While I only have six reviews today I did actually see seven shows. The seventh was a repeat of previous The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner Emily Bryajian’s Transition: A Story of Two Trans People Becoming Themselves. All the other shows are lucky I don’t give the award to a show twice.
The MacScottish Play is about of group of college students who are mounting a production on Macbeth that seems to be cursed. Cast members keep dropping out and then the Director gets sucked into the play itself. There are side stories for the cast members and lessons about not outing people and none of it matters because you don’t believe a word of the dialogue. The problem with the show is two fold. The script and the performances and it’s hard to say for certain if the failure of one isn’t contributing to the other. Are the performances so mannered and wooden because of the script or is the script better than it appears but is just being hobbled by unprepared actors? I lean towards the script being the bigger culprit. When dialogue exists just to take up time or to try and give an appearance of naturalism without adding anything to what we are seeing, even solid actors can struggle to give them meaning. There are about a half dozen good lines and I’m not saying the idea isn’t good. But the dialogue is illogical and feels like the verbal equivalent of treading water.
https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2024/the-macscottish-play
The Camp Out this is an Improv show which means every performance will be different. If you’ve ever wondered how true that is M’Colleague Jill, of Cherry and Spoon, took this show in twice and said aside from the set and putting up a tent it was completely different each time. One assumes from the title and the surprisingly elaborate set design that the story they weave will somehow involve a camping trip. I’ve seen good and bad improv, but I’ve never seen bad improv that Mike Fotis, who created, directed, and performs in The Camp Out. Fotis leads a cast filled with Twin Cities best improvisational actors including Rita Boersma, Tim Hellendrung, Nels Lennes, Heather Meyer, and Danna Sheridan.
https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2024/the-camp-out
We Were Only Henchmen is about two working class Henchmen who, out for a night of Booze and drugs, get talking about their current and past employers. Between them they have worked for many of the cities supervillains, and have opinions on which ones are better to work for. We hear the pros and cons of working for different baddies, there’s talk about benefits, horror stories of what has happened to friends under various employers. The performances are super strong and the show is filled with the sort of real world issues that never come up in comic books. When the two friends witness a superhero doing something horrible, what was a fun night out between friends gets very real. I really enjoyed the humor and performances and the skewed reality of the plays world. And hats off to Costume Designer Leo Green for Mr. Superior’s Superhero threads.
https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2024/we-were-only-henchmen
Show Me Your Wings is The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner for Day 10. Show Me Your Wings stands out in the sea of Fringe shows for it’s unique location at Squirrel Haus Arts. But even more unique is the combination of artistic disciplines utilized to convey creator Rhiannon Fiskradatz’s vision. Very much an autobiographical show it uses among other things, interactive art, video, puppetry, watching a painting created before your eyes, dance, and curated artwork. I was hitting a wall when I arrived at Squirrel Haus Arts for this show. This was my 45th show over 10 days, I was curious about the show but also struggling to connect with the aspects of the show that we explored on our own. But I found my way through that when Fiskradatz began to sing. As she talks and sings about different aspects of her life and journey, I found myself rejuvenated and ready by the end to rush out and make it to the final two shows of the day. It turned out to be a beautiful change of pace, a very memorable and special show.
https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2024/show-me-your-wings
The Dumb Waiter is a one act play by Harold Pinter performed wonderfully by Dominic Schiro and Robert Wood Frank. It’s about two hitmen who are waiting in a room for their next assignment. The Dumb Waiter of the title begins to deliver food orders to them, which they don’t know how to respond too. It’s a play that ends kind of ambiguous, that leaves you a little unsatisfied. But, that when you think back, you were enjoying every moment of the show. Like The Zoo Story, it’s nice to see thrown into the melting pot that is a Fringe Festival, a solid traditional one act play produced. I enjoyed this one as I have everything I’ve seen from Jackdonkey Productions, the company behind The Dumb Waiter.
https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2024/the-dumb-waiter
What You Need to Do Is! If I had known going in to this show, what it was I’d have never gone in. That said, I’m glad I accidentally attended this one, and now that it’s over, I realize I had a good time. If you like audience participation or those team building get to know you exercises at work, then this is the show for you! If you can’t wait to tell some stranger 3 fun facts about yourself, this is the show for you. Or, Are you like me an introvert, though one who tries really hard to break out of that? If so, this is the show you do not want to find yourself seated at when the house lights are supposed to go down and then don’t. So with all that, why am I glad I ended up at What You Need to Do Is! ? It has everything to do with Coach Clemons and Assistant Coach Low Jack played by Eric Simons and Alsa Bruno. These guys make it as painless as possible, we had laughs but we also actually kinda learned a few things and worked through some issues.
https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2024/what-you-need-to-do-is-
That’s the reviews from Day ten of the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Be sure to check back daily for new reviews and if you are Fringing and you see me, be sure to stop and say hi! Also for reviews of shows I might not see or for another opinion on ones I have, follow M’ Colleague Jill Schafer at http://www.cherryandspoon.com/ and for other Fringe writings checkout our friend and fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger Kendra Plant’s blog Artfully Engaging at https://www.kendraplant.com/blog-artfully-engaging.
Tired of missing reviews from The Stages of MN? Do you find yourself left out when all your friends are talking about that great new play that you didn’t even know about? Never fear, that need never happen again. Now you too can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. No more hoping the algorithm works in your favor and you actually see a post on facebook or Instagram. No relying on so-called friends to tip you to the best shows in town. To subscribe 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. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn. You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/ from time to time.
But that’s not all! Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . Now you too can be in the know about all the fabulous theater happening in and around the Twin Cities.
Discover more from The Stages of MN
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
You must be logged in to post a comment.