Sorry for not getting this out sooner, but there is still a day or two before the next episode is up and there are still a few tickets left for a few performances of Lizzie: The Rock Musical which has extended it’s run to 11/8. Watch the episode here https://bit.ly/TSOMNEpisode16YouTube
Episode 16 features an interview with Joel Sass the Producing Artistic Director of Open Eye Theatre about their latest production Lizzie: The Rock Musical which now has an extended run through 11/8 go here for tickets and details https://www.openeyetheatre.org/ We also have a review of that show as well as Chap Snatchers at Bryant Lake Bowl go here to get tickets for this weekends final performances https://www.bryantlakebowl.com/theater
We also have details on how to win tickets to an upcoming show at History Theatre thanks to Erica Skarohlid of Lettered in Theatre. You can read her blog here https://letteredintheatre.wordpress.com/ and check out the season lineup at History Theatre here https://www.historytheatre.com/
“Beautiful.” That was the word that floated up from someone in the audience behind me as the cast prepared to take their bows after the final preview performance of Once on This Island at Artistry in Bloomington tonight. I was sorely tempted to leave it at that. I won’t be able to capture the evening any more perfectly than that, even if I used 5,000 words.
The best word to describe the music? Beautiful. The best word to describe the story? Beautiful. The best word to describe the cast? Beautiful. And the best word to describe the star, Antonisia Collins, who plays the grown Ti Moune? Here I can add some qualifiers: possibly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen on stage. It’s perhaps the best casting of the year. Collins, who seemed to come out of nowhere and first caught my attention as Robin Hood last summer, has just made the jump to light speed and now sits atop The Stages of MN favorites list.
Once on This Island tells the story of Ti Moune, a young girl saved from a storm by four gods and placed in a tree to be found and adopted by a peasant couple. Mathias Brinda is also excellent as Little Ti Moune, showing remarkable stage presence for an eighth grader. Ti Moune wonders her whole life why the gods saved her as a child. When Daniel, a rich boy from the other side of the island, is in a car crash, Ti Moune discovers him. She knows in her heart the reason for her being saved was so she could save him. She nurses him back to health, falls in love, and when Papa Ge aka Death, comes for Daniel, she offers her own life in his place. Once Daniel is taken home, Ti Moune follows, and he seems to return her love. But where she sees with her heart, he is led by the expectations of others. In the end, he casts her aside and marries someone from his own class. It is Ti Moune’s innocence, her faith, and her belief in love that Collins captures so effortlessly.
There are many excellent members of the cast. A few of note: Darius Gilllard as Tonton Julian, Ti Moune’s adoptive father, whose voice is deep and powerful. Ninchai Nok-Chiclana, who plays the god Papa Ge, is also very good, getting a standout vocal moment in “Promises/Forever Yours (Reprise),” when he offers to spare Ti Moune—if she kills Daniel.
I’d seen the show once before when the tour came to the Ordway in the winter of 2020. Because I’d bought the tickets, I was probably seeing it at the end of its run, and I didn’t write a review. My only real recollection was that we were seated onstage, which was pretty cool, but that’s about all I remember. This time, I was in my favorite seats—front row center. Less novel, but arguably better than being behind the performers.
The production is simply staged, but with a beautiful simplicity that fits the story within a story style. Director Kelli Foster Warder adds some wonderfully creative flourishes, including a scene played entirely in shadows behind a white screen recounting Daniel’s family history. From my vantage point, I may not have been able to fully appreciate Nikki Long’s choreography, but what I could see up close looked fantastic—and I can only assume it looks even better from further back.
Music Director Sanford Moore, as always, draws a big sound from his orchestra, this time infused with a wonderful Caribbean flair. Once on This Island runs through October 26 at Artistry in Bloomington. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit artistrymn.org.
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The Stages of MN YouTube channel is home to the weekly Stages of MN Show. You can watch it by clicking here. Be sure to check out the latest episodes and subscribe so you’ll always know when a new one drops. Not sure you agree with one of my takes? I’m also part of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can find review roundups from my colleagues and me. Follow us on Facebook at @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers.
I’d like to be able to say that the cast is the reason to see It’s Only a Play part of Park Square Theatre’s 50 year celebration season. But that’s only one of the reason. There’s also the elegant set design by Benjamin Olsen, the creative and excellently staged Direction by Stephen DiMenna, and of course the knowingly hilarious script by Terrence McNally. Set in the bedroom of the townhouse of Broadway producer Julia Budder on opening night of her first solo production. Below there’s a party going on while upstairs a group of those involved with the play, their friends, the help, and even a critic, await the reviews. Filled with in jokes that those up on theater and pop culture will enjoy, but I feel like the humor is universal enough that you don’t have to be a theater nerd to enjoy it.
The cast is so good that rather than use a more interesting photo from the production I wanted to use one from the curtain call that featured the entire cast, because they are all so good and I can only comment on a few. The largest role is played by Jim Lichtscheidl, as James Wicker the playwrights best friend and an Actor who turned down the male lead he says because of his TV series, but really he thinks it’s a turkey.
Big Fish based on the novel by Daniel Wallace and the 2003 Tim Burton film from Columbia Pictures, could be aptly titled Dad Jokes and Stories: The Musical. I saw the film in the Theater with my son Alex when he would have been about five and a half years old. It sticks with me because of a memory I have of Alex laughing his head off at a scene where a baby goes sliding down the aisle of, I want to say an airplane. I’m not 100% sure that scene exists, and seeing the show with Alex 22 years later has made us both curious to revisit the film and see if my memory is true.
Daddy and Alex at Lyric Arts for Big Fish 9/5/2025 Photo by my right hand
I don’t know how faithful it is to the book I never read or the film I barely remembered, though story details did come back to me as we watched. I feel like there is a lot of consistency at least between the film and the musical. Which also makes sense because the screenplay for the film and the book for the musical were both written by John August. The show is about the relationship between a father, who tells tall tales, and his son who expecting his own son in a few months. The father, Edward, is dying and his son Will wants to know the truth about his father who has been an embarrassment to him throughout his life, always telling wildly implausible stories. The fun of the show is the enactment of these stories, which feature mermaids, giants, the circus, and a war story in which Edward thwarts the assassination of a general. Much of the humor comes in the style commonly referred to as Dad Joke’s, which being a Dad, I loved. The heart comes from the relationships. Whether it’s the romantic and loving relationship between Edward and his wife Sandra, the attempts to connect between Edward and Will, or how the myriad of other characters with who Edward interacts create a tapestry that tells his mythology. I can’t say any of the songs by Andrew Lippa have actually stuck with me, but they were enjoyable enough as the show played out.
The cast is led by Ben Bakken, who is terrific as Edward, with boundless energy and a twinkle in his eye as he unloads every whopper of a story. The other cast member whose performance I found really touching was Kate Beahen as Edward’s wife Sandra. Beahen is a gifted vocalist, but it’s the warmth and unwavering love she displays for Edward throughout that really grounds that relationship making her the glue that binds the family together. Director Scott Ford along with Music Director Wesley Frye, and Choreographer Hannah Weinberg-Goerger, wonderfully stage everything from the tall tales to the group dance numbers. Special shout out to Costume Designer Samantha Fromm Haddow who must have 5 or 6 different costumes for each of the 21 cast members. And special little nod to two performers in small roles that absolutely put their uniques stamp on the show, Justin Betancourt and Alex Stokes.
The show runs about 2 hours and 35 minutes including the intermission, but it doesn’t feel long at all. The storyline that threads its way through the episodic stories told by Edwards keep it clipping along and allows us a variety to the storytelling that keeps it fresh. Alex and I both really enjoyed revisiting the story of Edward and Will and all the fantastical characters that populate it. Big Fish runs through September 28th at Lyric Arts in Anoka. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lyricarts.org/big-fish
Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithms to ensure you hear about a great show. You can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. It’s the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the theater action. 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.
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.
So it took 28 shows until I found one that I couldn’t wholeheartedly recommend. But you know what? Tonight was the kind of night that reminded me of what the Minnesota Fringe Festival is all about. It’s about trying new things and that doesn’t just mean the audience, that means the people on stage too. Look at my friend Kendra Plant, first time Fringe producer of The Kendra Plant Variety Hour. Her whole show is about trying something new and working through it even if you have some anxiousness. Fringe is a place for Artists to come and try new things. It’s also a place for artists to present their tried and true productions. You can be as polished as Melancholics Anonymous or as bare bones as one person standing on a blank stage reading from a script. As an audience member you rarely know really what you’ll be getting, sometimes the most excellent sounding premises fall flat and other times the show you see becuase you couldn’t get into the one you wanted to see blows you away. Tonight was really all over the place, but even the worst show of the evening had something good about it. And I want to champion everyone’s efforts. But, I’m also not honoring my promise to you if I don’t tell you what shows I’d skip. If I don’t try and help you decide where your time is better spent, than what use am I? I’m just a publicity machine, and that’s not why I started doing this. There are 99 shows to choose from and I owe it to you to help you make that choice if I can. So as promised these are my Minnesota Honest Reviews Truthful, but hopefully not hurtful.
Songs Without Words (or, The Mendelssohn Play) Is a show I did not have on my schedule originally, but word of mouth convinced me to make a change (sorry Ping Prov). I’m glad I did as I have given it my The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award. This is a show from an out of town Artist and I always feel like I should try and make sure I see more of those, but again 99 shows. You start making a list based on who’s work you’ve enjoyed in the past whether it’s a theater company or a performer, and then which shows the description sounds interesting, and then the all important factor, where you look at your schedule and say, you know if I see that show I can just stay at Open Eye all night and not have to drive back and forth. why am I spending so much time describing schedule making? Because I don’t have a lot to say about the content of this show. It’s very polished and elegant, it’s the story of sibling composers Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn. Is filled with beautiful music, a reminder of the injustices woman have suffered in the past not being allowed to have the same options, or sometimes any options as men. It’s a theme that pops up in several of the Fringe shows I’ve seen so far this year, because apparently half of the country need to be reminded of how things were and have it pointed out that, that was bad. Songs Without Words is not just a message play it is a fascinating exploration of two people that I knew nothing about, other than having heard some of their music. Jennifer Vosters who created and performs the shows is mesmerizing in both roles. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/songs-without-words-or-the-mendelssohn-play-
Now it starts to get interesting Our Zombie Town is a modern mash up of the Thornton Wilder play Our Town and the zombie world of George A. Romero. It’s a great idea and I feel like the script by Richard Chin is actually fairly solid, maybe even really good. The problem is that it feels like we are watching a run through of the performance two weeks into the planned four week rehearsal. Everyone is “mostly” off book but maybe haven’t entirely made all of their choices yet on how they plan to play a scene. There are a few good performances but too many of the cast seem content with having remembered their lines and spoken them. It may be a Fringe show, but the best Fringe shows regardless of budget or silliness of the subject matter, have actors that still try and create a character. Maybe it’s the amount of rehearsal time the cast had, maybe it’s weak direction, or an over reliance on the high concept to win the day. I’m not sure. But the one thing I don’t think that is at fault is the script. And there’s one set piece that almost makes this worth checking out. But with 98 other shows to choose from, I can’t recommend Our Zombie Town to everyone. Die hard zombie fans or people who have acted in a production of Our Town are probably the most likely to enjoy this. But, and I can’t stress this enough, this is my opinion, Faithful readers will know where our tastes diverge. A glance at the Minnesota Fringe Kitty meter or whatever they call that Kitty rating system has this at 4 1/2 Kitties. Does anyone else find that disturbing? I’m not a cat lover but even I don’t like the image of half a kitten. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/our-zombie-town
So apparently when I was making my schedule I thought what I needed was a Twin Cities Horror Fest wannabe night. Academonic has sort of the opposite issue of Our Zombie Town. This one I thought the performances were all fairly solid but the script needed another draft or two. This may be the result of someone’s ping pong ball being pulled without them having any idea what they wanted to do. In which case getting a play written at all is fairly impressive let alone casting and rehearsing and performing it. It’s not that you can’t follow the script or glean from what is happening the motivations and relationships. But a solid script doesn’t make you have to glean things or make assumptions. Pretty much everyone in the cast is good but especially Tamira Rashid as the protagonist Ellen Karass, which we assume is a play on the priest in The Exorcist, and Kiran Arquin who plays a demonic carpet. The only time the performances falter is when they are given too little to say or do and you feel like even they are gleaning what their characters motivations are supposed to be. If you gotta see one of these two horror themed plays this Fringe I’d bet on this one, but be warned the script is murky and directionless at times. It feels like they had thirty minutes of material, a story possibly able to support a longer running time, but ran out of time to flesh it out. And so, they wrote time filling dialogue that would challenge any actor to deliver convincingly. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/academonic-
The Lasso Way: A Musical is fun without rising to the level of other musicals I’ve seen this Fringe. Full disclosure, I’m a big Ted Lasso fan. When this show opens with Ted’s son in court because he’s spray painted the word “Wanker” all over New York City because he hates his Dad, who’s dead, the show had an up hill battle on it’s hands. Sentenced to community service directing a musical about his father or faced with years in person Henry must learn to be a Director and deal with his daddy issues. This is a little rough around the edges but overall if you are a Lasso fan, you’ll want to see this. Co-creator Travis Carpenter is well cast as Coach Beard and Noah Johnson as the actor Brent who is playing Roy Kent in the musical, does an uncanny vocal impersonation during his first line readings as the character. His song about saying the F word, is easily the best musical number in the show. There are a lot of nice touches throughout including a hallucination conversation Henry has with his dead father. By the end it’s quite winning and remains faithful to the message of Ted Lasso. this is a recommend but if you don’t know the show Ted Lasso, that might hamper your enjoyment. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-lasso-way-a-musical
That’s it for day six of the Minnesota Fringe Festival you can click on the Fringe website here to get details on all of the shows https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025. Don’t forget to tune into The Stages of MN YouTube channel for mini episodes all week long from The MN Fringe Festival https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN
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.
Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to ensure you hear about a great show. You can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. It’s the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the theater action. 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.
I’m just back from Day 5 of the Minnesota Fringe I’ve got my reviews below. I also want to let folks know there is a new Minnesota Fringe edition of the YouTube show up today, so check it out it’s full of Artists telling about their shows and Audience members giving recommendations of the best shows they’ve seen so far. click here to view it https://bit.ly/TSOMNFringe2025miniEpisode2
I Have Griefances is closer to the show Wells Farnham wanted to do in 2023 when he first came off the Fringe waitlist. But he couldn’t because it was all about making fun of his family, and they had all just gotten cancer. So instead he did a very funny show in which he talked through the Fast and the Furious film series and the children’s show Paw Patrol. That show was funnier, but what this one loses in humor it makes up for in heart. This isn’t a lesser show it’s just a different blend of humor and pathos and both are equally effective. My favorite bit is the explanation of the lamp shade story that has plagued him for years. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/i-have-griefances
The Gentlemen’s Pratfall Club By Comedy Suitcase is the latest show from Joshua English Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen their 2022 show Bob and Reggie Go To Bed was the third Fringe show I ever saw and the First to win the then completely unknown, though just as highly regarded as it is now, The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award. Where that show relied entirely on physical comedy, the new one which, in case you haven’t read the headline, has also won The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award, strikes an unexpected balance between physical and verbal humor. I’m not going to say I was disappointed by the addition of dialogue, it’s too well written and funny for that. But there was something special about seeing what amounted to a live silent comedy performed on stage. Faithful readers will have gleaned from past reviews that I have a love of silent cinema, but I also love the comedies of the 1930’s and 40’s which relied much more on verbal comedic acrobatics, and so I’m game to go along with the boys as they transition to the talkies, I just hope they don’t sign a contract with MGM and lose all creative control. Besides the reality is probably that these guys are aging, I’m not calling anyone old, but our bodies can only take so much abuse and cutting back on the poundings their bodies have to take is probably a good idea and will prolong their ability to do these shows in the long run. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-gentlemen-s-pratfall-club
OPERA PUNKS is the first of two Musical improv shows I saw on Day 5. It’s really hard to say much about an improv show as by its very nature it will be different every night. This is improv in which the performers take suggestions shouted out by the audience and then create songs around them acting out these comedic scenes as if they were operas. The cast is great and features among others Brave New Workshop member Isabella Dunsieth and Michael Rogers who, listening to his singing here, one wonders why we haven’t been seeing him starring in musicals around town? This was a great show, very funny and the cast is so strong that if the performance you see isn’t good, it’s probably that your audience threw out dumb suggestions. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/opera-punks
Shrieking Harpies Presents: Period Piece is another musical improv show but the difference is that the Shrieking Harpies shows are long form improv. So instead of creating short comedic scenes with singing, the create a musical with a beginning, middle, and an end. The “period piece in the title refers to the fact that this years show the stories will be sent in a particular time period. Apparently the time period for each performance is voted for online before the show. I missed that memo and so we ended up with the 1990’s, which frankly, I lived through, and didn’t find all that interesting while I was doing so. I would have loved to have seen them do something from long ago, or if it had to be in the 20th century the 1950’s or 1960’s. That said it was still very entertaining, very funny and confirmed for me that any time I can see the Shrieking Harpies, which are made up of Lizzie Gardner, Taj Ruler, Hannah Wydeven and Justin Nellis on the Keys, I will. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/shrieking-harpies-presents-period-piece
That’s it for day five of the Minnesota Fringe Festival you can click on the Fringe website here to get details on all of the shows https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025. Don’t forget to tune into The Stages of MN YouTube channel for mini episodes all week long from The MN Fringe Festival https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN
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.
Don’t depend on a Facebook or Instagram algorithm to ensure you hear about a great show. You can subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN sent directly to your email box. It’s the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the theater action. 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.
OK, day four of the Minnesota Fringe festival is behind u. Here are my reviews for the shows I saw on day four, including The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner. I’ve now seen 22 of my projected 45 shows, keep checking back for my reviews of the remaining 23. Haven’t made it out yet yourself? Here’s the link to the Fringe website so you can pick some shows https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025
Journey to Joy, Again, Marie Cooney’s latest solo story telling show is funny, endearing, and empowering. It begins with coming out as a lesbian woman and ends with coming out as a person with a disability. The success of her show is a testament to the reality that our set backs don’t have to stop us, they can redefine us. Cooney has taken her injuries and turned them into a story of overcoming adversity, and of of developing advocacy. It’s filled with moments of triumph and Joy as well as sprinkled with advice for anyone who is going through something similar. Cooney who has suffered two traumatic brain injuries uses moments in her show where she searches for a word or loses her place (this doesn’t happen often) as an opportunity to educate the audience on techniques she has learned to help her navigate those moments. This is such an inviting experience which opens with Cooney asking the Artists in the audience to tell about their shows and audience members to share their recommendations. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/journey-to-joy-again
I am Here is a storytelling anthology with rotating performers, so each performance will be different. But the connecting thread is about existence and resistance. The performance I saw had moments of laughter and moments of stunned silence. Go to the shows page and see what performers you are most interested in seeing and then go to that performance. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/i-am-here
The Book of Mordor is a musical version of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy using the music from the musical The Book of Mormon. It kind of amazing how much of the 10 + hour runtime they are able to cover in 60 minutes. It’s also very impressive how funny the songs are and how good the singers are especially given the fact I’m unfamiliar with most of them, I assume that’s because they appear to be from Mankato. Like Hamluke from Day 2 it’s kind of surprising how well these two wildly different properties mash up. The Costumes are well done and cleverly conceived and the humor goes beyond just funny songs. But it also feels respectful of The Lord of the Rings you get the feeling that the creators of the show Carissa Christenson and Kendra Braunger are genuine fans. I really enjoyed The Book of Mordor and have awarded it The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award! To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-book-of-mordor
Against My Will is local Actor Michael Quadrozzi’s solo show about the childhood environment in which he grew up and the ramifications it has caused throughout his life. From a narcissistic Mother to his Dad dying when he was in his early 20’s. The glimpses we get into his formative years are indeed traumatic. Quadrozzi is an open and sympathetic performer, and he forges a genuine connection with the audience. Given the subject matter it is surprisingly funny and entertaining. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/against-my-will
Boxcutter Harmonica this two man show by and starring J. Merrill Motz (rhymes with Boats) along with Martin Dockery is a fascinating investigation into the Crossroads legend. Which is where one goes to make a deal with the devil in order to become the best at whatever they are trying to be the best at. The story dates back to Faust but the most common variation on this story in modern history revolves around a blues guitar player Robert Johnson. And that is the focus of The show ,which is presented as a lecture given by Detective White played by hardcore Fringe performer and visiting Artist Martin Dockery and Inspector Black played by local amateur performer Motz. Motz is competent in the role, but to be completely honest, Dockery carries him throughout the performance. And it’s Dockery’s skills on the guitar that are really what makes this show worth putting on your list. I suspect Motz leaned on a friendship and the promise of giving all the best lines to Dockery that got him in the show. Warning: the promised build-your own Reuben sandwich buffet never materialized as promised following the show. It was still worth seeing, but don’t plan your meal break around it like I did. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/boxcutter-harmonica
Breakneck Twelfth Night by Timothy Mooney, with assist from Will Shakespeare is Twelfth Night performed at breakneck speed. Somehow Mooney gets through the entire twelfth Night in an hour. I mean I don’t have the play memorized or anything and I’m sure there are cuts to the text, but the plot is intact. Mooney does a great job of making the language accessible and even adds in some footnotes to help the audience understand what is happening . He’s a consummate performer and I’m glad I adjusted my schedule to see it. Full confession and an apology to the Artist and any other Artist this may happen to throughout the Festival. I kept catching myself nodding off throughout the performance. This had absolutely nothing to do with what was happening on stage, this was a physiological response to seeing 22 shows in four days getting at most 5 hours of sleep a night and feeling completely wiped out by the 8:30 time slot. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/breakneck-twelfth-night
The Spirit Moves You To Color The Unseen is Created by The Winding Sheet Outfit. They are a theater company I am always impressed with whether it’s a Fringe presentation or at the Twin Cities Horror Fest their shows are always beautifully designed and executed while having impossible to remember or sometimes even pronounce titles. When I go to a show I’m not expecting to learn anything, but I love it when I do. This show is about the artist Hilma af Klint played by Boo Segersin and to a lesser extent her four friends with whom she made up De Fem (the Five), played by Heather Meyer, Kayla Dvorak Feld, Megan Campbell Lagas, and Peyton McCandless. They were a group devoted to Theosophy which appears to be a combination of spiritualism and science. She is the true creator of the abstract art style. The show is dedicated to making her story known and setting the record straight at least for those who attend this show. It is a reminder of the injustices done throughout history in order to preserve the patriarchy. Hilma af Klint lived from 1862-1944 and because she was a woman, she has been sidelined and had her accomplishments obscured and stolen by men and the art world in general. Aside from the subject matter, which is completely fascinating, the production itself is beautifully rendered. Particularly the costume of the Spirit played by Kristina Fjellman and designed by Mandi Johnson. It is also features unexpected humor by way of occasional interjections and interactions with the shows Director, Amber Bjork. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-spirit-moves-you-to-color-the-unseen
That’s it for day four of the Minnesota Fringe Festival you can click on the Fringe website here to get details on all of the shows https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025. Don’t forget to tune into The Stages of MN YouTube channel for mini episodes all week long from The MN Fringe Festival https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN
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.
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