Tag: humor

Twin Cities Horror Festival Day 10 Reviews: The Final Two Shows, Cursed Objects and Terms

Show numbers 13 and 14 of the 14th Annual Twin Cities Horror Festival gave me a full TCHF Bingo! I’ve seen them all, and lived to tell the tale. Day 10 was a night of highs and lows, but as my mama always said, TCHF is like a street of houses on Halloween: you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes it’s a Snickers bar; other times, it’s those orange-and-black wax paper wrapped chewy mystery candies. But that’s part of the fun, the unexpected.

The festival runs through October 30, and there’s still time to catch most of the shows. Visit tchorrorfestival.com to explore the schedule and purchase tickets. A few shows are worth planning ahead for, especially Terms, which is hands down the best production in this year’s festival.

Cursed Objects, from Dolly Who? Productions, was a bit of a disappointment. Destiny Davison, the creative force behind Dolly Who?, stars as the Webb sisters, Millicent and Melody, two consciousnesses sharing one body. The pair runs The Cabinet of Cursed Objects, a curiosity shop celebrating its 13th anniversary with a gathering of loyal “Cabineteers.”

When a mysterious door arrives in a shipment, strange things begin to happen, though what exactly is never quite clear. That’s the problem. The setup has potential, and the concept of the Webb sisters is clever. The set design is well done, thanks to the show having the Studio space, which allows the show to remain set up throughout it’s run, but the script lacks focus.

The performances feel under rehearsed, and much of the exposition is delivered inaudibly. Once again, it feels like strong production design is being used to mask a script that wasn’t ready. Davison’s performance as the Webb sisters starts promisingly, but the idea never quite reaches its potential. The shop itself and its clientele are intriguing ideas, but too vague and underdeveloped. And while it isn’t fair to judge a show by what it isn’t, I couldn’t help wishing Davison had woven in some of her delightful cartoon creations.


With Terms, my Twin Cities Horror Festival journey comes to an end, and what a high note to finish on. It’s easily the best show of the festival.

Four Humors, the company that started TCHF 14 years ago, proves you can go home again. The cast featuring company members Ryan Lear, Brant Miller, Matt Spring, and Allison Vincent, and joined by newcomer Corie Casper, is fantastic, as anyone familiar with Four Humors would expect.

The story combines the otherworldly horror of H. P. Lovecraft with the even more terrifying evil of insurance companies. As the show began, I was reminded of a line from The Rainmaker: “Deny all claims.” The plot centers on the firm of BGW, which seems to confirm what we’ve always suspected, That they exist to serve their evil overlords in this case the board of directors.

Terms showcases everything that makes Four Humors special. The performances, script, and production design, from costumes and props to projections, are all at a level few TCHF shows reach. That’s not a knock on the others; it’s the bar to aspire to.

I brought my son Alex and his fiancée Jayla with me. Jayla had seen Rasputin, Four Humors’ 2023 TCHF hit, with me, and we loved it so much we went back for the encore at Open Eye in 2024. On the way home, Alex remarked that Terms, expanded into a longer version, could easily play at the Guthrie. That’s a comment on quality, not content. And honestly, I’d choose a Four Humors show over just about anything at the Guthrie, any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I’m not sure why Four Humors doesn’t produce more often, but the talent of this quartet is evident in every aspect of Terms. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, razor-smart, and executed with split-second precision.

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“Hypocralypse Now” Puts Our Current World into Focus, Allowing For Some Release Through Laughter

The current show at Brave New Workshop Hypocralypse Now features a return of what I think of as the core group of comedians Lauren Anderson and Denzel Belin, Isabella Dunsieth, Doug Neithercott who returns after a short absence, and returning to the fold after a longer absence is Taj Ruler. You couldn’t ask for a better cast. The script, aside from a fart sketch that wears out it’s welcome, almost immediately is very funny. So why did I leave the theater a little depressed. Maybe I picked the wrong week to go off my antidepressant. Or, maybe the world is just so grim and messed up that dealing with it, even in a humorous way, is too much. For many of us, the coping mechanism right now, as our country positions itself to become the evil empire of the 21st Century, is to tune out. Not watch the news, not read any further than the headlines, which alone are enough to depress Roger Rabbit. The saying “it’s funny because it’s true” is spot on, the problem is “it’s scary because it’s true” is equally accurate. It’s cathartic to laugh about the things that scare us, but when we’ve been repressing those things, once the laughter stops we are left staring into the face of those scary truths we were ignoring. I’m not advocating the strategy of ignore difficult things, like most coping mechanisms, I don’t think that’s a very healthy way to navigate the world in general. But, the reality is that sometimes we do the easier thing, hopefully in order to replenish our inner strength in order to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them.

The sketches that really work, like the one that parodies the old School House Rock short “I’m Just a Bill” about the big beautiful bill, succeed because they point out the hypocrisies of those who passed it. There is a sketch involving the White House Press Secretary that kills with the audience again because the comic caricature of Karoline Leavitt isn’t much of a caricature, as outrageous of as it is, it’s scar… I mean funny because of how true it is. The game show sketch called “This or That” perfectly distills what is wrong with a percentage of this countries population, a far to large a percentage. My favorite Skit involves Lauren Anderson as a bear, I know you’d think it would be Neithercott, explaining to a Maganite (this may be a new word) how when you read something on the internet you should click two more times to get closer to the truth. It’s a great skit because it uses the examples that I, and the other humans with a sliver of common sense, are incredulous that anyone could possibly believe. But it also reminds us that far too many of our fellow citizens will believe any insane thing that they are told, while also ignoring every fact or refuse to use logic to come to any conclusions that don’t agree with what they wish was true.

Hypocralypse Now is very funny but if you are currently “head in the sand” stage of coping with life, be aware of the dangers inherent in this show. In order to laugh at something we need to acknowledge it first, and some of you may not be ready for that. The best thing about the show is that it ends with a series of improv games which act as a palate cleanser for the evening by avoiding the political. It’s the right note to end the evening on. Hypocralypse Now runs through November 1st at the Dudley Riggs Theatre on Hennepin Avenue in Downtown Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepinarts.org/events/hypocralypse-now-2025

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The Stages of MN YouTube Channel is home of the weekly The Stages of MN Show which you can view by clicking on this link https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the latest episodes and Subscribe to the channel so you’ll always know when a new episode has dropped. Think I may have steered you wrong on a show? Well, I’m also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read review roundups of shows by m’colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.

The World is Burning So I Made Smores One of the Funniest Shows Yet at The Brave New Workshop

Photo Courtesy of Hennepin Arts and The Brave New Workshop

If you’ve never been to the Brave New Workshop (BNW) for one of their sketch comedy shows, The World is Burning So I Made Smores is the perfect show to take the plunge with. The humor is topical but perfectly MAGA friendly; no seriously, if you are a Trump supporter don’t have any qualms about attending this show, none of your wrongly held believes will be questioned or joked about even in the slightest, sincerely. In fact, what a perfect way for liberals to extend an olive branch to their former MAGA friends, invite them to this light comedy show that looks for the silver lining in today’s overcast days. I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to thank all those who voted for Trump than to take them to this show and watch their responses. You know that uncle of yours who’s always going on about the transgender mafia’s attempts to take over the WMBA? You know the one you faked having Covid so you wouldn’t have to see him at Thanksgiving and Christmas? Yeah, bring him and Aunt Karen to this show, they’ll just eat it up, trust me.

Like all of the BNW shows telling much about it can only lessen your enjoyment. I will say that there seemed to be more musical numbers than usual, all of which are very funny. The cast is great as always, missing from this show is longtime performer Doug Neithercott, but who we do get are fantastic. Without saying too much, here are some favorite bits. Dora the Explorer played by Isabella Dunsieth. Katy McEwen as a sportscaster interviewing Donald Trump, played by Jeffrey Nolan, about his draft day cabinet picks. Lauren Anderson as a mother explaining to her daughter that grown ups don’t know what to do either. Denzel Belin as Captain America and his run in with Captin’ Merica. And one of my favorite portions of the night was Act III which was all improv, which of course means it will be different every night based on audience suggestions.

The World is Burning So I Made Smores runs through May 17th at The Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://hennepinarts.org/events/the-world-is-burning-so-i-made-smores-2025

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, Theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our Theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity.

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.

But that’s not all! You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/ from time to time. 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.

Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot Has its World Premiere at Illusion Theater

Jim Cunningham and John Middleton Photo by Lauren B Photography

Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot is a play by local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher that dramatizes a dinner between pen pals Groucho Marx and T.S. Eliot. Although that sounds way more straight forward than this play actually is. What we get is multiple versions of the evening in which they try it as Groucho’s game show You Bet Your Life, or as a scene from one of the Marx Brothers movies. Like a Marx Brothers film you are never sure where this play will go next. The topics range from old Groucho routines to a debate about whether T.S. Eliot was antisemitic. There is discussion about breaking the fourth wall and then there is breaking the fourth wall. There are a couple of short songs performed and we even get appearances from the You Bet Your Life ducks. It’s laugh out loud funny at times and actually raises some interesting thoughts about issues such as copyright law and happiness. Hatcher crams an awful lot into a brisk 75 minute runtime which flies by but also seems like the perfect length.

The cast consists of Jim Cunningham as Groucho Marx and John Middleton as T.S. Eliot. Let me start with Eliot because I know next to nothing about him and certainly had no idea what he looked or sounded like. I have seen Cats and was aware it was based on his poetry and I seem to have some recollection of his poem The Waste Land coming up in connection with The Great Gatsby. I’ve no idea if that connection is real or imagined to be honest, it’s a memory from about 40 years ago. So Middleton had a lot of leeway to do what he wanted and if the narrative is accurate in terms of his character, he played it superbly. Middleton does a fantastic Chico Marx impression when he and Groucho reimagine the evening as the trial from Duck Soup.

Cunningham has an uphill battle against decades of familiarity with Groucho. I’ve seen all of the films, I’ve watched many YouTube videos of Groucho on talk shows, I used to watch rebroadcasts of his You Bet Your Life with my Dad as a teenager. I was in my twenties but my Dad like to pretend he was a teenager when we watched. It’s hard not to wish that Cunningham had gone a little further towards capturing the Groucho we all know. In every other respect he does a fine job, there are flashes of Groucho, which is a reasonable choice. He presents Groucho as a man who has come to meet someone and have dinner at their house, he gives a flash of performance to please Eliot and the audience but doesn’t want to play the “Groucho character” in his personal life. It’s a valid choice, but it’s not the one the audience is hoping for. Though perhaps the play doesn’t work if he goes the full Groucho?

Fans of either of these two 20th century legends will get a kick out of this what might have happened play. Groucho Marx Meets T.S. Eliot runs through March 15th at the Center for Performing Arts in South Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.illusiontheater.org/groucho-meets-ts-eliot

Now more than ever in the wake of the most recent election and the hailstorm of stupidity and hate it has unleashed, Theater companies need you and we need them. Buy tickets to shows go out and support work that reflects diversity and inclusiveness. Donate to your favorite theater companies, don’t wait until they are on the brink of shutting down. We all need to stand up and fight for our Theaters whose funding is under attack for promoting inclusion, equality and diversity.

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.

But that’s not all! You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/ from time to time. 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.