As you plan your schedule for this year’s Indy Fringe you should definitely include Going, Going, Gone by  Lou Harry and John Thomas.  Why?  Well that is a little hard to explain.  You see I can’t exactly tell you what your performance will be like.

While the premise will be the same, everything else changes with each performance.   Ed, the owner of Ed’s auction house has died.  And the remaining contents must be auctioned off.  The audience members are given varying amounts of money and the show begins.

The actors are different for each performance and they have no idea what they will be auctioning off.   Diane Kondrat and Mat Roland were a perfect team, alternating between manic excitement at selling one item, and quiet sentimentalism as they try to hold on to another.

The items are also different each night because they audience takes home the things they bid on. I think this was actually just a clever ploy by Lou’s wife to get the basement cleaned out.  (I was however disappointed not to win the bid on the manicure kit in the pink leather case.)

Finally, the audience is different.  Friday night there were quite a few fringe performers in the audience, adding their own unique touch to the performance. But they weren’t the only ones getting in to the act.   So did ordinary members of the audience.

My favorite moment came when Frank Basile  (a benefactor of the Fringe and other arts in Indianapolis) didn’t have enough money to pay for the item he had bid on.  There was something ironic and wonderful about that moment as other audience members lent him money.

Will you have that same type of moment when you go see Going, Going, Gone?   I don’t know. You might have to create the moment yourself.  Regardless of whether you jump into the fray or simply sit back and laugh this is one performance you should see before it is, gone, gone, gone.

You can check out this program at the  IndyFringe Building 719 E St Clair Street