Twin Cities Horror Festival XV Final Six Reviews: Kalinga: Feast of the Fallen, Bicentennial Auger, The Sludge, Shed, Carmilla, and Music & Monsters: A Grand Guignol Double Feature

These are my final six reviews of the Twin Cities Horror Festival XV, and with these, I will have successfully seen and reviewed all 14 shows in this year’s festival. I don’t think I could have finished with a stronger lineup. All six shows I saw today fall into the bloody good category, which is the highest category you can achieve at the TCHF, at least in the system I just made up. Not only was every show a winner today, but the lineup also mirrored the diversity and variety of the TCHF.

If you haven’t seen everything yet, or haven’t seen anything, there are still six days left of the festival, and you now have reviews of all the shows to help you figure out which ones are must-sees. But listen, a lot of shows have been selling out this year, so don’t wait and see. Figure out what you want to see, go online, and get tickets. This really is the best way to celebrate Monster Month. Not only are the shows a blast, but the whole vibe of the festival, its atmosphere and community, is so unique. Find some time between now and Halloween, when the festival closes, to check it out. Here is a link to the festival website so you can get all the details and purchase tickets.

KALINGA: Feast of the Fallen is definitely a unique show in this year’s TCHF, and basically any year, really. Created and performed by Saath, a South Asian theater company, this is a show that involves extensive dance. The show reimagines an ancient South Indian tale of a great battle and the goddess Kali and her ghostly followers, who descend and feast upon the remains of the battle.

First of all, the dancing is amazing. To be honest, that is the one thing I did expect from this production, and I wasn’t disappointed. What I did not expect was the atmosphere they created, first by having a cast member wandering through the audience ahead of the show, creeping us out. And I mean that as a compliment! I love when shows engage with us in this way and create anticipation for what is to come.

I think I was expecting them to tell a story that could tangentially be labeled horror through dance. But this was a full-blown horror production, not in the sense that it was too scary or too bloody for anyone, but in the way they used many of the techniques we are accustomed to at the TCHF: props of severed limbs, some very cool and unexpected makeup effects, and strategic lighting cues.

This really was a delight to behold and very effective as horror dance theater. I hope this company returns to the TCHF in the future with new stories told in their unique style.

Bicentennial Auger takes over the studio space for the second half of the festival. Each festival, two shows share the space, one at the start of the festival and the second toward the end. The studio space allows shows to have more complex sets because they don’t have to be loaded in and out in ten minutes before every show.

This one features a great set designed and built by Derek Lee Miller. It’s an ice house, the kind used in Minnesota winters for ice fishing. It’s a great-looking set that also includes some surprises for the audience.

The story concerns two siblings who haven’t seen each other in seven years, meeting up to go ice fishing. There is tension between them, which we will come to understand. The show features great performances from the cast: Noe Tallen, Dave Gangler, and Jared Reise.

It also features effective use of music, no surprise there, as the show is written and directed by Sam Landman, who can occasionally be found DJing and whose musical knowledge is as eclectic as it is extensive. This is a man who wrote a They Might Be Giants musical but filled it with deep cuts rather than the band’s more popular songs.

There have been several very well-written shows at the festival this year, and this is right up there with the best of them. Landman has an ear for dialogue that sets his scripts apart from others. They are funny without relying on jokes and go in directions you do not expect.

The Sludge is a family-friendly show. It’s the one show this festival where I’ve seen multiple youngsters in the audience. That doesn’t mean it’s for kids; it means it’s for everyone. Shows at the TCHF run the gamut from gory and scary to quirky and funny, and this one leans very heavily into the humor.

The story follows two sets of mothers and daughters. One, Elliot and her daughter Viv, is going through a divorce, and the other, Drew and her daughter Harper, are the friends they go and stay with. Harper is a science nerd who discovers something she can’t identify in the woods and brings it home. This is the sludge of the title. As we discover, it is not the harmless piece of nature Harper supposes it to be.

The script is definitely funny, but is it as funny as the show itself? What I’m getting at is that a lot of the humor comes from the performances as much as it does from the script.

The one thing this show makes abundantly clear is that Rita Boersma, who plays Drew, is a Twin Cities treasure and quite likely the best line reader in Minnesota. I’m not entirely sure she can speak a line without eliciting at least a grin from the audience. Don’t get me wrong, the entire cast is very good and very funny, but Boersma makes sorting socks funny.

It was also nice to see Victoria Pyan in several roles, including Harper’s soccer coach. I’m really starting to wonder how this talented young woman flew under my radar until recently.

This is a very funny, all-ages-friendly show without being aimed at children. I enjoyed it as much, probably more, than any kid would. Written by Rachel Teagle and directed by Jenny Moeller, the dialogue has such a natural, off-the-cuff feel to it that you’d almost think it was improvised.

Shed is this year’s entry from TCHF veterans Dangerous Productions. Faithful readers or regular attendees at the TCHF might remember this company as the tarp team. They are known for being the theater company that actually tries to scare the audience. They are masters of pointing flashlights out into the audience to surprise us with jump scares involving how or what comes onstage while we are blinded by the light. They also generally put on the bloodiest shows, hence the tarp.

This one was actually a little restrained for Dangerous Productions, but what they did in terms of effects was extremely effective.

Jay Kistler, who is usually in Dangerous Productions’ TCHF shows, plays Jeff, a guest on a podcast. He’s there to tell the story of the Man in the Shed, but what starts out ordinarily enough becomes more and more bizarre as the host, Natalie, doesn’t just want Jeff to tell the story but wants them to act it out. Add in a third performer, who plays the man in the shed in his underwear and a pig’s mask, and all bets are off.

With this company, you expect the unexpected, and that certainly happens. This is bloody, to be sure. It has several genuinely frightening moments and also manages a few laughs.

There’s a reason Dangerous Productions always gets a slot at the TCHF: they never disappoint. They are the one company you can rely on to try and actually be scary. And let’s face it, when people think of horror shows, blood is one of the things that comes to mind. With Dangerous Productions, you know there will be blood.

Carmilla is an adaptation of the classic 1872 vampire novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.

Every October in The Stages of MN household, we try to watch only horror movies. Now, Mrs. The Stages of MN, Micky to her friends, can’t really handle things that are too scary or too bloody. Therefore, we watch a lot of older horror movies, and this year, among other movies, we are watching the Hammer Films Karnstein Trilogy. The first film, The Vampire Lovers, is based on Le Fanu’s novella. This source material, you may be surprised to learn, predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by a quarter of a century.

This adaptation is written and directed by Cara White. Carmilla is told from the perspective of Laura, who, under hypnosis, relays the story to a doctor who is concerned about her health. She is the focus of Carmilla’s desire.

The play is unabashedly erotic without being explicit. Carmilla is the prototype of the lesbian vampire. The relationship between Carmilla and Laura, played by Maretta Zilic, is less that of hunter and prey and more romantic in nature.

Zilic is quite good in the role of Laura, as is Mahmoud Hakima, who plays Gen Speilsdorf, who arrives at the end of the play seeking to destroy Carmilla, who killed his daughter.

TCHF Artistic Director Nissa Nordland, who is also responsible for the blood effects in the show, which are very well done, brings an air of otherworldliness to the role of Carmilla. Fitting for a character who exists outside the natural world.

The show features some great costumes and set pieces. It’s always nice to have a classic story in the mix, and I appreciated how White didn’t try to modernize or sensationalize the story but remained faithful to the themes and ideas of the original.

We talk about the variety of the TCHF as a strength, and this final batch of shows really showcases that aspect. Music & Monsters: A Grand Guignol Double Feature was the perfect show to end the day with because it is itself a showcase for that variety.

The first tale is very much one of those supernatural stories you’d get in an episode of a horror anthology TV show like The Twilight Zone or The Veil. It concerns a man who arrives at a boarding house to rent a room. He is drawn to the music coming from another tenant’s room. That tenant is violently opposed to engaging with the new renter or sharing anything about his music with the man. But is it to maintain control of the music, or is the music itself the one really in control?

After that tale ends, we get a series of quick, hand-related jokes and gags that are extremely funny and act as a palate cleanser after the more-or-less played-straight first tale.

Then we go into our second story, which is a take on the Frankenstein story. This mixes comedy with some gore and blood-effects work. There is excellent use of shadow work in the opening creation scene and the conclusion of the tale.

This show is definitely not for kids. There is an erect, though clothed, penis on display for a lengthy amount of time, and let’s just say things don’t end well for the penis, in a moment that is both hilarious and terrifying.

The four-member cast of Kaitlen Osburn, Nick Miller, Jesse March, and Kathryn Cesarz is very strong, equally effective in the initial dramatic scene, the silly, almost vaudevillesque bridging sequence, and the funny but also horror-heavy second tale.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the new website 79 Seconds on Stage a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

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Twin Cities Horror Festival XV Reviews 3 The New Batch: There’s Room For One Thousand More and Evidence: Silence Experiments

It was the best of times is was the worst of times. Hello faithful readers, I’m back with reviews of two more shows running at this years Twin Cities Horror Festival. One is undoubtably one of the best of the festival, the other the worst. The festival runs through Oct 31st and it’s the perfect way to celebrate Monster Month. Here is a link to the festival website so you can get all the details: https://www.tchorrorfestival.com/

There’s Room for One Thousand is one of the most elaborate shows I’ve ever seen at the TCHF. Set in the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World, the show begins the minute you are ushered into the theater, where you suddenly become a guest about to take the ride. Just like the actual ride, everyone is ushered into the center of the stage, surrounded by the portraits from the Haunted Mansion. Then we hear the voice of Paul Frees, who is heard throughout, narrating the ride. The portraits stretch as they do in the ride, and after the intro, we are told to make our way to the ride cars, our seats.

We meet three employees who have earned the reward of getting to stay overnight in the Haunted Mansion, but you can be sure there is more to this than a reward for being such good employees. The characters move through the rooms of the mansion, where moments from the ride are reproduced with astonishing accuracy, especially considering that a TCHF production requires everything in the show to be loaded in and out in 10 minutes.

Writer Tim Wicks’ affection for the ride shines through, as does his creativity. This is such a beautiful blend of design and script. Every element, from the wallpaper on the mansion’s walls to the employees’ costumes, feels authentic. The realizations of characters from the ride, like Madame Leota, the head in the crystal ball in the séance room, and the puppet of the Hat Box Ghost, which is twice the size of the human cast and looks like it was Imagineered at Disney, are astonishing.

This is now the show most likely to be the best of the festival. There is one performance left that is not quite sold out, on Halloween at 6:00 p.m. I urge anyone who has ever been on the Haunted Mansion ride to get to that last performance. I hope this will not be creator Tim Wicks’ final show, he is dealing with a terminal cancer diagnosis, but if it is, he is going out on a high note, one he should be immensely proud of.

The description for Evidence: Silence Experiments says there is a suicide cult and that 11 people disappeared. Five bodies were found; six never were. That sounds interesting. I have no idea what that has to do with what I just saw.

This is one of the most aggressively inaccessible shows I’ve seen at TCHF. Essentially, it’s a music show with visual elements that are utterly pointless. There are three performers in the show, including Roberto Kerry, who plays music and sings. The other two alternate between speak-singing while music is being played and using a digital camera and projector to display washed-out images of photos and drawings and written words on a screen that cannot be seen well enough to discern what is on it..

There are moments when some of the music is enjoyable, but as you’re listening to it, you’re watching one of the other performers put images in front of the camera that cannot be seen and writing that cannot be read. They also, at times, use a marker to doodle on the paper or photos and, for good measure, drag electronic cords in front of the camera.

One of the final lines of the show was “Please stop,” and my only thought was, they read my mind.

This is a touring show. Someone mentioned that it was from North Dakota, where I grew up. The performers are young, and I imagine they get a certain thrill from alienating the audience or being misunderstood by the aged white CIS man in the audience.

The best way to enjoy the show is to close your eyes, ignore any and all visual elements, and let the music wash over you. But be careful. You definitely run the risk of falling asleep, there is a hypnotic aspect to the music.

If you avoid only one show at this horror fest, this should probably be it. I think Kerry has real musical talent; I just wish it had been in the service of something understandable.

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the new website 79 Seconds on Stage a free and full guide to local theatre in the Twin Cities.

Twelve Angry Men at Lyric Arts is Guilty of Being Terrific Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

I first encountered 12 Angry Men in the seventh grade. We watched the film version in English class. I’m not sure why, but as a kid who grew up on black-and-white movies, I took to it immediately. It’s one of those films I go back to every five or six years for another screening, one I’ve probably purchased in every format I’ve collected over the years: VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, and Blu-ray. This is the second stage adaptation I’ve seen, following the musical version from Theatre Latté Da a few years back. Watching Twelve Angry Men today reinforced my feelings that this is a story that doesn’t lend itself well to the musical form. As with the film, this is a fast-paced, no-frills, emotionally raw, and tense drama. Coming in at a lean 85 minutes with no intermission, the play speeds by, with the drama steadily ticking upward like the mercury in the thermometer measuring the increasing heat of the unairconditioned jury room. Lyric Arts’ production hits the mark with an exceptional cast who quickly and believably deliver twelve distinct personalities.

Twelve Angry Men is set in a Chicago city courthouse on a particularly hot day, in the 1950s, I assume, based on the set design and costuming. The play opens with a voice-over of a judge giving the jury their instructions, reminding them that if there is reasonable doubt in their minds that the defendant committed the crime he is being tried for, they must vote not guilty. With no air conditioning, nerves are already raw as the twelve jurors file into the room to deliberate on a murder trial in which a nineteen-year-old Black man is accused of murdering his father. Based on the conversations as they take their places around a long rectangular table, it seems like they are all of the opinion that it is an open-and-shut case and that the boy is guilty. They take a vote immediately and discover that there is one vote for not guilty. The next 80 minutes or so have the characters debating the case, with Juror 8, the holdout, slowly convincing others that there is reasonable doubt.

The case is intriguing, and the debate about the details of the crime and the questioning of the evidence are great, entertaining stuff. And to be sure, the play works as a tense, thriller-esque drama, but it is really about something larger: it is a microcosm of our society. Sometimes we think we have evolved and become more enlightened than previous generations, or at least we used to. The last decade has revealed that we are closer to the world these twelve jurors inhabit than we once thought. For those interested in looking beyond the entertaining story, there are themes of institutional racism, racism, ageism, and the ways in which our own personal pasts inform how we project onto others.

The cast is solid, with several standouts. As the two ends of the guilty/not guilty spectrum, David Denninger as Juror 3, who is convinced the boy is guilty because of his anger at his own son, and Davin Grindstaff as Juror 8, who feels that before you pass judgment on a man’s life, you should at least discuss it for a little bit, are great sparring partners. Dominic Delong-Rodgers is exceptional as the logical Juror 4, never losing his buttoned-up, emotionless cool while broadcasting intelligence and a sense of fair play. He holds out until close to the very end, but not out of prejudice or personal baggage. Instead, he is weighing all the facts, and one can almost see the scales of justice in his mind and know that if the evidence shifts enough and the scales tip toward reasonable doubt, he will vote accordingly. Abdoul Kondo, as Juror 11, an immigrant, is our reminder of the ideals on which our country is supposed to be founded. This role could easily become a caricature, but Kondo refuses to be just a mouthpiece for ideas. He internalizes the dialogue and makes it organic and character-driven.

Cory Skold’s set design is spot-on, giving us a sense of the ordinary so that we feel like we are in this place at this time without ever distracting us from the people inhabiting the space. Director Julie K. Phillips does an excellent job of ratcheting up the tension as the play goes on. There is a creative choice to black out the set at moments when emotions boil over. At first, I thought it was a lighting cue error, but after it happened a couple more times, I realized what was going on. Despite my initial reaction to the choice, I actually think it’s a brilliant decision. It gives us a moment to breathe and emphasizes those moments so that the points being made, whether it’s a declaration of “I’ll kill you!” or something else, are not lost in the momentum of the play.

My verdict on Lyric Arts’ Twelve Angry Men? GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS! Guilty of delivering a riveting production of a classic that holds a mirror up to our strengths and weaknesses as humans and as a society. Guilty of ratcheting up the tension until the final moments. And guilty of being first-rate entertainment. No reasonable doubt about it!

Twelve Angry Men runs through November first at Lyric Arts in Anoka. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/twelve-angry-men

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.

The Orpheum Theatre is Alive With The Sound of Music in This Fantastic Production, Highly Recommended!

Kevin Earley (Captain Georg von Trapp) with the von Trapp Children (with guitar) Ariana Ferch (Liesl), (seated) Luciana VanDette (Gretl). Also pictured: Haddie Mac (Brigitta), Ruby Caramore (Marta), Benjamin Stasiek (Kurt), Eli Vander Griend (Friedrich), Ava Davis (Louisa) in The Sound of Music. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

A strange thing happened as I sat in the theater tonight watching the touring company of The Sound of Music. A wave of nostalgia washed over me, and unlike the typical wave that comes and goes, it stayed with me. I’m not sure my eyes ever fully dried; they just kept leaking. Why was this? There is something about art that affects us in a unique way, particularly those works that are our gateways.

The film version of The Sound of Music was a yearly viewing event in my family’s house. Beginning in 1979, NBC began airing the film yearly, usually in February. I can clearly remember the first time I saw it during the 1979 broadcast. I was seven years old. It wasn’t my first film musical; I’m sure that was The Wizard of Oz, but I honestly don’t think of that as a musical for some odd reason, because clearly it is. But it’s a children’s fantasy first and foremost. The Sound of Music was an adult film, and everything about it moved me profoundly.

For years, I thought the dance between Liesl and Rolf during “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” was the most beautiful dancing I’d ever seen. I think Charmian Carr, who played Liesl, was my first celebrity crush. Little did my seven-year-old brain know that by that time, she wasn’t just nine years older than me, surely a number we could work through, but by the time I saw the film, she was 30 years older than me.

So tonight, I think all of those memories, of staying up way past my bedtime, of falling in love with Liesl, of that wonderful dance, and of all those beautiful songs, flooded back into my heart. I was reminded of that first pure love of a musical, long before I had a critical eye with which to view things. I don’t know that any other musical could have had as deep an impact as this one did. Tonight, I was reminded of all of that, and I think I was weeping for all of the reasons above, but also because I had been reminded of my love of the musical as an art form. These songs are like old friends, and seeing the show felt like coming home.

I think for some, The Sound of Music falls under the heading of shows they know well and think they don’t need to see again. To that, I would simply say: You’ve heard Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell a bunch of times. Does that mean you never need to hear it again? Of course not! And that’s why my fellow bloggers and I go and see shows we’ve already seen productions of, because the great shows are like a favorite album. They are a joy to revisit, and they remind you of who you were when you first saw them. Each production is like hearing something new on a well-known album.

Now, fans of the film who have never seen a stage production may also be surprised by several differences. There are two songs in the stage musical that do not appear in the film. They flesh out the roles of Max and Elsa. Truth be told, they were no real loss from the film. But all the songs you know and love from the film are here, though sometimes not when you expect them to appear. “My Favorite Things,” for example, is sung by Maria and Mother Abbess before Maria leaves the Abbey. Missing from the stage musical is “I Have Confidence,” which was written for the film. Oddly, “Something Good,” which was also written for the film, does appear in this version in place of the original song “An Ordinary Couple.”

The changes are ones we note mentally and then let wash over us. They work where they are, just as they worked in the film, where director Robert Wise and screenwriter Ernest Lehman moved them to. There is very little in this production that doesn’t work. It was not just nostalgia that provoked the reactions I was having; it was also a response to this production.

One of the standout elements is the scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt. Something as simple as following Mother Abbess through the Abbey in the opening is made dynamic by the set pieces that move along with her. The transitions are expertly timed and executed by director Jack O’Brien and the stage management team. There are some gorgeous backdrops, and the final set piece, depicting the grounds of the Abbey and the mountains the von Trapp family escapes Austria by climbing over (which they actually do in the show), is brilliantly designed.

The children are all great, as is Kevin Earley as Captain von Trapp. Ariana Ferch, who plays Liesl, is a standout. She is constantly adding little movements that give the character added awareness and depth. When she first plays the guitar in front of her father, sensing his protest, she moves forward in a way that conveys a new sense of defiance and agency, it’s silent, but it speaks volumes.

Lisa Howard plays Mother Abbess with a stunning voice that brings the theater alive with the sound of music. The real stunner, though, was Sydney K. Borchers as Maria, who is in as the understudy. It’s hard not to think we lucked out in getting the understudy, because it’s hard to imagine anyone playing the role better.

Borchers is absolutely a revelation in the role. This is Maria as we know and love her, but she’s also different. There is a freshness, a youthfulness, possibly even a slightly more modern edge to her. No, “edge” is the wrong word. She is not edgy in the slightest; she is sweet, good, loving, joyful, wise, all of those things, but without any of the cornier aspects those words summon.

I’d love to see this production again while it’s in town, but I’d be worried we wouldn’t have Borchers, and at this moment, I have no desire to see anyone else in that role. She is that good. Watching her, I completely forgot Julie Andrews’ performance, and that is really saying something, as Andrews is so ingrained in my mind as Maria.

There was just one casting choice that was all wrong: Dylan Bradford, who plays Rolf. He is supposed to be 17; Liesl is 16, and Ferch looks like she could easily be 16. I’m sure she is really in her twenties, but she doesn’t look it. Bradford looks 34, and it feels weird and just pulls you right out of the play for a moment. You can cast someone who’s 34, but they need to at least be able to pass for 17-ish.

Fans of The Sound of Music, don’t sit back and let this one come and go. Grab your tickets; you will not be disappointed. If you are a fan of musicals but haven’t ever seen The Sound of Music, it’s a musical you absolutely need to see, and this is probably the best stage version you’ll ever see.

The Sound of Music runs through October 25 at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to Hennepin Arts.

Twin Cities Horror Festival XV Reviews II: Lumbrada, and The Slender Vale Archives.

Hello faithful readers, I’m back with reviews of two more shows running at this years Twin Cities Horror Festival. The festival runs through Oct 31st and it’s the perfect way to celebrate Monster Month. Here is a link to the festival website so you can get all the details: https://www.tchorrorfestival.com/

Every show can’t be a winner. I see everything so that I can hopefully guide those who can only make it to a few shows to the best ones, or the ones that are going to hit your sweet spot. Lumbrada is kind of a miss. It’s confusing. One character is someone whose voice we only hear, and we’re unsure why that is. It doesn’t become clear at any point. The performances vary in terms of the actors’ comfort on stage, with dialogue getting lost in some less-than-confident performances.

There are about four or five moments, lines, or an effect that work great! But the rest seems underwritten and/or doesn’t make sense. The story is about four friends camping out and telling stories. One example of a head-scratching line comes when one character is telling their scary story, and another comments on a detail that seems very much in tune with the story they’re relating: “Why would you share that with us?” I wanted to shout out, “Because she’s telling you a story!”

I love that the TCHF gives newer artists opportunities. Sometimes you get something truly great. This time, it just doesn’t really work, aside from those four or five moments. But if you’re looking to catch only a few shows, this is probably one to skip.

The Slender Vale Archives is another improv show, sharing some of the creatives involved in Tales of Terror…From the Tomb!!! This one is narrated by the always reliable Sean Dillon, who sets up the show with his opening narration. Dillon explains that the town of Slender Vale is full of unexplained stories and uses a deck to select three words from which the improvisers must spin one long-form story.

As is the case with these improv shows, it’s really about the improvisers themselves and whether the show succeeds or fails. The TCHF jury has its pulse on the Twin Cities improv scene, so you know you’ll be in safe hands with any of those shows. This group features several performers who will be familiar to Twin Cities improv fans, like Destiny Davison, Ross Flores, and Chris Rodriguez.

I’ll be back at the Horror fest next weekend to see the remaining Eight shows, so check back then, but if your schedule only allows you to go this week, let me fill you in on a little secret. Being surprised is part of the fun. It’s like getting home to check out your trick-or-treat haul. My Mummy always said Horror Fest is like a pillowcase of candy, you never know what you’re goin ta get.

Monster Month is Now in Full Swing With the Launch of the Twin Cities Horror Festival XV Opening Night Reviews: LESLIE VINCENT: A MONSTER & MAYHEM CABARET, TALES OF TERROR…FROM THE TOMB!!!, AUGMENTATION, and MANTICORE, MN.

There is a wonderful thing that happens about midway through Monster Month: a select group of Twin Cities theatergoers look forward to it like Christmas. It’s the Twin Cities Horror Festival, the longest-running horror theater festival in the country. This is like a mini Fringe Festival. Each show runs about an hour, and there are 13 shows in rotation, plus a one-night-only festival-opening jazz cabaret by Leslie Vincent, which, if you are reading this and weren’t there, you missed. The great thing about this festival, as opposed to the MN Fringe Festival, is that it is not only possible to see every show, it’s easily done if you so desire. Each of the 13 shows is performed five times over 16 days. The cost per show is $15, but while supplies last, you can purchase a five-show pass for $70. There is also a Skeleton Pass, which gets you into all 13 shows, but those are usually sold out before the festival opens, so that’s something to keep in mind for next year. Here is a link to the festival website: https://www.tchorrorfestival.com/

There isn’t a lot to say about this since you were either there or you missed it. This was the second time they opened the festival with the sultry sounds of the exquisite Leslie Vincent. If you’ve not heard Vincent perform, you don’t know what you are missing. Here is a link to her website so you can catch an upcoming show or purchase her albums: https://leslievincentmusic.com/home. It’s a real feather in the festival’s hat that they can open the festival with her, and I hope they make it an ongoing thing.

Tales of Terror…From the Tomb!!! is an improv show that includes some puppets. Like improv shows at the Fringe, it will be different every time. What matters is the cast and the format. This is long-form improv, meaning they tell one continuous story for the entire hour. It is structured like one of those horror anthology shows, such as Tales from the Crypt, with this version featuring the Tomb Teller, played by co-director Laura Berger, who introduces and narrates the tale. I’m a fan of the horror anthology format, everything from the British film Dead of Night up through The Vault of Horror and Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, to TV shows like Thriller and Inside No. 9. So the structure was something I was predisposed to like. Was it funny? That comes down to the cast, and the answer is yes, it was. Ari Newman, Chris Rodriguez, Hannah Wydeven, Maria Bartholdi, Meghan Wolff, and Phil Schramm are the performers, with the other co-director, Will Schroeder, under a hood operating the puppets backstage. This show will delight fans of the horror anthology and improv.

Augmentation is written by, co-directed by, and stars the Executive Director of the TCHF, Duck Washington, and, as with previous years, it is one of the more accomplished shows we’ll see in the festival. Washington’s scripts are always more than just stories to scare the audience; they are thought-provoking tales. This one deals with a man who is gravely injured after rescuing people from a burning building. The doctors who get ahold of him save his life by implanting him with a ton of cybertronic parts. As he recovers, it becomes obvious that the “enhancements” that saved his life have not only replaced some of his body but also his humanity. It’s a cautionary tale about technology and whether we control it or it controls us. It’s easy to see the parallels to our current debate about AI.

A great cast features some favorites, including Kyle Dekker, Heather Meyer, Angela Fox, and Ariel Pinkerton. A special salute to CJ Mantel and Nick Glover for the costumes, makeup, and effects. The final scene has some wonderful tech, with the final blackout creating a rather terrifying image for the audience to ponder. This will surely be among the best of the festival.

Manticore, MN is written by J. Merrill Motz (rhymes with boats) and is another very strong script and well-done production. Directed by Alexander Gerchak, it features another great cast, including Thomas M. Buan, Kyra Richardson, Boo Segersin, and Lewis Youngren. In the small town of Manticore, MN, which isn’t even on the map, people have been disappearing and returning different. A special government agent, played by Segersin, comes to town to try to find out what is happening. The show keeps you on your toes; you are never sure who is good and who might be bad. There are echoes of John Carpenter’s version of The Thing, down to blood tests to try to figure out who is human and who isn’t, though without the gross body-horror elements.

It’s filled with nice touches of humor and is grounded by a commanding performance from Segersin. Buan, who plays the one-syllable-speaking logger Lars, gets a surprise scene of verbalness that reminds one of Silent Bob, but it also made me realize that, in a few years or with makeup, Buan would make a fantastic Falstaff.

If the rest of the TCHF is as good as opening night, this will be a very strong year.

The Rocky Horror Show is an Absolute Joy of Overloaded Spectacle From Mixfit Theatre at Lush Lounge & Theater

Mixfit Theatre’s production of The Rocky Horror Show is unlike any other production I’ve seen, which is in keeping with the oddity that is the legacy of The Rocky Horror Show. A love letter to genre sci-fi and horror films, it is best known to the general public through the film adaptation, which, after a poor initial theatrical release, found new life during midnight screenings. Due to the popularity of those midnight screenings, in which the audience interacts with the film, shouting lines and throwing rice, it has become the longest-running theatrical release in film history. Now, this production doesn’t want you throwing rice, but the cast may ask you to participate, which is a nice nod to the film’s traditions. But fear not, introverts! You will be asked at the entry if you wish to be interacted with. If you select no, you will be given a red glow necklace to wear.

This is the second show I’ve seen at Lush this season, and they have both been a blast. The theater at Lush is primarily used for their drag shows and isn’t really designed for full-on staged musicals. So there is literally nothing in terms of set, but there are costumes, video projections, props, and an assortment of aerialist equipment. The show is billed as a burlesque circus cabaret, but that seems to imply it doesn’t tell the story of the show, which it absolutely does. But there is a lot going on at any one time. As characters are singing the songs, there is usually someone either on stage or out in the center of the audience performing aerial acts that are jaw-dropping. Throughout the show, you will literally not know where to be looking from moment to moment. It is complete sensory overload, but in the best possible way. To say I was wowed by some of the circus performers’ aerial choreography would be an understatement.

The show starts with the song “Science Fiction/Double Feature,” the lyrics of which string together titles and facts from various sci-fi and horror films. Director Siddeeqah Shabazz has utilized projections that exactly mirror the content of the lyrics of the song. We get a really well-edited montage of shots from many films, including The Day the Earth Stood Still, Night of the Demon, and the old Flash Gordon serial starring Buster Crabbe, all with a very queer-feeling color overlay. I knew from the first moment that montage appeared that I was going to love the show.

For those familiar with the show, you may already be aware that the first act is the strongest. All the best songs are in the first act, and the story is relatively easy to follow, even in this unique staging. The second half can be a little muddled in terms of plot, but again, there is so much going on in the space that, while you might be a little fuzzy on what is happening, you will be completely entertained. Even when the songs are not that strong, the band, led by Musical Director Bradley Beahen, wins you over with their clean, tight sound.

The cast has a lot of performers who are new to me, including El-Sara Duopu as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, whose vocals and stage presence are equally powerful. Lee Garr, as the Narrator, is full of strut and coolness as he dips in and out of the story to give us a guiding voice. The cast also has some Stages of MN favorites, including Monty Hays in the dual role of Eddie and Dr. Scott, who really makes the song “Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?” his own. Nora Sonneborn, as Riff Raff, is a powerhouse. Her vocals are always top-notch, but this role is a million miles from what I’m used to seeing her in, and I thought she was fantastic here. And another really strong performance comes from Caitlin Sparks, who brings a new edge to the character of Janet. That was really fun. She plays it big, which works perfectly for this production, where mousey would have been lost in the cacophony of the show.

This is one to attend with friends, have some drinks, and just relax and enjoy the spectacle. But hurry, the show is selling out its short run quickly. The Rocky Horror Show runs through October 24 at Lush Lounge and Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://www.mixfittheatre.org/tickets.