art.
Simple, poignant, unforgettable and stunningly, awkwardly, achingly funny.
Kendal riffs on the first in life. First kiss, first love, first everything and how important it is to remember that it’s always somebody’s first time for something, everywhere and all of the time.
First Time was a real highlight of the Hollywood Fringe for me. If there is a “Second Time,” then sign me up!
https://www.toomuchlike.com/first-time
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