A Doll’s House at the Guthrie is Funnier and More Relevant Than One Expects From This Classic Play

Andrew May, David Andrew Macdonald, and Amelia Pedlow Photo by Dan Norman

A fresh adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House by Amy Herzog which premiered on Broadway in 2023 opened the 2025-2026 season at The Guthrie Theater. Written in 1879 Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was a controversial play that challenged societal and theatrical institutions. The story centers around Nora, a devoted wife and mother, who struggles with a secret she has long held. With it’s reveal and her husbands reaction, she learns that her value to him lies in her subservience, in her being exactly what he wants her to be. The final scene of the play we are witness to a woman coming into herself, or at least ready to take the steps necessary to discover who she is as a human being, not just as a wife and mother. In the later half of the 19th century it was a daring exploration of gender roles and the rights of women. You can see why Ibsen is seen as one of the most influential playwrights of his time and often referred to as the father of realism.

I had never seen the play performed live but in preparation for seeing Noura, a modern play inspired by it, the Guthrie in 2020 had a production of Lucas Hnath’s sequel A Doll’s House, Part 2 at the Jungle Theater that same winter. I watched a television version starring Julie Harris and Christopher Plummer from 1959. It’s a bit fuzzy now, but I didn’t remember that version being as funny as this one is. One thing that does hold true is how astonishingly progressive this play seems for a play written in 1879. I think that one might mistakenly attribute that to Herzog’s adaptation, but that isn’t the case if memory serves me. There’s been a lot of chatter about the updating of the language with some feeling that Ibsen’s language should be left alone and doesn’t need to be changed for modern ears. Well Ibsen’s language was Norwegian, Danish so unless you are seeing it in that language, you are not getting Ibsen’s language anyway. The act of translation is also the act of adaptation. The translator is rewriting the text so that a different audience can understand the work. This latest adaptation is simply doing that again but for an audience who understands 21st century English. I had no problem with the script and found it to be humorous but still grounded in the realism that Ibsen was so famous for. The ending still packs a dramatic punch, though I suspect our audience was less shocked and more sympathetic as a whole to Nora’s choices than those in 1879.

The set design by Luciana Stecconi in combination with the lighting design by Robert Wierzel creates a dramatic feel to the proceedings that Director Tracy Brigden undercuts effectively with a generous stream of comedic moments. The tone of the set helps to underscore the darker under currents that run beneath the characters cheerful facade. Amelia Pedlow as Nora has a light touch when the character is simply being, simple. But when things gets serious, Pedlow expertly shows us the shattering of Nora’s illusions about her husband and her coming to terms with Torvald’s outburst and what they represent to her. David Andrew Macdonald, as her husband Torvald, is masterful at playing sweetly condescending while also bringing gasps and jeerings from the audience with his line readings.

A Doll’s House is a strong opening to the Guthrie’s Theater season delivering an adventurous (get used to hearing people say that word this season) take on this classic play. One may ask, why stage this play now? The answer is that more than ever in today’s political climate when the rights of women are coming under attack. We need to remind some of our neighbors that women are not wives and mothers first, but human beings. It’s shocking that nearly 150 years after it was written, we are having to make these statements. A Doll’s House Runs through October 12th at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.guthrietheater.org/shows-and-tickets/2025-2026-season/a-dolls-house/

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.

Maybe You Could Love Me a World Premiere From Theater Mu

Ashembaga Jaafaru and Sushma Saha Photo by Rich Ryan

One of the things I love about seeing so many productions is the different cultural perspectives I get to see the world through. The shows Theater Mu presents during its season are great examples of this. Maybe You Could Love Me by Samah Meghjee gives us an inside look into the lives of two young Muslim girls, Noor and Sajida, who are best friends. The play explores topics familiar to us as coming of age themes but through their specific cultural lens. It highlights what is universal about the human experience while also reflecting the unique ways in which our environment effects the ways in which we process those experiences. Like many white midwesterners, I know far too little about Islam, so while I’m not always sure what the characters are referring to specifically, Meghjee’s script provides enough context for me to understand what is happening without ever feeling like I’m being spoon fed information. We are simply observing the relationship between Noor and Sajida through time, seeing how their relationship develops through glimpses into three different ages 8, 17, and 26. It explores sexuality with a frankness that feels genuine and completely non-exploitative. Maybe You Could Love Me is a fascinating exploration of how friendship, queerness, and culture intermingle in the lives of these two young women.

Katie Bradley, who directs the show, is becoming a very strong Director with a clear understanding of how to communicate the growing and changing relationships between characters. Her last effort Stop Kiss, also for Theater Mu, also focused on two young women navigating their sexuality and relationship over multiple time periods. Bradley’s experience as an Actor is a strength in helping her guide these stories which focus on relationships and the connections between the characters. You can see her sensitivity towards the actor’s process in the way she stages the transitions between scenes. Building in time for Ashembaga Jaafaru and Sushma Saha, who play Noor and Sajida, to reset and center themselves into the next age as they change costume on stage. I do want to also note how much I enjoyed the spacious set by Scenic Designer Mina Kinukawa, which even features a bathroom that pushes out from the back wall complete with shower that is used to great effect.

There are other characters in the play that appear only via voices heard through the door to Noor’s room or on a telephone, but this is essentially a two hander between Jaafaru and Saha. Both performers handle the age shifts effectively, finding little touches to show us how they have changed as well as how they have remained the same over the 18 years which the play spans. It’s interesting to note through the script and the performances how the characters have swapped places in key ways. The younger Noor is the more adventurous of the two the one who is less strict with following the tenants of her religion. While Sajida the more timid and more apt to worry about whether something is allowed or isn’t. By the end it is Noor who has fallen inline with the cultural expectations of her community, while Sajida has chosen to follow more of her own path. This also reflects the status of their home lives, where Noor’s family is intact, Sajida’s parents are divorced and her father is uninvolved in her life. Jaafaru and Saha have an very natural intimacy between them which establishes them quickly in the minds of the audience as girls who have known each other since before they can even remember. The final scene plays all the more powerfully because of the bond we feel between them in the scenes from Act 1. Saha as faithful viewers of the YouTube show know is a Stages of MN favorite and they are well matched with Jaafaru. These are two very strong performances that make Maybe You Could Love Me a powerful play that speaks to everyone, while also allowing us a better understanding into Muslim culture.

Maybe You Could Love Me runs through September 28th at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.theatermu.org/maybe

Anyone Can Whistle: In concert Brings an Oddball and Rare Stephen Sondheim Show to Audiences Courtesy of Minneapolis Musical Theatre

Anyone Can Whistle is a rarely produced musical featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Debuting on Broadway on April 4, 1964, the show ran for twelve previews and nine performances before closing. Unlike much of Sondheim’s works Anyone Can Whistle is rarely performed. It’s easy to see why. And no, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it, I actually quite enjoyed this goofy little oddity. But goofy little oddities that strike that perfect cord that transfers into the kind of success that can sustain a Broadway run are few and far between. This clearly wasn’t and probably still isn’t that kind of show. But honestly, I think it’s weird enough with some great music to warrant a fully staged production by someone like say, oh I don’t know, Minneapolis Musical Theatre. I’m grateful that they have given us the opportunity to see the show in concert, though I should tell you this is more than just actors singing their songs, they are playing the characters and there is some blocking and visual storytelling going on. You get the full production here, don’t worry that you will just see singers singing through the songs, as the “In Concert” suggests.

The story centers around an economically depressed town run by Mayoress Cora Hoover Hooper and her stable of corrupt officials who fake a miracle in order to attract tourists. The plan works until Nurse Fay Apple brings her patients, known as Cookies from the local mental asylum which is referred to as The Cookie Jar, to see if the miracle will cure them. Things get kinda weird after that. Dr J. Bowden Hapgood comes to town and Nurse Apple who is in hiding, disguises herself as a French nurse with a bright red wig, a romance ensues. There’s also a weird suggested sexual relationship between the Mayoress and the City Comptroller, which may or may not be transactional. There are several stand out performances including both Hope Quinn as Fay Apple, and William Lucas as Dr. Hapgood. But I also enjoyed Benjamin Kruse as Comptroller Schub and Mary Palazzolo as Mayoress Hooper along with several members of the ensemble. Directed by Max Wojtanowicz with music Direction by Walter Tambor, they get a lot of bang out of a four person band.

This shaggy dog of the Sondheim oeuvre deserves to be seen, the closest thing I can compare it to plot wise is Urinetown. It’s fun, and does contain some pretty fantastic songs. But don’t wait too long it’s short run ends this weekend September 14th. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.aboutmmt.org/

Come Back, Little Sheba Is a Riveting and Dark & Stormy Production At Gremlin Theatre

Peter Christian Hansen and Sara Marsh Photo by Alyssa Kristine

Come Back, Little Sheba the latest from Dark & Stormy Productions is a strong play featuring some truly great performances from it’s leads Peter Christian Hansen and Sara Marsh. Marsh is miscast as a frumpy overweight housewife, but she’s so good that I prefer to say the fault is with the script that tries to insist the character has those qualities. Marsh finds here own way to accomplish what playwright William Inġe wanted from the character. While I’ve never seen the play before or the 1952 film adaptation, I suspect that Marsh’s interpretation is deeper and more nuanced because she doesn’t rely on that outdated archetype. Hansen and Marsh play Doc and Lola who have been married for twenty years. Doc is almost one year sober, but the presence of their renter, a young college student named Marie, begins to weigh upon Doc’s sobriety. It isn’t the cliche of the older man tempted by the young vibrant woman, it’s the memories her lifestyle brings to the surface. The career as a Doctor that he had to give up when Lola got Pregnant and they had to marry.

Hansen plays Doc as a man working the program, who is making amends to his wife by maintaining a pleasant attitude and being helpful. He is the one making sure that the breakfast is ready for Lola and Marie, trying to make everything run smoothly. He projects a virtue on Marie that isn’t there and feels unrealistic by todays standards. When he realizes she is a normal girl, it brings forth old doubts and repressed guilt about his and Lola’s start in life. He gets every aspect from the sobriety to the slip just right. Marsh slowly reveals the cracks in Lola’s confidence, her uncertainty about how to reconnect with Doc. We see hints of someone recovering from the trauma of living with a substance abuser. When she realizes the Whiskey bottle has vanished and Doc is late coming home, the fears and anxieties come in glimpses and waves. But like all partners of addicts she has to keep his secrets and hide what she is afraid has happened from Marie and others. Marsh shows us in that moment how every choice she has made performance wise up to that point has all stemmed from these moments. It’s a portrayal that seems deceptively simple at the start only to be revealed by the end to be an intricately crafted and complex performance. She give us a character that longs for connections but has been forced into a world of isolation, who clings to hope through the belief that her dog Sheba, who has been missing for months will come home one of these days.

Come Back, Little Sheba runs through September 7th at The Gremlin Theatre in St. Paul. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.darkstormy.org/current-production-1

Henry V Gets Some Radical Changes From Jackdonkey Productions

Henry V is one of the Shakespeare history plays that I am fairly familiar with have seen it produced on stage twice now and seen three screen adaptations. I have certainly never seen it done like this. The story of King Henry V of England and his war to conquer France has been used as propaganda for war and against it. Here it is seen through the lens of how the decisions of flawed men have profound effects on the people over which they rule. This is a valid viewpoint and is a way to make the play speak to our times. Shakespeare’s works are so rich and out of copyright that they become easy to adapt in a way that highlights the message a Director wishes to convey without departing the text simply by how you cut it and play it. Here Director Zach Christensen makes some bold choices which are mostly successful, but occasionally perplexing.

First off, the show adds close to a half a dozen songs but not sung throughout, only at the opening of the first Act and after intermission. The songs are well performed by the cast and I get the vibe what they are going for. While not being detrimental to the production, the songs don’t really integrate into the play, but more like live pre-show of music meant to set the tone. There may also be too many of them but they are enjoyable. The biggest and most bizarre change is the inclusion of Falstaff who does not appear in the original play though he does die offstage. Now adding some flashbacks or prologue with Falstaff is not unheard of, in his film version Kenneth Branagh includes several flashback scenes with Falstaff. But here Falstaff is seen in scenes from the Henry IV plays, much as his characters is in those plays, which is a comical character for the most part. But then he actually replaces the role of the Duke of Exeter jettisoning for the most part the traits we associate with Falstaff and playing it as you would Exeter. There is one scene in which the reason for the change became clear and made a certain amount of sense if you wanted to play the scene that way. But it still results in Falstaff for the most part acting completely out of character for most of the play. It’s a questionable choice that kept taking me out of the performance.

The play is well cast even Dominic Schiro as Falstaff is very good, despite the puzzling choice of who he was playing. David Michaeli is very good as King Henry, tackling some very famous speeches and successfully making them his own. It’s a very strong cast with some wonderful and surprisingly humorous performances. Standouts were Amanda Espinoza as among other roles Fluellen, who is the Welsh captain of a contingent of Henry’s army. Noah Hynick, who must be on loan from Lyric Arts, as the Dauphin of France is hilarious as he tries to outbrag his fellow French noblemen on the eve of the battle of Agincourt. Bradley Johnson and Eden Fahy, are particularly good in the the song sections of the show. Overall it’s an exciting and unusual production and while every gamble doesn’t pay off there’s no denying it’s a very interesting and engaging production. The fun thing about Shakespeare is that you can be bold and try new things and I applaud Director Christensen for making some bold choices. Fans of Shakespeare will have seen faithful productions in the past and will enjoy seeing Jackdonkey play around with things. I think it will also appeal to those who aren’t that into a Shakespeare History play as it does what it can to be kinda radical and accessible to all.

Henry V runs through 8/18/25 at Theatre in the Round. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/jackdonkeyproductions/henry-v-jackdonkey-productions

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’ve officially launched The Stages of MN YouTube Channel which you can view by clicking on this link. https://www.youtube.com/@TheStagesofMN. Check out the weekly episodes. 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.

Minnesota Fringe Day 10: MicroMedics, DOLLY WHO?’S HOLIDAY HORROR SHOW, Final Dress, The Temporary Tattoo Trio, Cabin Fever, An Exorcism, Don’tcha Know? (The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner), Dice of Destiny: Neon City.

Day 10 brought the sad news that Jackdonkey Productions had to cancel their final performance of 503. Hopefully they will do a remount in the future. From what I heard from those who caught it, it’s too good not to be seen. We are hoping that Jeffrey Nolan is on the mend and want to share Jacdonkey’s venmo account with you which is @jackdonkeyprod. I know they would appreciate any donations to help offset the financial costs that went into producing a show that you weren’t able to perform. This is a young theater company with young Actors and artists in the company, I think that’s probably all I need to say to make you understand how much your donations would mean.

This was the penultimate day of the Fringe Festival. I’ll be seeing shows in the first two slots and the last slot tomorrow and then attending the closing night party. On that last day I’ll be trying to capture some quick sound bites of what everyone’s favorite show was and how many productions they saw. I’ll have fans and buttons with me to give out. If you are headed to Mixed Blood or Theatre in the Round tomorrow flag me down to get a fan, those venues in my experience can get rather warm, and the fans really help. Below read my reviews of all the shows I saw on day 10!

So I was able to catch MicroMedics after all. This improv show’s format is that we follow the adventures and loves of the MicroMedics, which are a crew of Doctors shrunk down to fight diseases inside of human bodies in their MicroMedic ship. Where Rec League is Improv at the top of its game with seasoned improv performers, this is younger performers who don’t always read what each other are putting down but get enough laughs to make it worth seeing. There are definitely some good performers in this group and it will be fun to watch them develop their skills over the coming years. The best part of the show might be their adorable and choreographed opening theme song and their outfits. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/micromedics

I’m not gonna lie, I have a soft spot for Destiny Davison’s Dolly Who since first encountering the cartoonist character at the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival. Her offbeat sense of humor isn’t for everyone, but I kinda vibe to it. DOLLY WHO?’S HOLIDAY HORROR SHOW has Dolly hosting a show based on a holiday we all create together. It features her signature line drawn cartoon characters along with a host of invisible technicians who help put the show together. It’s chock full of bizarre lighting and sound effects, with Dolly seemingly as unsettled as we are by everything that is occuring. If you get Dolly, you’ll enjoy the show, if it isn’t your thing it may leave you cold. Another really cool thing for fans is she has all sorts of magnets, buttons, stickers and fun merch you can pick up if you enjoy her artwork as much as I do. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/dolly-who-s-holiday-horror-show

Final Dress is another improv show, I should warn you, this was a big improv day for me with four of the seven shows I saw being improv ones. This one is the brainchild of Michael DallaValle & Sean Dillon who together are Dilly Dally. This one is supposedly the final dress rehearsal for a new play, each performance has a guest Director who walks the Actors through the show. The name of the play is up to the guest Director, for my performance they were directed by Duck Washington and the play was titled After the Goblin Wars. It’s improv so it’s always going to be different, but note to self and faithful readers next time you see that Dilly Dally is doing a show, get tickets. It’s the type of Fringe show where you wish you could see every performance. It’s such a great concept and they are both brilliant improvisors, and I’m sure it didn’t hurt that Washington is also an accomplished improvisor. But honestly, looking at the other four Directors they had lined up, I don’t think you could have gone wrong at any of the performances. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/final-dress

The Temporary Tattoo Trio was a riot, plus I got inked, temporarily. This high energy show about three best friends named Tyler living their best lives as temporary tattoo artists and spending as much time as possible at the most beautiful place on earth, Wisconsin Dells. It takes an unexpected turn, and then another, and this ludicrously upbeat and silly show gets surprisingly real. It doesn’t get dark, and it doesn’t stop being funny. But the guys, like all good actors, commit to their characters and it makes all the difference. I don’t want to give anything away, but this was damn near a tie for The Fringe of the Day Award. But I promised myself I wasn’t going to be wishy washy and do ties this year. So I flipped a coin. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-temporary-tattoo-trio

Cabin Fever was improv show number three today and that’s about where I would rank it as well. It’s more successful than MicroMedics, but doesn’t quite reach the level of Final Dress and Dice of Destiny: Neon City, which wasthe final show of the day. This one is a reality show about lesbians who are dropped into a remote cabin in the woods for 6 weeks to see who will be chosen by Ashley, the girls they are all trying to woo. This is the final episode, so Ashley will chose the one she feels she has a love connection with. I’m not sure what reality shows to compare it to, as I’ve never watched any of these finding love shows like The Bachelor or Love Island, which I assume is what these are based on. It’s quite fun and the host, a drag queen named Buttercream, is really good. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/cabin-fever

An Exorcism, Don’tcha Know? has demonic possession, Lutefisk, Bars (the bake sale kind not the alcohol serving kind), and Minnesotan accents as thick as a sixth grade english teachers eyebrows. This cross between the Church Basement Ladies and The Exorcist is a pretty gosh darn good time. Anyone that spent time in the Luthern church, which I have, will probably get an extra jolt of recognition out of the whole thing. But maybe Minnesota churches, particularly in smallish towns, are all more or less the same. The show trades heavily on the audience’s knowledge of the Minnesota caricature, and we all ate it up! Earning 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/an-exorcism-don-tcha-know-

Dice of Destiny: Neon City by The Bearded Company was the fourth Improv show of the day and is basically on exactly the same level as Final Dress. Final Dress is what I believe they call long form Improv, meaning the entire show is telling one story as opposed to a bunch of different little scenes that don’t necessarily fit together. So if that’s long form, I guess Dice of Destiny: Neon City is very long form Improv. You see, each of the five Fringe performances picks up the story where the last performance left off. So the five performances together make up one long story. Another show in which you wish you could see all five performances. The setup is a future world where the population is controled by a giant corporation through drugs. And the pair of 80’s style movie characters who try and save the future. The interesting twist aside from the serialized story is that it incorporates role playing. Not the playing of roles, though obviously they do that too, but they actually role a 20 sided dice to determine if their actions are successful or not. This is a well polished troop that has been performing locally for years. In the leads are the excellent Anna Tobin and Endometriosis: The Musical co-creator Maria Bartholdi. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/dice-of-destiny-neon-city

That’s it for day ten 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.

Minnesota Fringe Day 9: Ranger Jim, Withering Lows: A Love Story Better Off Dead, 50: A Totally Rad Comedy About the Gnarly Reckoning of a Gen Xer! (The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner), Trust ̶E̶x̶e̶r̶c̶i̶s̶e̶s̶ Exorcises.

Day 9 of the Minnesota Fringe Festival was a sad day and a great day. Sad because the JackDonkey Productions show 503 written by and Starring Jeffrey Nolan had to cancel it’s third performance in a row due to illness. My thoughts are with Mr. Nolan and I hope that he’ll be feeling back to full health and able to perform his last show on Sunday. Let this be a lesson to all of us, when someone you suspect might be a genius has a Fringe show, make sure you are their for opening night. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. But, as I said it was also a great day as well, because every show I saw was a contender for The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award. Sometimes two or three (on a weekend) might be battling it out in my brain, but tonight they were all duking it out. That’s a nice problem to have, especially this late in the festival.

Ranger Jim is a show I didn’t have on my schedule originally but several people said it was their favorite show. So, when I looked at my schedule and it had me going from strike to Rarig, then back to Strike, and then ending back at Rarig I decided to sacrifice MicroMedics which I hadn’t heard anything, good or bad, about and add Ranger Jim. Mostly because I didn’t want to make the trek from Strike to Rarig twice in one evening and avoiding the more rush hour slot made the most sense. When Jim Stowell began his show in which he tells stories of his 16 seasons working as a Park Ranger in National Parks I thought I might have made a mistake. He didn’t seem like that charismatic a performer and I realized, I hate nature. OK hates a strong word, and I certainly appreciate it much more now that I’m older. But still nature has never been my go to for entertainment. Boy by the end of his show those opinions had been completely reversed. Stowell is a fantastic storyteller, and his presentation is perfect. The stories are about people that he has met on the job and they are great stories that beautifully wrap up with either a fantastic bit of humor or a wonderful point of view of life. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/ranger-jim. I went in to Ranger Jim with hopeful but not super high expectations and left thinking I may just have seen The Fringe of the Day Award winner. Then Heathcliff said hold my beer.

Withering Lows: A Love Story Better Off Dead is a sequel of sorts to Wuthering Heights a book I adored in High School. This is another show that was not on my schedule originally, this slot was one of those dinner breaks I promised myself. It’s ok though, I had my fingers crossed, so the promise didn’t count. Frankly it was on my first pass list, which contained more shows than I could see and then went off my list after the first Fringe preview, which is why when you hear from people that they loved a show, you should take a second look. I’m not even sure how to describe this show, it’s a comedy that also feels like a faithful continuation. The performers are all excellent, the script really nails these characters and points out the things that I think most readers who like the book grudgingly admit are issues with these characters and what people who hate the book point out as the main reasons for reviling it. It’s a ghost story, but it doesn’t try and scare us. It doesn’t need to, the pleasures of the show come from other quarters. Which includes a killer musical number which alone is worth seeing the show for. One caveat is that if you don’t know Wuthering Heights from either the book, one of the many movies, an illustrated comic book adaptation, or an ill conceived musical version, you might not really get this show. But you’ll still love the musical number! To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/withering-lows-a-love-story-better-off-dead- I left this show thinking now that just edges out Ranger Jim because of the musical number and I bet that’s going to be my Fringe of the Day Award winner. Then Jason Schommer said hold my Daiquiri.

50: A Totally Rad Comedy About the Gnarly Reckoning of a Gen Xer! is my third Jason Schommer Fringe show and his best yet. Why did this beat out Withering Lows? Does it have a kick ass musical number too? Well, actually it has live music interludes throughout and some of them even turn into sing-alongs. And they are the soundtrack of my life. the music is played and sung by JC Lippold he is a fantastic compliment to Schommer’s brilliant script. This felt so much like my life in terms of cultural touchstones and specific life events that no other show had a chance tonight. Plus this was the most I’ve laughed at a Fringe show this year, and I’ve seen some really funny funny shows this year. But here’s why this hit me so right. And These are not in any order in which they appear in the show but just as they come to me.

Featured prominently in the show is the song “Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls. I have a playlist on my phone titled “Sing”, this is a list of songs I have as potential songs I would attempt at an evening of Karaoke, if I drank, which I don’t. So, it’s mostly used if I’m driving and tired and need something that I can sing along to in order to stay awake. It’s a favorite.
Cheers is mentioned along with Newhart as shows Jason would watch late at night with his Mom as a teenager, For me it was my Dad but those were our shows. We loved Norm, and my Dad always kind of reminded me of Norm, he was about the same shape, had a similar level of ambition career wise, and he spent most evenings at the Ground Round with his buddies, which we all called Cheers. Plus, my wife and I just finished a rewatch of Cheers so we were primed for that sing along!
His Mother died about 20 years ago, for me it was my Dad, 20 years ago.
He also is upset by the single space after a period rule. I don’t know when this changed, but when I learned about it, several years ago now I was incredulous. Why the change I exclaimed! To which some replied, it’s always been that way. OH NO IT WASN’T!!! Anyone who reads me regularly will know that I do not have nearly as firm a grasp of the rules of punctuation as I should. So I promise you there is zero chance I made up my own rule to follow. I was taught and for once it stuck. Two spaces after a period! I accept that it has changed. But don’t attempt to retcon it, I ain’t buyin it!
I also loved TV as a kid, I equated the arrival of the Fall TV preview edition of the TV guide to the opening of your stocking on Christmas morning. It started with the Saturday morning cartoons and as I grew older moved to prime time. As a kid I always chose TV over nature.
Loved Magnum P.I. but also Remington Steele!
I loved my Castle Grayskull too, it was a great toy!
I’ve been on that hike in Hawaii!
Jason was laid off recently, me too!! I don’t know why I’m so excited by that one.
I was a huge fan of Days of Our Lives, and I specifically remember the fight between Tony and Andre that ended with Andre dying in a pit of quicksand, that was also the island that Roman was killed by Stefano DiMera, not that on Days of Our Lives anyone is ever actually truly dead. But I didn’t realize that at the time. Roman falling off that cliff was reenacted many many times with my action figures.

As was the Tony and Andre DiMera fight by the quicksand with my Dagobah playset. Which had a little hole covered with foam that you could push your figures through, it was perfect for quicksand.

This IS The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner. If you are a Gen Xer, you’ll love this show! To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/50-a-totally-rad-comedy-about-the-gnarly-reckoning-of-a-gen-xer- Sorry Phil

Trust ̶E̶x̶e̶r̶c̶i̶s̶e̶s̶ Exorcises by Phil Gonzales was on my schedule later in the festival but I ended up taking it in tonight after 503 was cancelled. Which may have caused it to lose The Fringe of the Day Award, who knows? But Phil, seriously, would it have killed you to sing a little? This was a great show about the shockingly abusive High School theater teacher that Phil was exposed to as a teenager. Gonzales uses the same story wheel he did last year for his show on The Berenstain Bears. Wherein he spins the wheel and whatever space it lands on he tells the story that goes along with it. So while every show deals with the same topic, it’s unique every performance. The stories really are great and while Phil might not have won The Fringe of the day Award, I did leave with a little crush on him, so hopefully that’s some consolation. To purchase tickets go to the shows page at The Minnesota Fringe Site here https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/trust-e-x-e-r-c-i-s-e-s-exorcises

That’s it for day nine 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