MN Fringe Festival Day 10! A Real Piece of Work (The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award Winner), It’s-a-me a Musical, 1985: Relative Chaos, The Quiet Piggy, Witness Loudly, Tech, Small Minded

It is Day Ten, the penultimate day of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and I finally made it to the Independent Producers Venue, Strike Theater, for four shows. This group of shows featured some of my regular Fringe favorites, so I felt bad leaving them until Saturday, but the ones I really wanted to see never really aligned together for me earlier in the schedule.

This was one of my best days at the Fringe Festival this year, which made it incredibly difficult to choose a winner for the Fringe of the Day Award. I narrowed it down to three choices and then tried to devise rationales for narrowing it down, which I couldn’t think of any. So then I decided to write the reviews and see if any one show gained an edge as I processed them while writing.

Go to the Minnesota Fringe website here: https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026 to get the scoop on all of this year’s shows. I’ll be posting my final set of reviews within a day or two of the Fringe closing. Since the shows are over, there isn’t a rush, but I want to give those artists the feedback, and who knows, maybe one of them will be in the Fringe Encore at the Phipps in a couple of weeks.

I will post on Facebook and Instagram tomorrow after the 8:30 show who has won the final Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award. I’ll also be posting two other award winners: The Stages of MN Best of the Fest Award and The Stages of MN Improv Best of Fest Award! Which, frankly, I’m already regretting creating because I have a four-way tie going right now, and I don’t know who I’m going to award it to.

Even though Fringe is over, you should still check out and favorite the new theater website 79 Seconds on Stage, at https://79seconds.org/. That site has links to all of the shows playing around the Twin Cities, as well as any reviews that might be out there for them from print and digital review sources. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should.

A Real Piece of Work is a little love letter to community theater specifically and theater artists in general. It’s about a community theater company that is putting on a production of Hamlet in the basement of a church in Minneapolis. It reminds me a little of Kenneth Branagh’s film A Midwinter’s Tale, one of my favorite films about the honorable profession of acting. It also reminded me a little of Waiting for Guffman, but more on that later.

It opens with Ross Flores as Gregory, rehearsing a scene in the role of Hamlet. I always say the most important thing when playing Shakespeare is making the meaning of the dialogue clear to the audience, even if they don’t know the meaning of every word. Gregory takes this to a whole new level, creating hand gestures for the literal meaning of every single word in the famous “To be or not to be” speech. He is the epitome of the diva bad actor, adding flourishes to words to make them sound elevated, throwing a fit if someone stands in a way that will block the audience’s view of him, and so on. Flores plays it all perfectly, getting big laughs with his portrayal of the AcTor.

Other actors in the company are just there to get out of the house or have fun. They have more time than talent, and the director, Murphy, seems more interested in everyone having fun than providing any actual direction or leadership. That is what is driving Matt, played by Phi Hamens Nelson, crazy. He tries everything, talking to Murphy, the other actors, and the church lady Terry, who is clearly really in charge, but gets nowhere. He isn’t trying to take over; he just genuinely wants to do good and artistic work.

The problems keep growing. His attempt to enlist the help of Gregory only results in his performance going from eleven to twelve, which is one more. As opening time gets closer and closer, it becomes less about creating a vision for their production and more about simply preventing a complete train wreck. When Matt learns that they have invited theater blogger Rob Dunkelberger to review the show for The Stages of MN on opening night, his heart sinks. The pressure of having such a prestigious writer in the audience feels like the endeavor has gone from mildly embarrassing to something there will be a permanent written record of.

Phi Hamens Nelson’s performance is spot-on, trying to diplomatically get through to everyone, trying to plant seeds for ways to improve the show. When he loses it, we get it. There is nothing more frustrating than having everyone not take something seriously that you care tremendously about. It’s a moment that could go ridiculously big, but Nelson threads the needle, balancing realistic frustration while making it big enough for comedic effect.

I really enjoyed this look inside a theater company. I love theater and actors, with all of their quirks, so you give me a show about actors trying to put on a show that pokes loving fun at the venture, and I’m all in.

Having now written all of the reviews from Day 10 and seeing the length of this one, it feels like this is the one that I had the most to say about and was excited to get my thoughts down on. And so it is The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner.

I almost eliminated it because I’m mentioned, but I had no involvement in the show and didn’t know my name would be spoken, multiple times, until it happened. What is that like, to be sitting in a theater and having the play you are watching suddenly inject you into its universe? Hysterically surreal, and a little validating. In truth, it made me laugh as hard as I have at anything else in the festival, and I’ve laughed hard at a lot of things this Fringe. I also felt honored to have been chosen to represent the Twin Cities theater bloggers in the way, I expect because my name just sound funnier than the other blogger”s names do. Do I show up to opening night? You’ll have to wait for next year’s Fringe show, Waiting for Dunkelberger, to find out.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/a-real-piece-of-work

It’s-A-Me, a Musical is just fun! I don’t really do video games, though I have played Super Mario World a little back in college. You don’t need to know the game inside and out, or, for that matter, the 1993 film on which this musical is based to enjoy it. I haven’t seen it, and that was a time in my life when I saw nearly every film released in theaters.

The show has some sweet songs sung by a cast of varying vocal talents, none of them bad. The production design is minimal, but what is there is well done and really all we need to see to set the scenes. What is really special are the costume designs by Carlee Wehrman. They capture the characters simply but also spot-on.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/it-s-a-me-a-musical

1985: Relative Chaos! is longtime Fringe performer Jason Schommer’s entry in this year’s festival. Schommer is just an artist I connect with. Maybe it’s because we are about the same age and have a lot of the same cultural references. Last year, he added JC Lippold to his shows, playing snippets of songs or TV themes, and it made my connection to the shows even stronger, as they are the soundtrack of my life as well.

I know this was his last slot of the Fringe. Again, I wish I could have made it to all of the Strike Theater shows earlier, but I got to chat with Schommer a little after the show, and he may use this material in other venues, it’s a strong set and the material is very relatable to everyone.

The show is filled with stories about his family, with an emphasis on 1985, which was a big year for his family. It was the year his parents got divorced, his grandmother died, and his mom went into rehab. Schommer is as funny as ever, and as usual, he finds moments to tug at the heartstrings just a smidge as well.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/1985-relative-chaos

The Quiet Piggy is Executive Director of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Dawn Bentley’s first Fringe show of her own. It is mainly a political rant about the current administration, the effect its actions have had on the world, Minnesota, and the arts. Bentley is a passionate and strong writer, and her presentation is strong. She ends with a visual representation of her strength: we see her with her bodybuilding hat on, oiled up and flexing. It is a reinforcement of the strength and power in evidence in her script. There is some singing, some violin playing, a lot of swearing, and some clowning. The only part that didn’t entirely work for me was the clowning by Lucas Fanning, which just sort of fell flat for me. Though the final image of Dawn flexing her muscles with one foot on the fallen Trump clown was perfect.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/the-quiet-piggy

Witness Loudly by Kyle Dekker, is about Operation Metro Surge and the role he and many like him took up as constitutional observers, patrolling their neighborhoods to warn their neighbors and compile evidence about the reign of terror being conducted by ICE. Kyle’s show recreates actual live rapid-response calls from that time, giving the audience a very immediate and visceral sense of being in the moment.

It’s a powerful firsthand account of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to try and keep their fellow citizens safe. They are true American heroes. The show is emotionally difficult at times, but I think it needs to be. We should feel shock and anger at what is going on. Dekker does an excellent job of pulling together a complicated multimedia experience. This was part of what would have been a three-way tie, if I allowed those for today’s award.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/witness-loudly

Tech is this year’s entry from Twin Cities improv artist Mike Fotis and his band of merry makers. Fotis and his cast work in the long-form improv style, in which they choose a concept, in this case, a tech rehearsal the night before a Fringe show opens, and then they play that one scene out for the entire show. It’s improv, so it will be different every time. Fotis and his cast are among the best in the Twin Cities. It’s great! Anytime you have the chance to see an improv show in which Fotis is involved, see it.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/tech

The final show was part of that three-way tie, again, if such things were allowed. Small Minded is from traveling artist Tyler West. West tells his story as a person with dwarfism, working to become a performing artist. But he doesn’t stand up and just talk you through his life. The show is filled with everything from dramatic Shakespeare monologues, juggling, and magic to some of the best clowning I’ve ever seen. There is a segment where West dresses like a Keystone Cop that was brilliant! It was as if he was channeling the great silent film comedians, I absolutely loved that bit.

West opens up about the paradox he struggles with: the desire to be a performer, earn a living, and use his talent as a clown, while also grappling with the possibility of perpetuating harmful stereotypes of little people as performers to be laughed at.

Should we feel bad for laughing at his show, for enjoying the experience he has created? No. It isn’t about us. We do him a disservice if we say to ourselves that we shouldn’t laugh at the funny thing he just did. Because honestly, we are laughing at his performance and the creativity of his clowning, not at his size. He earned those laughs through the skills he has developed as an artist, not because of something he was born with, unless you are referring to his talent.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/small-minded

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MN Fringe Festival Day 9! Stories From the Trauma Dump, The Label Maker, Too Fat to Run, Braingystics (The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award Winner)

Day Nine of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, and I made it a satellite venue day. I feel bad for the shows outside of the Cedar Riverside hub. For some reason, folks think they can’t get between the locations in the 30 minutes between shows. Believe me, you can; I’ve been doing it all week long. And Open Eye has some of the best shows. Both the ones I saw today were excellent, Too Fat to Run and The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner, Braingystics. It’s also the venue for another Fringe of the Day Award winner, The Importance of Living, so I highly encourage you to branch out a little and get out to Open Eye.

This Saturday, I’ll be spending over half my day out at another outer venue, The Strike Theatre, seeing four shows there, all of which I’m really looking forward to, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Strike ends up with an award as well.

Go to the Minnesota Fringe website here: https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026 to get the scoop on all of this year’s shows. 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 can’t see everything; some things exist outside the spectrum of colors which we can see with the naked eye, after all. 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/. That site has links to all of the Fringe shows, as well as any reviews that might be out there for them from print and digital review sources. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should.

Stories From the Trauma Dump is part of the themed collective of shows at the independent producers’ venue, the Phoenix Theater in Uptown. All of the shows appearing here are a part of the Social Butterfly Project, which promotes mental health awareness. Learn more about that project here: https://socialbutterflyproject.com/.

This is a storyteller showcase, and the performers do change from show to show, so be sure to visit the shows page at the Fringe website and look under the More Information tab to see who is performing when you plan to go.

For the show I attended, the storytellers were Shanan Custer, Mahmoud Hakima, Ariel Pinkerton, Rev. Matt Kessen, Allison Broeren, and the show is hosted by Jena Young. All were excellent. I’m always a sucker for Rev. Matt and his Monster Science. Custer is one of those people I’ve come to admire as a performer, writer, and director, and it was fascinating to get a little glimpse into her early life and her journey with anxiety.

Hakima tells a touching story about his older sister and her diagnosis. Ariel was Ariel, which should tell you that it’s going to be a no-bullshit story, and she’s not gonna suffer fools. In short, she hits the nail right on the head and sheds light on a truth that should have everyone rethinking their roles in a partnership.

Allison Broeren successfully brings humor to topics that could use a little. This was my first experience of her storytelling, and she is masterful at it.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/stories-from-the-trauma-dump

There’s a joke that goes something like, “Do you have a lot of unresolved issues and childhood trauma that you think might need to be examined to help you understand why you are where you are in life?” And the punch line is, “You should write a Fringe show!!”

It gets a chuckle, but it also makes light of some rather brave shows like these at the Phoenix Theater this Fringe Festival. These shows shine a light on mental health issues. Artists do this by sharing their personal experiences. Why? because we all process things like this better through people’s stories. They make these issues relatable rather than just facts we read in a magazine article, thus heightening our understanding and our empathy.

The Label Maker is Jena Young’s solo show in which she asks the audience to play a game where she asks us which of two diagnoses the symptoms she lists fit. Then she tells her story that relates to those, and by the end, we know which one applies. The trick is, and it’s sort of the point, many of the symptoms of mental health diagnoses are shared. It’s one reason why diagnosis and treatment can be difficult.

Jena’s stories are powerful, and they help us to understand how things from our childhood often directly shape how we behave and how we see the world, and sadly, how we value ourselves.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/the-label-maker

Too Fat to Run is a solo show by Chicagoan Eileen Tull. Unlike a lot of solo shows, Tull doesn’t just walk around the stage making well-planned hand gestures while telling her story. She is in constant motion, running, rolling, or squatting on her exercise ball, which she makes good use of in many ways throughout her show.

It is about her battle with her weight and her relationship with food and exercise. And it’s about her training for and running the Chicago Marathon. She is a very physical performer, but also a master of expressions and vocal delivery. Her eyes and smile signal her intelligence, which is quick, and her humor, which is sharp.

This show got big laughs from me and the rest of the audience. Tull is a very enticing performer. You immediately feel like you want to be in her circle of friends because she is genuine, and she faces her trials and tribulations with humor and an “I can do this” attitude.

I’ve not really heard anything about the show, perhaps because it’s in the outlier location of Open Eye Theatre, or maybe because this was only its third performance. Which is actually great news; that means you all have two more chances to see it before it closes.

I have made the journey out to Open Eye from both the Cedar Riverside hub and the Phoenix Theater without missing a slot. It takes 10 minutes from either location, and there is parking available, so if you haven’t made it out yet, do. This show looked like it was going to be the award winner today until I saw the next one, though it is a close second.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/too-fat-to-run

Braingystics is like one of the best comedy sketches you would ever see on SNL, but it runs for an hour, and it knows how to end.

What is Braingystics? Well, it’s easier to talk about what it isn’t, and that is a pyramid scheme. It is not a pyramid scheme. It is a self-improvement seminar wherein we, the audience, learn about the process, which sounds a lot like a pyramid scheme, but this is definitely not a pyramid scheme. It is a process by which we can all learn to stop thinking, thereby opening our minds to 100% potential. It’s also about selling super-absorbent shams.

This is so sharply written and dense with jokes that fly at you like they are being fired out of the mouth of a carnival barker. Filled with inspirational babble and platitudes that sound great and mean absolutely nothing. The wordplay, the linguistic misdirection, and the sincerity with which it is all delivered are exquisite.

It is written and performed by Peyton Brown and Jared Jeffries, and it’s the kind of show you wish ran nightly for a month so you could bring family and friends with you to see it again. The performances and the timing by both Brown and Jeffries are uncannily good, with Jeffries giving off very strong Will Forte vibes.

This is The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award Winner and one of the best shows of the entire 2026 Minnesota Fringe Festival. One more chance to see it Saturday at 2:30 at Open Eye Theatre. Get there if you can!

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/braingystics-seize-the-mind-

MN Fringe Festival Day 7! A Confluence of Magical Arseholes (The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award Winner), Leave Room For Jesus, Minnesota is the Shire, A Woman’s Place is in the House

Day Seven of the Minnesota Fringe Festival is now but a memory. Oh, but what a time we had on day seven. Don’t believe me? Well, just take a gander at these four new reviews I’ve written up with you in mind. Depending on what your tastes are, any one of them might need to be on your must-see list.

The evening was divided distinctly into two halves, completely by accident. The first half we’ll call Fun, with a capital F. Not to its face, of course, but you know, in the car ride on the way home. The second we’ll call the politics of MN. Now, I’ll be honest, I’m more of a Fun guy, but I like to sample the vegetables as well, though they are more of a side dish for me. Whatever your leanings, meat, vegetable, animal, or mineral, as you plan your Fringe, I hope these reviews are of some help.

I’ve heard more than just me lament that choosing one show over another is like a Sophie’s choice. It was only after I heard the other person say it that I realized how first-world it is of us to compare having to choose between someone’s improv show and someone else’s improv show, with choosing which of your children should live.

Go to the Minnesota Fringe website here: https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026 to get the scoop on all of this year’s shows. I believe you can filter them by “meat” or “vegetable,” which will make it easier for the picky eaters in the crowd. 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.

You know, try as I might, I can’t see everything, and unlike Marla in Leave Room for Jesus, I’m not about to clone myself to make it possible. 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/. That site has links to all of the Fringe shows, as well as any reviews that might be out there for them from print and digital review sources. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should.

The evening started off with The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner, A Confluence of Magical Arseholes by The Winding Sheet Outfit (TWSO). Now, I’ve seen shows by this company at the Fringe and the Twin Cities Horror Festival. I know exactly the tone of show I’ll get, and I also know it will be among the most polished and creative… except, like Melancholics Anonymous (MA) this year, TWSO completely surprises us by doing something completely different. It’s still one of the most polished and successful, but it’s as if MA and TWSO swapped personalities. And like Watership Down, this is proof that talented people create great things and should not be held to our expectations of what they can or should do.

The show is directed by Amber Bjork in full view of the audience. Mark! Use the feckin’ door they bothered to haul on stage! It’s about the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a British secret society founded in 1888. It focuses on the poet W.B. Yeats and his nemesis, Aleister Crowley. This is a true-ish story taken to comedic heights and features the most utterances of the word “cunt” that I imagine have ever been spoken on the Rarig thrust stage in one hour.

The cast is filled with people you will see in other shows at this year’s Fringe. Bjork is also involved in Tech, out at Strike Theater, which one of my fellow bloggers says is in the running for their favorite Fringe show so far. Mark Benzel is in Silent Movie at the Barbara Barker Home for the Criminally Insane, oops, sorry, that’s The Barbara Barker Center for Dance. If you think Benzel is good in this, just wait ’til you see him in Silent Movie; he’s in 3D in that one!

Sam Landman, who also appears in his improv show Bury the Leads with partner and muse Nissa Nordland over at Mixed Blood, plays George Bernard Shaw. Derek Lee Miller plays Bram Stoker here, but you can also see him in his own solo show that is absolutely hypnotic, Bay Creek, also at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance.

That alone is reason to come see this show. If you know any of those folks, you’ve already put it on your schedule, I’m sure. But it also features the return of Michael Rogers, who abandoned us this year like a thong whose elastic has finally snapped for Rhode Island, where all thongs go to die. It was great to see him bounding about the stage in such a juicy villainous role. Great cast, great script, great accents actually, I don’t know how accurate they are, but they’re fun. I love the interplay between the characters and between the characters and Bjork. MUST SEE!

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/a-confluence-of-magical-arseholes

Next up is Leave Room for Jesus, and I’m so glad that this one has improv, or it might have been a tough call for today’s award. This Wednesday evening show was either sold out or within a couple of seats of sold out. Part of what made this show so much fun was that the crowd was totally into it. Not in terms of shouting out suggestions when asked, we were having fun, but we are still Minnesotans after all.

Hannah Wydeven plays Marla, an evangelical pastor who belts out songs and scriptures, frequently based on audience confessions. She is backed by the heavenly angel backup singers and has a few special guests show up. I would say that while one song, at least, seemed to be rehearsed, all of the others seemed to genuinely be improvised on the spot.

One of my favorite scenes, though, was that one pre-written song, which has Sophia Schott, who we just saw at Aamodt’s Apple Farm in The Hobbit, which she killed in. She is great here as well, singing a song to Marla’s daughter, who dresses in a rather provocative style. She sings to her about how great it is to cover up your body. She’s repressing some desires that begin to get the better of her, which is played hilariously.

There is also a great surprise character played to perfection by Will Schroeder. This one is for the young at heart, but not for the young. Obviously, given the improv nature of the show, much of it will be different every night. The night I went was definitely R-rated. R for ridiculously fun!! But seriously, not for kids.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/leave-room-for-jesus

Now we move on to the portion of the night where things get political, but we get to ease into it with Minnesota is the Shire or Fair & Back Again, a show that uses J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth as a way to view Minnesota. It starts by making the argument that Minnesota is very much like the Shire, from our landscape to our State Fair. It’s worth the use of a Fringe slot just to see the photos of Jeremy Motz, Rhymes with Boats, at the fair looking like a bearded twelve-year-old.

Written and performed by Sean McArdle, the focus then changes to the occupation we face, beginning last winter when ICE began to terrorize us. He aptly compares it to the penultimate chapter of The Return of the King, “The Scouring of the Shire.” While things definitely get dark, and there are several clips he plays of videos he made last winter or audio recordings that capture the anger and fright he and all of us were feeling at the time, it also contains hope.

McArdle compares Minnesotans with Hobbits, and again I think he makes a good argument for that viewpoint. The show has moments that are quite raw and powerful, but those moments are tempered by the lighter ones. The bits of Tolkien nerdery help to create a nice balance between the heaviness of the topical and the fantasy of the literary.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/minnesota-is-the-shire-or-fair-back-again

The final show takes us out of the realm of fantasy and politics and into the genre of science fiction and politics. A Woman’s Place Is in the House has a woman from today go back in time to 1922 and recruit the first four women ever elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives to come back to the future with her to speak at a rally before this November’s elections to help inspire us to be better and fight for equal rights for everyone.

They each speak at the rally using their actual words from the past, and it’s scary how appropriate their comments are to today’s world. Along with the four past politicians, each show features the Minnesota Frog Brigade and cameo speeches by women currently serving in the MN House, as well as members of the League of Women Voters, ERAMN, and the Women’s March Minnesota.

It’s a clever concept for reframing the arguments and trying to present them in a new way that might connect with folks differently. The problem with it is the same one we always run into when like-minded folks gather around a topic: you are sort of preaching to the choir. You are not likely to finally get through to people because the people in the room are already with you. What it can do, however, is reignite the passion to act and to get involved to work towards the goals addressed.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/a-woman-s-place-is-in-the-house

Fringe Extra!! Derek Lee Miller’s Bay Creek

So there is one show that I saw at last year’s Twin Cities Horror Festival that is playing at this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival as well. As brilliant as I thought it was, I can’t bring myself to see something I’ve already seen over the chance to see something new. But I have spoken to someone who has seen it at both festivals, and they assure me the production hasn’t changed. So, because I highly recommend it, below I’m sharing my review from last fall of Derek Lee Miller’s fantastic Bay Creek!

Bay Creek written and performed by Derek Lee Miller is essentially a one person monologue. Miller’s character is in an interrogation room being questioned by members of the entire alphabet of law enforcement from the FBI to the DEA. We occasionally get recorded voice overs from those agents asking questions but for the most part it’s Miller on his own. The script is in places inspired by stories Miller was told by his family growing up. The story Miller’s character unfolds about his family is one of demonic protection. Miller is never less than completely hypnotizing the script like Miller himself doesn’t have an ounce of fat on it. It’s super tight, while the production design is extremely simple, a man sitting in a chair next to a table with a microphone and folders on it. The lighting and sound cues are not elaborate but are among the most effective I’ve ever seen. The final moment of the show is truly awesome. To be sure this is one of the best of this years TCHF thanks to Miller’s powerful storytelling through script and performance.

https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/bay-creek

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.

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

Blithe Spirit A Ghostly Comedy Brought Effectively to Life at Theatre in the Round

Cast of Blithe Spirit Photo by Aaron Mark Photo Film

Ever worried about your ex, or your partner’s, coming back into your life? Well, Blithe Spirit takes that concern and doubles down on it, making your own worries seem trivial.

Noel Coward’s classic comedy follows novelist Charles Condomine, who invites a quirky psychic named Madame Arcati over for a séance as research for his next book. What could go wrong? Well, she accidentally summons the ghost of his first wife. And only he can see her.

What follows is a delightfully chaotic battle between the living and the dead, as Charles’ current wife, Ruth, finds herself competing with a very present ex, Elvira, who refuses to move on. Witty, fast, even at two hours and 45 minutes, and deliciously ridiculous, Blithe Spirit is a supernatural farce where the afterlife has better comedic timing than most of the living.

As Charles Condomine, James Lane seems to have completed his transition from supporting player to lead. I’ve been seeing Lane in productions all over town for years now, and his two performances this year, a supporting role in Grumpy Old Men: The Musical and the lead here, are among his best. This is a big role, and Lane makes it look easy, with perfect timing not only in his line delivery but also in his reactions to the characters around him.

As the two wives, Megan Blakeley as Ruth and Dani Pazurek as Elvira take very different approaches to their roles. Blakeley has great timing in her appalled reactions to Charles’ comments, which are directed at Elvira but assumed to be meant for her. Her slide into haggard despair at the constant presence of the deceased wife is well modulated. she primarily reacts to the world around her. In contrast, Pazurek is effortlessly superior as the ghost, able to criticize her replacement without fear of retort, since Ruth cannot hear her. She plays the role as a character above everyone else, she makes her statements and lets others react, free from their worries. She’s dead; she can focus only on what she wants, without fear of consequences.

I have seen and greatly enjoyed the David Lean film adaptation from 1945, particularly the role of Madame Arcati, played by one of my favorite character actors of all time, Margaret Rutherford, who also originated the role in its West End premiere. Janice Stone plays the role here and very much makes it her own. She is spry and full of eccentric energy, and she pulls off the difficult task of making me forget Rutherford’s performance to become a highlight of the show.

The supporting cast is also very good. Dr. George Bradman and his wife Violet, who are part of the original séance, are played by David Rinzema and Lori Constable. Constable, in particular, adds a twinkle to her character reminiscent of the great character roles of the 1930s and ’40s. Hailey Zeissler plays Edith, the perpetually high-strung maid, with the perfect deer-in-the-headlights combination of panic and stunned indecision.

Dann Peterson directs the show with an assuredness that comes from having helmed 27 productions for TRP. The play is well suited for the in-the-round space, with Elvira constantly circling the stage, leading to moments where those who can’t see her are conversing with the empty space she just occupied. Thomas L. Valach adorns the space with a well designed set, complete with French windows from which Elvira can make her spectral entrance.

It’s a very fun play and a wonderful conclusion to another great season from Theatre in the Round. I look forward to their next, the 75th season, which is filled with great shows, all with a Minnesota connection. Read about next season here, season flex passes go on sale June 23rd!

Blithe Spirit runs through July 12th at Theatre in the Round. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatreintheround.org/blithespirit/

Monty Python’s Spamalot At The Ordway Can’t Compete With Classic Film, It Works Best When It Goes Its Own Way

Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Monty Python’s Spamalot is a stage musical adaptation of the British comedy troupe Monty Python’s film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It doesn’t compare to the brilliance of that film, at least for this lifelong fan of everything Monty Python. That isn’t to say it’s bad, but the film has set a very high bar.

For me, the evening started off on the wrong foot, as it seemed that the sound was not balanced well. I had trouble hearing the vocals, even dialogue, if there was music playing as well. Struggling to hear a fun show is no fun. I’m not sure if adjustments were made during the show or if my ears were able to tune in to the actors better over the course of the evening, but I struggled less as the night wore on. Perhaps for that reason, perhaps for others, I found Act “Moo” to be much more enjoyable.

The main contributing factor, aside from the sound issue, for the second act’s success was that it seemed to deviate more from the film. When you know a film as well as I do this show’s source, it’s hard to get too excited about line readings that aren’t as good as the original. That’s no knock on the cast, I don’t think many actors would fare well in comparison to Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. It’s not really fair to compare them, but when you are saying the same lines they did, it’s also hard not to. The best parts of the show were when they incorporated new material. The show’s book and lyrics are by original Python member Eric Idle, so the additional material feels like it belongs.

As for the parts lifted straight from the film, it’s a testament to how well written the film was that some sections still get big laughs. But there is something that works against a show when, while you are watching it, you are thinking about the superior version. I wish Idle had taken more license to create something fresher. I think 50% less original material would have allowed the truly classic bits, the ones you can’t leave out, to feel like welcome nuggets of nostalgia rather than long sections of straight screen-to-stage translation.

So the big criticisms are the sound balance and the unenviable task of actors who have to take on such iconic material, a losing battle for anyone. That said, let me also say that I really liked the cast. It isn’t their fault they are not John Cleese or Graham Chapman. A standout for me was Major Attaway as King Arthur; one of his best moments is the song “I’m All Alone,” both vocally and comedically. Another is Amanda Robles, who plays the Lady of the Lake. She delivers some seriously funny, but also vocally impressive, moments that really brought the house down.There is a song where she does snatches of other songs that’s quite funny. Another successful bit, is a scene that pokes fun at the idea of making this film into a musical by replicating a moment from Phantom of the Opera. A nice Easter egg for fans of musical theater.

The production design by Paul Tate DePoo III relies heavily on some well-used projections. DePoo similarly utilized projections to even greater effect in The Great Gatsby, which played the Orpheum last week. I do think part of me was hoping for a little more stage magic, but when I thought about it, this is more in keeping with the film’s small budget, and I think the design approach is ultimately the right choice for the show.

Monty Python’s Spamalot runs through June 14th at The Ordway Center for Performing Arts in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://ordway.org/events/spamalot/