MN Fringe Festival Day 3! The Lousiest Werewolves, So You Want to Date a Bisexual?, Ember, Bury the Leads, Not Bad For a Punk Band, Be Not Afraid (The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award Winner), Casa-Bde-Maka-Ska

The Minnesota Fringe Festival has me once again in its grasp. After an evening off, I took no prisoners on day three, hitting seven shows in six different venues. To check out all the shows, go to the Minnesota Fringe website here: https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026. As I do every year, I’ll be posting short reviews of every show I see as fast as I can, including my daily naming of The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner.

I was reminded today, as I looked over the seven shows I saw trying to determine which would be The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner, of some self-imposed rules for the awards. First, no ties, this is to force me to make decisions; otherwise, the nine The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Awards would turn into 18 or more, thus diluting the already sketchy specialness of the award. The second rule: improv shows are not eligible, theoretically because each show will be different, but really as a way to help me narrow down the choices.

I had three on my short list for today’s award. If you are at all a skilled headline reader, you’ve certainly sussed out who won. The “no improv” rule eliminated Bury the Leads for me, which left me with two, and I undoubtedly would have made it a tie if I hadn’t the “no ties” rule. For those curious, the runner-up was Casa Bde-Maka-Ska.

You know, try as I might, I can’t see everything, and that has nothing to do with my driving. It simply isn’t possible without the use of time travel, for which I’ve been unable to obtain the necessary plutonium needed to generate the 1.21 Gigawatts needed to power my flux capacitor. So I encourage you to also follow M’Colleagues at http://www.cherryandspoon.com/ and https://letteredintheatre.wordpress.com/. You can also access all of the shows on the fabulous new theater website of the Twin Cities, 79 Seconds on Stage, at https://79seconds.org/.

Proudly supporting local theatre — 79 Seconds on Stage

The Lousiest Werewolves is a show about werewolves, well, actually it’s about bipolar disorder. Three men, Mike Mayket, Charles Osugo, and Rob Ward, educate the audience with humor and truth about the condition, which they have all been diagnosed with. Like the disorder itself, the show has ups and downs, particularly in energy. They use that as a way to hold our attention, just as a teacher might talk at a lower volume to get everyone to listen more closely and quiet down. It’s an eye-opening show from which I learned a lot about bipolar disorder, and I had some laughs as well. The delivery across the performers varies in quality in terms of polish, but they all bring something to the show.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/the-lousiest-werewolves-mania-in-the-moonlight

So You Want to Date a Bisexual? is one of almost two dozen improv shows in this year’s Fringe Festival. This one has a fun concept. Historically single performer Erika Sasseville selects one volunteer from the audience to interview at the opening of the play to get details about them, as if they were chatting on an online dating app or something, getting to know each other. Backstage, a group of very talented improvisers are taking down all of the information. The remaining 40 minutes of the show has Erika and the rest of the cast improvising, using those details, what their relationship would be like. It’s a fun concept, and like all improv, it fails or succeeds on the talent of the cast. This group is solid, and thus the show is a winner. Though I’m not sure I believe Sasseville’s claim that she’s never gotten a fourth date as she is an attractive, funny, and smart young woman that I really cannot imagine needs a Fringe show to help her get dates of either gender. Fans of improv will want to have this on their schedules, and I guess maybe single people who are interested in dating an attractive, funny, and smart young bisexual.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/so-you-want-to-date-a-bisexual-

Ember is a cabaret built around the theme of “what does radiance mean to you?” To me, it’s a boutique physical media company from whom I import movies. But for these artists, some of whom will change from show to show, it means something very personal. Each of the performers, including the director, Christy Johnson, gifts the audience with their vulnerability and their talent, whether that be a song or a story, or in most cases, both. I now have a new performer to be on the watch for in Michael Chapman, who I hope I’ll see on stage soon in a musical. The show has a lot of heart, and I’m glad I took a chance on this cabaret, a format I’m always a little bit iffy on.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/ember#cast

If you’ve been around the Twin Cities theater scene long, you are familiar with Sam Landman and Nissa Nordland. The Twin Cities theater power couple have been performing this improv show, Bury the Leads, about two character actors, Clyde and Faye, for about a year now. It’s a great concept for a show, the possibilities are limitless, and Landman and Nordland know these characters, being themselves two of the best character actors in town. The beauty of an improv show like this is that each performance will be new. It’s the one show I’m tempted to try and see more than once. And were it not an Imporov show I’d be making a very tough decision right now.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/bury-the-leads

To be honest, this one is a little misleading. There is music, but I would not call it punk. The story is about a punk band that is gaining popularity in the Twin Cities that breaks up when one of the three members, Charlie, decides to move to L.A. to try and get a record deal. Eight years later, they reunite at the wedding of drummer Alex. Charlie and Etta, the third member, who were a couple, consider the possibility of getting the band back together. The story is a little cliché, but the performers help to distract from that. The music that is there I did enjoy. Though I was in the front row, I had trouble hearing Jack Swagger, who plays Charlie. Microphoning the performers would have been a good choice, if that was an option.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/not-bad-for-a-punk-band

Today’s The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner is Be Not Afraid. From the team that brought you last year’s Breach, it is another extremely tight and polished production blending family and the supernatural. It’s hard to explain the plot in one sentence, so I’m going to use that sentence to say I won’t be explaining the plot instead. I’ll tell you that it’s a show that would feel right at home at the Twin Cities Horror Festival. Also that the performances are intense, the direction by Stages of MN favorites Alex Church and Stephanie Kahle is inspired, and the lighting is extremely effective. The script by Church and Mariabella Sorini is thought-provoking and very intricate.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/be-not-afraid

The final show of the day was Casa Bde Maka Ska, which is a parody of Casablanca, set not during WWII in Morocco, but in a present-day Twin Cities overrun by ICE agents. Instead of “As Time Goes By,” Sam plays “When Doves Cry,” and instead of Major Strasser for a villain, we have Kristi Noem. The script by Tim Wick and Duck Washington is smart and funny, the writers having a solid understanding of the source film and current politics. But don’t worry, the politics are not preachy; hey, they would be preaching to the choir anyways, but used to draw humorous comparisons. Instead of trying to get letters of transit in order to leave Casablanca, they are trying to get letters of residence in order to stay in the Cities. Filled with Minnesota references and humor, this is sure to be a favorite of the festival, and it came within a coin toss of being the Award winner today.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/casa-bde-maka-ska

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MN Fringe Festival Day 1! Castrati: A Tale of Two, Stage Presents, Watership Down (The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award Winner!), and Socks & Shoes & Coats.

The Minnesota Fringe Festival is the most wonderful time of the year. This is the time of year where theater lovers get to live, eat, sleep, and pray theater. 104 shows, each performed 5 times over the 11 days. It is possible to see 55 shows if you see something in every slot. This year I’ll max out at 47 due to two Minnesota United home games, come on you Loons, make it worth missing 8 shows and win! To check out all the shows, go to the Minnesota Fringe website here: https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026. As I do every year, I’ll be posting short reviews of every show I see as fast as I can, including my daily naming of The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner. But I can’t see everything, and that isn’t a knock on my manhood, no one can, it’s impossible. So I encourage you to also follow my colleagues at http://www.cherryandspoon.com/ and https://letteredintheatre.wordpress.com/. You can also access all of the shows on the fabulous new theater website of the Twin Cities, 79 Seconds on Stage, at https://79seconds.org/.

This was a bit of a surprise. The title is very Fringy, as is the concept, which is a musical following a man who is castrated, shaming his father, but ultimately becoming a celebrated singer. One goes in expecting something very silly and probably lowbrow, and to some extent those things are true, but the surprise is how elevated the songwriting by Cali Garzon, Julia Maskin, and Eli Maskin is, how gifted the large cast is vocally and performance-wise, and how tight the seven-piece band sounds. It’s a Melancholics Anonymous show crossed with Skylark Opera Company. The cast is terrific, the tone is odd, but in a good way. It will be fun to see if anyone can top this one musically. It’s funny but sometimes in a way you’re not quite sure why you are laughing, is it the work=d they sang or the way they sung it? This is sure to be among the best of the festival. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/castrati-a-tale-of-two

If you’ve seen one of Wells Farnham’s previous two Fringe shows, you know the tone and delivery you are in for. I’m not sure he’ll still have a voice left come the end of the run. That said, like his previous shows, I found this one very funny. While it definitely feels a little more pieced together than the earlier shows, each story arc is satisfying. The end features a moment meant to scare Wells himself, and watching him go at it full speed, and without a doubt succeeding, is as satisfying for us as it must be for him. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/stage-presents

We’ve come to expect a certain dark, camp tone from Melancholics Anonymous. They seem to be the poster theater company for what Fringe can be. So what do they do? Reinvent themselves with this faithful adaptation of the classic novel Watership Down by Richard Adams. True to the source, at least as far as I can remember from a traumatizing screening in the theater of the animated film adaptation on its original release in 1978, when I was six years old. It’s also a musical, with exceptional original songs by company member Bee Davis that have a folk inspiration, feel very polished, and integrate beautifully into the narrative. This is so unlike anything else M.A. has done, and yet it is filled with the kind of creative inventiveness, that have earned them their reputation as one of the most creative theater companies in the Twin Cities. It’s a brilliant move on their part and a reminder to us that they are not a vibe, a tone, or a genre, they are theater makers and artists. And they have won the dubious honor of being awarded this year’s first The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award! Congratulations, that and $1.50 will get you a McChicken sandwich (for a limited time only). https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/watership-down

The final show of the night, stuck in the dreaded 10:00 PM Thursday night slot, was Socks & Shoes & Coats. It’s a musical telling the story of a couple from the moment they find out they are pregnant through the diagnosis and episodes of their son’s “condition.” It is told unchronologically, and I’m not entirely certain if the son dies or is just in the hospital at one point. The cast is fine, the songs are fine, the story is a downer, but not in as moving a way as you might hope. The show isn’t actively bad, it’s just OK, and with so many shows to choose from, just OK probably should equate to a skip on your list. I’m not sad I saw it, but I wish I’d fit in something else on my “must” list that I couldn’t fit into my schedule. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/socks-shoes-coats

That’s it for day one. I’ll be at the Loons game Friday, so check back Sunday morning for my reviews of the shows I see Saturday. And hey, if you see me at the Fringe, stop and say hi—tell me what your favorite show is so far.

In the Heights at Artistry Reminds Us That Movie Theaters Are Not the Only Places to Find Summer Blockbusters

The Cast of In the Heights Artistry 2026 Photo by Dan Norman

Artistry in Bloomington’s new production of In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda is a triumph in every way. The cast, the choreography, the musicians, and every aspect of the production design. I’ve seen the film but had never had the chance to experience this musical live. If you’re in the same boat, this is the perfect opportunity to remedy that. Director Maija Garcia skillfully captures the vibrant and complex sense of community at the heart of this story. The stage feels as though it is literally overflowing with the rich history of these characters and their barrio.

Set in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, referred to by its residents as the barrio, the story centers on a community facing change as developers begin buying out existing businesses and gentrifying what was once a predominantly Latino neighborhood. Eli Sherlock’s set design is divided into thirds, highlighting three key locations. Stage right features Daniela’s hair salon, which is closing and moving to the Bronx after being priced out of the neighborhood. Stage left is Rosario’s Taxi Company, also struggling to stay afloat. At center stage, we see the entrance to Abuela Claudia’s apartment on one side and Usnavi’s bodega on the other. Above it all sits a rooftop where Abuela Claudia, “abuela” meaning grandmother, watches over the community. Each section tells its own story, yet the characters move fluidly between them, just as people would in such a tight-knit neighborhood.

Nina Rosario has returned home from college with the news that she has dropped out. Benny, who works for Nina’s parents and dreams of owning his own taxi company, shares a mutual attraction with her. Usnavi, the show’s narrator, is in love with Vanessa, who works in Daniela’s salon and dreams of escaping both the barrio and her alcoholic mother. Usnavi’s bodega serves as the neighborhood hub, drawing everyone in for coffee, conversation, and lotto tickets. He also looks after his younger cousin Sonny and cares for Abuela Claudia, who, though not his actual grandmother, is the spiritual matriarch of the community. As the characters pursue love, navigate financial hardship, and live their lives, tensions rise. When it’s revealed that a winning $96,000 lottery ticket was sold at the bodega, excitement builds, only to be followed by a Fourth of July blackout, looting, and strained relationships as Act One comes to a close.

A recent Facebook post from a seasoned theatermaker lamented the difficulty of finding work, with one commenter suggesting that youth often wins out. While tI’m sure there is some truth to that, this production is a reminder of how vital veteran performers are in shows like In the Heights. This is a fantastic production, I had tears in my eyes multiple times, and while the young cast is exceptional, the show would not resonate as deeply without the powerful performances of Pedro R. Bayón and Lisa Vogel as Mr. and Mrs. Rosario, and Jen Santoro Rotty as Abuela Claudia. They bring a depth and emotional weight that comes from years of experience, grounding the production in something profoundly human.

the surprise in the younger cast is Andrés-Román Wood as Usnavi, not because of any doubt in his ability, but because I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard of him before. He is terrific in the role and a performer I’ll definitely be watching out for going forward. As for the rest of the cast, it’s nearly impossible to single out just a few. Believe me, I tried. Raquel Ponce as Nina, who wowed audiences earlier this year at Lyric Arts in Mamma Mia!, is excellent, as is Chris Owusu as Benny. The two share wonderful chemistry, amazing voices, and Owusu, in particular, is an electrifying dancer. Then there’s Julia Diaz as Daniela, whose performance of “Carnaval del Barrio” is a showstopper. But wait, isn’t there something really special about what Pierce Brown does with the character of Sonny, this young attitude that provides so many added touches of humor? Oh, but come on, how do you not mention Janely Rodriguez as Vanessa… you see the problem? There are eight more members of the cast, and they all bring something incredible to the production.

I do want to highlight Eli Sherlock’s set design. After what seems like a year or two of very bare-bones sets, though effective and, in these days of struggling finances for theaters, completely acceptable, it was nice to see a really well-built and extensive set again. It’s very impressive and well thought out, a thing of beauty. I also cannot fully express how wonderful Abby Magalee’s choreography for the show is, and again, what an incredible job this cast does in executing her moves.

In the Heights is overflowing with incredible songs, dynamic dance numbers, moving performances, and a powerful message about community and cultural legacy. I mentioned I had tears in my eyes multiple times; those were mostly the joyful kind. This is an uplifting and positive show that focuses on the richness of community over the riches of material things.

In the Heights runs through August 23 at Artistry in Bloomington. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://artistrymn.org/intheheights.

I want to alert you faithful readers to a new Website that has just started up in the Twin Cities. It’s called 79 Seconds on Stage and it is a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

I’ve been poking around on the site and I think it’s just what the Twin Cities Theater scene needed. I hope you’ll check it out, if you do I think you’ll find it a site that becomes part of your routine. You’ll find links to all the shows happening and even links to reviews of those shows. I’m not sure how they are doing this, but I hope you will all show them how great it is by utilizing it.

Private Lives One of Many Knots in the Thread Between Shakeaspeare and Moonlighting Supplies Many Laughs

William Connell and Laura Odehm, and Bradley Beahen as the Pianist Photo by Dan Norman

If you saw The Cottage at Gremlin Theatre recently and are looking for more of that style. Well, Noël Coward was the original. Private Lives, set in 1930s France, features two couples arriving at neighboring hotel rooms for their honeymoons. They share a terrace, which in some circumstances might be a lovely way to meet new friends and enjoy the outdoor pleasures of a honeymoon. However, when it turns out that one member of each newlywed couple is the ex-spouse of one of the others, it quickly becomes a worst-case scenario. Coward knows exactly how to take such a situation and pump it full of deliciously awkward humor. Here, he demonstrates how some flames of passion are never fully extinguished, while also being far too scorching to survive.

The fun of this show is watching William Connell as Elyot Chase and Laura Odeh as Amanda, the formerly married couple who fall right back into their “will they or won’t they…kill or kiss each other?” dynamic. They are an extremely toxic couple—but they are our extremely toxic couple. You can’t help but feel for their new spouses, who haven’t even enjoyed their wedding night before being abandoned. What’s truly wild is the effect these exes have on their new partners. By the end of the play, we’re left wondering if their uniquely volatile form of love is somehow contagious.

Stages of MN favorite Dustin Bronson plays Victor, Amanda’s new husband, while Nikki Massoud plays Sibyl, Elyot’s new wife. While it’s undoubtedly Connell and Odeh’s show, they have the juiciest roles, equal parts sugar and acid, Bronson and Massoud provide a perfect contrast. Connell and Odeh are terrific with the fast-paced banter that would feel right at home in a 1940s Howard Hawks film. Meanwhile, Bronson and Massoud play the more traditional, even-keeled “everybody” types, at least until their final scene, when they finally get to lose their composure. At that point, we (along with Elyot and Amanda) sit back and watch the sparks fly. A play like this isn’t about who ends up with who, it’s about the wit of the dialogue.

There’s one other cast member worth noting: Bradley Beahen, making his Guthrie debut as the piano player and Louis. Interestingly, just across from the Wurtele Thrust Stage, over in the McGuire Proscenium Stage for Come From Away, you’ll find his sister, Kate Beahen, also making her Guthrie debut. I always love seeing performers I’ve followed for a while reach this milestone, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer pair of siblings.

The show runs about two hours and 15 minutes, including two 15-minute intermissions. The longer one is necessary to transform scenic designer Alexander Dodge’s hotel terrace into Amanda’s flat in Paris. Watching that transition is genuinely impressive. The second, shorter intermission allows for some simple redressing of the set.

Private Lives runs through August 23 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and tickets, visit https://www.guthrietheater.org/whats-on/private-lives/

The Butler Did It Satisfies the Mystery Lover With a Brand New Sleuth I’m Dying to See More of at Park Square Theatre

Allison Vincent and Steve Hendrickson Photo by Dan Norman

The Butler Did It, the new play by arguably the finest mystery playwright working today, Jeffrey Hatcher, is sure to please any fan of the genre. Done in the subgenre of the inverted mystery, where we witness the killer commit the crime and then watch the cat-and-mouse game unfold between criminal and law enforcement. The format is most famously associated with the TV detective Columbo, for which Hatcher wrote one of the final installments. While this play certainly has shades of Columbo, Hatcher also brings his unique talent for surprising the audience with unexpected twists.

The thing about mystery plays is that there isn’t much you can say without accidentally spoiling the fun. In fact, during the talkback I attended after the show, I realized that even discussing one of the lead characters, and the actor who portrays them, could be considered a spoiler. Even that might be enough for the especially deductive among you to piece things together. Therefore, a play I feel I could write a double-length review about is instead going to get one of my shortest.

The play is set at a school for gentlemen’s gentlemen in 1975 San Francisco. A murder takes place that appears to be a suicide, but we, the audience, know otherwise. Assigned to the case, her first in fact, is the newly appointed Inspector Denise. And that’s about all I dare say of the plot. What I can add is that, for a mystery where you already know the killer, the fun comes from how cleverly Hatcher subverts expectations, how sharp the dialogue is, and how well the cast executes it. The Butler Did It does all three in spades.

Speaking of the cast, there’s exactly one person I feel safe discussing without being hauled away by the spoiler police: Allison Vincent as Inspector Denise. Luckily, I could write about Vincent all day. Hatcher may have modeled aspects of the play after Columbo, but he has created a completely original hero in Inspector Denise. It’s a role that feels tailor made for Vincent, who is one of the most distinctive theater artists in the Twin Cities. Not just a performer, but also a writer and director, Vincent has never once failed to impress. Here, she goes nowhere near Columbo as a character, instead bringing a style and energy entirely her own. Her humor feels like a perfect match for Hatcher’s writing.

After seeing her as Inspector Denise, I’m ready for a full series of plays, a Netflix show, starring Vincent in the role, written by Hatcher of course. Hatcher did mention that of the four future mysteries he’s been commissioned by Park Square Theatre to write, Inspector Denise is a character he’d like to revisit in one of them. Personally, I hope he doesn’t limit it to just one, I’m ready to tag along with Inspector Denise on many more investigations.

I hesitate to discuss the rest of the cast, but they are absolutely perfect. The production is filled with names faithful readers and Twin Cities theatergoers will recognize: Anna Beth Baker, Neal Beckman, Pearce Bunting, Peter Christian Hansen, Steve Hendrickson, and Nora Long. With that lineup and Hatcher’s script, audiences can be confident they’re in for something exciting.

What else can I say without hampering your enjoyment? Director David Ira Goldstein expertly guides the audience through the plot’s twists and turns. Scenic designer Benjamin Olsen has created a wonderful set, which we’re told will be reconfigured and adapted for each of Hatcher’s future mystery/thrillers. Karin Olson’s lighting design features some highly effective cues, from a small gunshot to a large explosion, both convincingly realized. Frederick Kennedy’s sound design includes a delightfully ’70s TV-style motif that brought a smile to my face every time it popped up.

The Butler Did It is exactly what mystery lovers crave, a new play that feels like a classic of the genre. The production runs at Park Square Theatre in St. Paul through August 16. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/the-butler-did-it.

Twelfth Night Is Hot Shakespeare. Seriously, There is No Air Conditioning at Bumbling Fools Meadery

Twelfth Night you may remember, is the Shakespeare play with a shipwreck. Need more? Okay, it’s the one with twins. Still not sure? This one has a woman disguised as a man! 😀 Yep, it’s one of those, which, I realize, doesn’t exactly narrow it down for anyone not well-versed in Shakespeare.

I’m decently versed myself, I see eight to ten productions of his plays a year, alongside roughly 150 non-Shakespeare shows. Thankfully, Twelfth Night is one I’ve seen a couple of times, most recently about three years ago by Ten Thousand Things. So I had a fighting chance of following this production.

Let me explain why that matters.

I generally love a show staged in a unique space, so I was excited to head to Bumbling Fools Meadery for the first time. I was picturing something like Sociable Ciderwerks, where you can currently catch a production of Hamlet. This is…not that.

First off, I felt lucky just to find the place. My GPS initially led me to what appeared to be a deserted industrial building. Seeing no cars or people, I retreated to the main road and tried another driveway. There, at last, were cars, and a sign for Bumbling Fools Meadery. Well, “sign” might be generous. It looked more like a bedsheet with the name painted on it.

I parked and descended some sketchy stairs, fully prepared to encounter either a box office attendant or my untimely demise. Thankfully, I was greeted by the friendly, familiar face of Jackson Hoemann ready to check me in, not a hulking brute in a burlap mask ready to check me out. From there, I explored the basement in search of mead, or in my case, a non-alcoholic option. I had a delightful beverage called a switchel (I went with cinnamon), which I enjoyed immensely.

Now, this all sounds kind of fun, and it is. It’s very mom-and-pop…if Mom and Pop were more “wake and bake” than “spit and polish.” That’s not a bad thing, it just helps to set expectations so no one walks in unprepared.

This labyrinthian basement has no air conditioning whatsoever. I attended on a Friday night when it was approximately 125 degrees in the freezer, thermometers were unable to measure the temperature in the shade.

The show begins at 7:00, but you’ll want to arrive by 6:30 for about 30 minutes of Appalachian mountain music performed by the cast. The music, both before and during the show, is one of the highlights of the experience.

After the preshow, we are invited into your Uncle Scruffy and Aunt Ruth’s laundry room, where the play is performed. Box fans line the walls, bravely attempting to battle the heat. In what may be one of the kindest gestures ever extended to an audience, each person is given a frozen bottle of water. You can rub it over yourself to cool down, and by the halfway point of the 90-minute show, it has melted into something you can drink, assuming you never tire of lukewarm water.

So, back to that “fighting chance” I mentioned earlier.

We are hot. We are uncomfortable. We are audibly crinkling frozen water bottles against our bodies. Box fans hum softly but constantly, in the background. And then the show begins, at a chaotic pace. Productions of Twelfth Night typically run 2.5 to 3 hours; this one clocks in at 90 minutes. In one sense, thank God. In another, you lose much of what helps acclimate an audience to Shakespeare.

It took me a solid 15 to 20 minutes to sort out who was and what there relationships were, and I pieced that together mostly from memory of past productions. Shakespeare can be wonderful, but it can also be challenging. Because of that, you need to do everything possible to help the audience connect.

There are many good elements in this production, but also some head-scratchers, or maybe that’s just part of the flea-market aesthetic of the setting. You know how you sometimes feel like you’ve picked up actual fleas after walking through a flea market? Maybe it’s just me, but I itch for a day after being dragged through antique stores and garage sales.

If you have an uncomfortable audience who are battling heat and noise distractions, it needs to be made very clear who is who and what’s going on, particularly if you have twins who are in disguise. I’m honestly not sure what the unifying concept here was. Hill people? Is that a concept? There are Dukes and Countesses, yet much of the costuming leans toward a sort of hobo motif. And in a particularly baffling makeup choice, several cast members appear to be suffering from some kind of skin condition, which is perhaps, the result of too much flea marketing.

The bottom line: the show is sold out. So I’m having a bit of fun with this review while also trying to steer those of you with tickets in the right direction. Read a synopsis beforehand. Bring a personal fan. Wear a Speedo or bikini, no judgment. And maybe pack some antifungal cream, just in case the skin condition is catching.

I’m glad I went. I’m equally glad my wife bailed. I could appreciate the strengths and rely on my familiarity with Shakespeare. She doesn’t share that interest and likely would have been lost, as would anyone unfamiliar with the play.

One of the most important aspects of performing Shakespeare is conveying meaning, even when the language itself isn’t fully understood. This cast is capable of doing that. They’re just battling extensive cuts, background noise, and an audience too distracted by discomfort to fully meet them halfway.

Brick by Brick Players seems to be sort of a poor man’s Ten Thousand Things. They are doing Shakespeare, they are touring it around to make in accessible to people who might not get to see it otherwise. I don’t think this is a bad production I think it’s an interesting one that is battleing some extreme circumstances and a nasty rash.

Twelfth Night runs through July 25th at Bumbling Fools Meadery. For more information and to join the waitlist for tickets go to https://www.brickbybrickplayers.org/whoweare-1

The Cottage is a Wonderfully Light Comedy in the Style of a Noel Coward Play at the Gremlin Theatre

Corey DiNardo, Sarah Malfara, Sasha Andreev Photo by Alyssa Kristine Photography

The Cottage by Sandy Rustin is the sort of comedy Noël Coward might have written, if he were writing today, and a woman. It isn’t vulgar, but it carries a distinctly modern sensibility, freer than the comedies of manners Coward penned in the 1920s and ’30s.

The play opens in 1923 at a country cottage, where two lovers, Sylvia and Beau, have just spent a night together. We quickly learn they are both married, and, in fact are brother- and sister-in-law. In a fit of impulsive honesty, Sylvia has sent telegrams to their respective spouses confessing the affair, assuming she and Beau will simply move on and marry each other. Naturally, this decision brings those spouses, and a few surprise guests, crashing onto the scene. To reveal more would spoil the fun, but suffice it to say this is an old-fashioned farce with a decidedly modern, feminist edge.

Sarah Malfara opens and closes the play alone on stage as Sylvia. At first, her performance feels overly mannered, but it soon becomes clear this is intentional, Sylvia is “playing house,” posing within a role of her own creation. As revelations unfold, Malfara gradually strips away that façade. By the end, she has transformed from a fluttering romantic into a clear-eyed woman firmly in control of her own narrative. It’s a terrific turn from an actor I was previously unfamiliar with, and Malfara keeps the audience constantly reassessing both her performance and Sylvia herself.

All Is Calm alum Sasha Andreev puts his dashing good looks to excellent use as Beau, a man who clearly has no trouble attracting women. Andreev is as adept at turning on the charm as he is at landing sharp comedic beats, particularly in his well played exits after a confrontation with a potentially deadly visitor. Mira Davis, as the delightfully unpredictable Dierdre, makes the most of every entrance (often from unexpected places) and mines plenty of laughs from her character’s… incapacitated state. Corey DiNardo (Clarke) and Shana Eisenberg (Marjorie), the wronged spouses, most strongly evoke the classic 1920s British comedy-of-manners style, while still sneaking in some wonderfully surprising flourishes. And Chance Carroll, as Richard, delivers one of the evening’s biggest surprises with a transformation that once again upends expectations.

The Cottage is a light but thoroughly delightful comedy, packed with unexpected twists, entrances, and revelations. Just when it has exhausted its surprises, it lands on a message that feels fully earned. Director Brian Balcom captures the spirit of a Noël Coward comedy with precision while allowing Rustin’s modern voice to shine through.

The Cottage runs through August 2 at the Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and tickets, visit https://gremlintheatre.org/the-cottage/