The Conversation is a show I wanted to like more than I do. It’s a good idea and a great topic that should make for powerful theater. But, the script for The Conversation plays like a less interesting and less natural version of a real conversation. A conversation can be a great way to come up with ideas, but then you have to dramatize it. The show is full of threads, either intentional or not, that could be developed into something interesting. It’s also full of extraneous details, like a contract for an upcoming venue that interrupts any flow the show has without any real purpose. Like those contract asides, in execution this is awkwardly staged and performed. Suzanne Bengtson is clearly someone with a commanding stage presence and can perform. William Bengtson, who in fairness is making his acting debut, doesn’t have the same confidence and the performance is more like a script reading. What the show needed was an outside director to help address staging and script issues. This feels like 15 minutes worth of material stretched to 45 minutes that just don’t really build to any type of climax.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/the-conversation

Rewrites by Phil Holt takes a surreal view of how a playwright creates by imagining that she can actually call and invite her characters over to help her through her writer’s block. But then who’s the writer? As her character’s point out, they cannot tell her what happens until she writes what happens. I love a work in any medium that takes on the challenge of trying to understand and share the creative process. The show explores why we want to create taking loving stabs at the pomposity that can motivate those intentions or that one might use to try and justify their success. It’s a clever script full of surprises and humor that I have no intention of spoiling. The cast is excellent with great comic timing but, also an ability to change the mood and tone at a moments notice to something more real.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/rewrites

In What’s Your Day Job? Or, How Capitalism Destroys Us All Fearless Comedy Productions takes the skit approach to tackle their theme of, well basically how messed up our capitalistic society is. It’s a bit of a mixed bag in terms of the script with some sketches working better than others. The messages are important and come across, though not always as clearly as they could have. What isn’t a mixed bag though is the cast, who all show up and gave it their all in every moment. A good example is the final skit between an engaged couple. There is an interesting idea about the economic realities of trying to do what you love and the cost that can have on a relationship. The message could be better addresses but both performers are terrific and extremely present in the moment.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/what-s-your-day-job-or-how-capitalism-destroys-us-all-

Living Underground Today’s winner of The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award. Brad Lawrence’s one man show keeps the audience enraptured as he tells about life in New york City and stories of what the Subway has meant to him. It’s a deeply confessional show in which we genuinely feel like we have gotten to know Lawrence. The storytelling takes various tangents but none of them are ever dead ends and they always seem to wind up back on the tracks, but with more background information under the audiences belt. The less said about the details of this show the better, but I will say it got a little dusty in the theater at the end for this reviewer. Brad Lawrence is an incredibly engaging and likeable performer and I found his show very rewarding.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/life-underground

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Who’s Afraid of Winnie the Pooh? In which Pooh and Piglet attempt to crush each others souls while Christopher and Hunny watch on in horror. Today’s Winner of the Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award. Combining the world of Winnie the Pooh with the bitter marital games of Edward Albee’s classic play is anything but obvious. They seem like strange bedfellows but once you see it, well, it fits so perfectly it seems shocking that no one thought of it before. But then you think, who in the hell would EVER think of doing this? Thank God writer Alexander Gerchak did! The script, the performances, and the cross pollination of these disparate ideas is dead brilliant. Endlessly inventive, the premise never runs out of steam and holds true until the very end. It shouldn’t work but, it really works! Word of mouth should turn this into a hit. It’s easily the most accomplished script and production I’ve seen so far at Fringe. The entire cast is great but a special shout out to Thomas Buan as Winnie, best dramatic performance so far. Knowledge of the works of A.A. Milne regarding Pooh Bear and Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are not required but will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the play.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/who-s-afraid-of-winnie-the-pooh-

Pajama Stories (For Children, All, Adults Only) written and performed by Marie G. Cooney is a wonderfully expressive and engaging storyteller. You can tell that she is gifted at connecting with young children. That is the common theme in her storytelling, interactions she has with young people and it’s almost a class for us the audience in how to engage with them ourselves. The issue is that in most cases we, the audience are not children. The delivery ever so slightly pushes the tolerance level. What keeps it from crossing the line is our knowledge of how effective it is with the people in her stories. The other issue is that a couple of the stories are best enjoyed by people who know the children in the story.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/pajama-stories-for-children-all-adults-only-

A Day With the Newhearts is a play that explores the dark underbelly of the typical suburban Minnesota neighborhood. Taking the form of a 1950’s sitcom the show skewers the form as well as the idea of “MN nice”. It’s a lot of fun performed by a cast that nails the plastic sitcom presentation while also showing us the fear, anger, and menace underneath. It’s a crowd pleasing show no doubt. The character work is great, the set, props, costumes all first rate, the idea is ripe with possibilities. Yet the whole is a little less than the sum of its parts. It loses something in the last 10 minutes, it crosses a line that takes it from quirkily off, to a place irredeemably unreal. But, the parts are kind of a blast!

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/a-day-with-the-newhearts

Slender Vale is an improv horror show. Improv and horror are two genres that I generally enjoy. The combination of the two should be really interesting. Maybe it can work, but tonight it didn’t really ever get into a groove. When you think about it, Horror in itself is a genre that routinely fails to stick the landing. There our hundreds of horror novels, movies, TV episodes, and yes plays that are really effective right up until the end, and then kind of lets you down. Horror is hard to write well, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that a genre that relies heavily on a well crafted and constructed build up and a satisfying end doesn’t lend itself well to being made up on the fly. a Horror story without a plan would require and uncanny amount of luck to successfully pull off. Sure there are individual moments and performers that worked. The darkened basement for example and everything Tom Reed said. But as a whole it never felt like it had any sense of direction. The performers seemed to constantly be thwarting each other and anything that looked like a promising development plot wise. I wrote all of these thoughts down before I saw the final show of the day, or it might have been less favorable.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/slender-vale

Swords & Sorcery: The Improvised Fantasy Campaign is improv that worked at the highest level. It’s basically a Dungeons and Dragons game played out live with a Game Master narrating the story which directs the performers on what to do next. When the characters wish to do battle they tell the Game Master and he rolls his 20 sided die to determine if they are successful or not. The performances are serialized and will carry on the story from wherever it ended the previous performance. This flowed beautifully, organically the performers seemed to sense the best direction to take things and never seemed to be struggling with what to do or say next. The entire cast was brilliant but highlights being the two Tylers, Michaels King and Mills. The biggest laugh undoubtedly went to Maria Bartholdi for her sandmetary line. What a Fringe Bartholdi is having, not only is she brilliant in this but she also co wrote and directed Endometriosis: The Musical which won The Stages Of MN Fringe of the Day Award yesterday. This show was so much fun I wish I could take in each performance! It was a fairly full house, so this might be one to line up for early or reserve your seat for.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/swords-sorcery-the-improvised-fantasy-campaign

Don’t want to miss a single Fringe review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have each post delivered directly to your email. On your computer from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

Arsgang: What You Follow Follows You centers around a Swedish folktale about a walk that some would choose to go on in order to gain foresight of the coming year. The story follows a young orphan Lajla, who was recently made only child, and her Arsgang journey. Created by the Winding Sheet Outfit it has they’re usual attention to language and sense of reverence to past cultures and customs. A spare but effective set consisting mostly of this bare trees that evoke a feeling visually that ties in with Lajla’s solitary trek. Beautifully written and performed along with being deliberately paced with music by Joshua Swantz and Amber Bjork that’s almost hypnotic. While all of those elements combine to give the show a unified feel and tone, it might not be the best show to attend in a 10:00 PM performance slot if you’ve been Fringing all day and not a night owl. I’d like to mention the costumes which I thought were really good as were the masks created by Derek Lee Miller who also designed the trees.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/_rsg-ng-what-you-follow-follows-you

Curtain Call: Letters to My Friend Louie Anderson! consists of writer comedian Jason Schommer alternating between reading letters he’s written to his recently deceased friend Louie Anderson and performing bits of standup that revolve around the legendary entertainer. Like many Minnesotans I grew up with Louie’s comedy. His Guthrie comedy special was recorded off the TV and played repeatedly. My Dad, sister, and I would all quote from it throughout our lives. Both aspects of the show work well. In his letters, Schommer gets to express to Louie what he meant to him and how he misses him. In the stand up segments we get to hear stories about the real man. If you’ve been an Anderson fan as long as I have, getting that glimpse of the real person and having it reflect what you always hoped was true about him is a real treat. I had someone in my life that I felt the same as how Schommer feels about Louie. They are the relationships that we carry with us throughout our lives and the ones we’ll always miss.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/curtain-call-letters-to-my-friend-louie-anderson-

Winner of today’s The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award is Endometriosis the Musical. It’s a musical about Jane Smith and her ongoing struggles with extremely painful menstrual cycles. Making things worse she lives in our world where far too often women’s health issues are controlled by men. This has all the makings of an intense social drama but instead it’s an hysterically funny musical. Written by Maria Bartholdi and Kristin Stowell this is sure to be one of the hottest tickets of this years Fringe Festival. Featuring a brilliantly expressive and all in cast lead by Abby Holmstrom that brings the house down with every song. Nothing is off limits and it confronts the sad truth that for many people, the subject of this production is something that should not be mentioned above a whisper and definitely not during dinner at Applebees. I urge you to reserve your seats now this one feels like a sell out.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/endometriosis-the-musical

Shoe Night is written and directed by Kelsey Norton who based the story on an experience from her own life. This effective one act, two character play deals with the phenomenon of ghosting. In this instance a young woman runs into the ex-boyfriend whom she lived with, went out of the country for work, then ghosted her. Resisting the urge to slink away unnoticed she decides that after four years it’s time she got some closure. The script avoids the treading water that can happen in a one subject show and is filled with details which give the show a feel of authenticity. It doesn’t drag nor out stay it’s welcome, and the end, when it comes, seems to underline the lasting damage this practice of ghosting can do. The show is anchored by two well rounded and naturalistic performances by real life couple Gillian Constable and William S. Edson. It’s nice to see a present day drama in the mix and it’s a nice palate cleanser between comedic shows.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/shoe-night

Don’t want to miss a single Fringe review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have each post delivered directly to your email. On your computer from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

Wow! What a show to pop my Fringe Cherry with. Erotica For Houseplants is written and performed by Tom Reed who reminds us why his name alone put this on my must see list. Wickedly funny and oddly arousing at times. Tom’s script unearths every possible double meaning for everything from plant anatomy to gardening tools. It’s smartly earthy and when you think he has to have about run out of path he breaks into song, beautifully. It’s all in fun and never crossed into uncomfortable territory, but it’s not the show you or your Grandma want to see sitting next to each other. However, with adult friends or that special someone it’s… well, not exactly good “clean” fun, You’ll definitely be laughing at how dirty nature can sound. A quick run through the sprinkler afterwards should cool you down and have you feeling clean again in no time. This was my first Fringe show of the 2022 festival and my first live Fringe show ever, and when I left it I knew I was going to love the next week and a half!

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/erotica-for-houseplants

Karaoke After Dark is a combination of Karaoke, Burlesque, and Improvisation. If you are looking for a way to join in on the performance side of Fringe this is the show for you. Audience members can put their names and song choice on a slip of paper before the show begins. Throughout the show Curvee B, the Emcee, will call an audience member down to perform their song. While they are singing, a burlesque dancer will perform. The Improv comes in the what the dancer comes up with for the song, as opposed to a normal dance performance they are not moving to a song they’ve rehearsed. The highlights of the show are the costumes and what the dancer does to make the song choices fun. This is an 18+ show, it’s risque but not too graphic.

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/karaoke-after-dark

Comedy Suitcase presents Bob and Reggie Go To Bed created and performed by Joshua English Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen. I don’t know what I was expecting when I entered the theatre for this show but it wasn’t to see my love of silent comedy brought to life, live on stage. Bob and Reggie get ready for bed confronting obstacles that arise with the problem solving skills of Laurel and Hardy. Set in the silent world of a Buster Keaton two reeler, the duo blend physical comedy with a Keatonesque surreal humor. Inventive in the way it keeps building on it’s situations. The humor comes as often from the reveal as it does from their solution to the next snag in their bedtime routine. Just when you think it can’t get any crazier it takes a turn that made me think of Sherlock Jr. The similarities to the silents doesn’t stop at the type of humor but also in the fact there is no dialogue. Just as there was with the silent movies, there is a live score and sound effects, created on stage by Rhiannon Fiskradatz, who adds more than just accompaniment to the proceedings. The final performer in this four person show is Sulia Altenberg as the Tooth Fairy. Scrimshaw and Weinhagen are brilliant in their gag creation and execution. You have to be pretty smart to act this stupid. I only knew Scrimshaw from his work with the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society and would never have guessed that a genius for this form of comedy was in his or anyone else in the 21st Century’s wheelhouse. This is the perfect show to take everyone and anyone too, old and young, the larger the audience the more fun it will be.

I already knew that one of the downsides of Fringe is that it’s impossible to see everything, there is always the worry of what you are missing. Tonight I discovered another downside, you can’t justify seeing things twice. That’s really frustrating in this case because I want to see Bob and Reggie Go To Bed with everyone I know. If this was not at Fringe and just a normal show on a two or three week run, I’d be organizing group meet ups to enjoy this show again and again. If you could see only one of the three shows I saw today it has to be Bob and Reggie Go To Bed. And so it earns the inaugural, highly coveted and just made up on the fly The Stages of MN Best of Day Fringe Award!

https://minnesotafringe.org/2022-show-information/bob-and-reggie-go-to-bed#tickets

Don’t want to miss a single Fringe review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have each post delivered directly to your email. On your computer from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. Also, you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn.

In the spring of 2020 I was excited to experience my first Minnesota Fringe Festival when Covid-19 shut down live in person theatre. There was an online festival and I did review a few of the productions. In 2021 Fringe returned but I was away on vacation and unable to participate. Finally summer 2022 has arrived and I’m throwing myself into covering my first in person Fringe Festival! To say I’m excited would be to state the obvious. To say I found the process of making my Fringe schedule overwhelming would be an understatement. There are nearly 120 different shows with close to 600 performances. Apparently, it’s possible for one person to see 55 different shows during the festivals eleven day run from August 4th through the 14th. I am not that person. I have several personal commitments (code for soccer matches, podcast appearances and non-fringe shows) that conflict with the festival. Right now my schedule is set at 35 shows. I have room to add a show or two if there’s something that I must see and providing that it’s running in one of those two or three free slots I have open, in which I was planning on breathing.

It’s a lot! I don’t know how I would have begun to narrow down that list of shows or figure out how to schedule them if it weren’t for two things. First, my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers. This group of experienced Fringe goers have given me so much help in how to make the most of my time during Fringe, companies whose productions I should try and see, and strategies for not only attending each show but when to find the time to write about them as well. If you are not following our group on facebook you should https://www.facebook.com/TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. I don’t see and review every show in town but there’s a good bet if I haven’t, one of my colleagues has. Several of us will be covering Fringe, while we’ll be too busy to post much as a group, we will be posting our thoughts on what we’ve seen on our individual blogs regularly. Secondly, The Minnesota Fringe Festival website has a lot of built in tools to help you make your Fringe schedule. So whether you want to see one show a night or only have two days you can go and want to make the most of your time, go to https://minnesotafringe.org/ . There is a full list with synopsis of each production, you can go through and favorite the ones you are most interested. Then you can view the festival by date and location and create a schedule on your Fringe account. It’s a great site and it was invaluable to me in solving the tetris like puzzle that is scheduling 35 shows acoss 11 days.

Stay tuned to my blog starting August 5th for post with short reviews of what I’ve seen and what I recommend. Don’t miss a single review from The Stages of MN, on your computer from the home page on the right enter your email address and click subscribe, on your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page. Also you can follow me on Facebook, search @thestagesofmn and click follow and on Instagram thestagesonmn.