Late again with this post—sorry, faithful readers who rely on these updates to know when a new episode is out! Remember, you can also subscribe to the YouTube channel to be notified as soon as new episodes drop.
This week’s episode is sponsored by Theatre in the Round. They offer excellent flex pass packages and a fantastic season lineup, including Pride & Prejudice, which we review this week along with Theater Mu’s Maybe You Could Love Me. You can learn more about Theater Mu at theatermu.org.
On this week’s episode, we have our first-ever exclusive! I’m joined by Nissa Nordland and Duck Washington, the Artistic and Executive Directors of Twin Cities Horror Festival XIV (TCHF), to reveal the full schedule for this year’s lineup. Learn more at tchorrorfestival.com. You can watch the episode here or listen to the podcast version here.
A quick reminder: sign up for The Stages of MN +1 Club, where you can see shows for free as my plus one. Just email your name and cell number to robdunkelberger@thestagesofmn.com, and I’ll add you to the list. I’ll confirm with a text so you’ll have my number saved in your contacts. Then, watch for texts when I have a plus one available. If you’re interested and available, reply directly to me (not “reply all”), and I’ll let you know ASAP if you’re the first to respond.
Don’t rely on Facebook or Instagram algorithms to keep you in the loop about great shows. Subscribe and have every post from The Stages of MN delivered straight to your inbox—it’s the best way to make sure you never miss out on the theater action. To subscribe on a computer, enter your email address on the home page (right-hand side) and click subscribe. On mobile, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the same option. You can also follow me on Facebook @thestagesofmn and on Instagram thestagesofmn.
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.
Truman Bednar, Reed Sigmund, Theo Janke-Furman, and Jon Schumacher Photographed by Glen Stubbe
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson was the first “classic” novel I read on my own which I found thrilling. I was also a fan of the Walt Disney film starring Robert Newton as Long John Silver. So I was excited to revisit this tale of pirates and buried treasures. Children’s Theatre Company’s (CTC) production of Stuart Paterson’s adaptation remains true to the source material. Just as with reading of young Jim Hawkins’ adventures as a young boy, I once again found myself setting course for danger and adventure upon the high seas. Marking the CTC directorial debut of new Artistic Director Rick Dildine, he proves that CTC has the ship heading in the right direction. The show which is recommended for ages 8 and up may be a little violent and dark for some of those 8 year olds. There are sword fights, gunfights, talk of hangings, and several on stage murders occur. There are also moments such as during a storm at sea where the theater is darker and the storm noises may be too much for some more sensitive children. The key is to know your children, and whether this is one that will thrill them or frighten them.
The role of Jim Hawkins in shared in alternating performances by Truman Bednar and Mason Yang, I saw Bednar perform the role and thought he did a great job. Reed Sigmund, braves his fear of water and loses a leg to play Long John Silver. Sigmund and the entire cast play their roles completely straight, there is no pandering to younger audiences. They’re there to tell the story of Treasure Island with all it’s thrills and dangers intact. Sigmund is electric as the ships cook who befriends young Hawkin’s only to be revealed later as the mastermind behind the pirates who want to take over the ship they serve on to steal the gold for themselves. The show also features some Stages of MN favorites in roles. Max Wojtanowicz plays Doctor Livesey and Em Adam Rosenberg plays Squire Trelawney, the two men who have arranged the trip to find the buried treasure and represent the heroes of the tale. Rosenberg lends their beautiful voice along with other performers including Matt Riehle to a surprising amount of musical performances that act as interludes between scenes. They are very well done and I really enjoyed their inclusion, and it felt as if those moments gave the children an opportunity to reset between moments of conflict.
Technically the production is wonderful as well. The set design by Christopher and Justin Swader is elaborate able to open as a Seaside Inn, transform into a mighty ship, and then become the Island destination of the title. The decorative motif of books throughout the set is a nice reminder that the story comes from a classic of children’s literature. Alexa Behm’s costumes are top notch whether adorning the sophisticated Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey, or a boatload of pirates. Lighting Designer Jeff Behm’s contributions are significant in creating the look and feel of the open sea and the storm which also uses projections by Blake Manns to complete the illusion. Sound designer Melanie Chen Cole completes the illusion and also has a lot of effective cues throughout like well timed splashes when something or someone is tossed overboard..
The production was darker in tone than I was expecting from the CTC, which was a pleasant surprise. If you love the story as I do, but don’t have any kids to take, don’t worry. This is one of those CTC shows that is as entertaining for the parents as it is for the kids, perhaps even more so. Treasure Island runs through October 19th at Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://childrenstheatre.org/whats-on/treasure-island/
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
Faithful readers, hopefully you are subscribed to The Stages of MN YouTube channel and already saw that a new episode was up. Apologies for forgetting to do a blog post for those who aren’t. But, a good reminder I guess to subscribe so you’ll know whenever a new episode is available. Double apologies to the podcast listeners as I still have a touch of Fringe brain and completely forgot to edit that version and post it until last night. Both are now up so view and/or listen to your hearts content.
This weeks episode I’m joined by m’colleague Jill Schafer over at Cherry and Spoon to reflect on this years Minnesota Fringe Festival. We discuss 10 of our favorite shows as well as a few honorable mentions. This week’s episodes are actually quite different between the YouTube version and the podcast version. While the YouTube version is always longer and the preferred version because of it. The differences are usually simply a matter of the exclusion of the “At a Show With….” photo montage. Well this week rather than a minute long that segment is four and a half minutes long as it covers the entire Fringe Festival. So, if you took a photo with me at Fringe this year you are probably in that episode. Also The footage of the Fringe Awards from the Closing night party has been excluded from the podcast as I think it relied heavily on the ability to read the captions in order to know who won everything. Also missing is the segment showing what shows won the highly commented on, usually with something like “What’s this now?”, The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winners. That segment contained no audio other than music and so would only serve to prolong the podcast episode without adding any info to listeners. That list by the way is, in order of the day they were seen not ranked:
In The Garden of American Heroes
Hamluke
Joan of Arc For Miss Teen Queen USA
The Book of Mordor
The Gentlemen’s Pratfall Club
Songs Without Words (or, The Mendelssohn Play)
Grief, It’s What’s For Dinner
50: A Totally Rad Comedy About the Gnarly Reckoning of a Gen Xer!
An Exorcism, Don’tcha Know?
The Wickie
For those with no interest is The Minnesota Fringe Festival, I can assure you, your apathy is only due to the fact you’ve never been. Make a promise to yourself to go next year and give yourself the treat of this wonderful experience. But you can also breathe a sigh of relief as this will be the final Fringe episode of the year. You can access the YouTube episode here https://bit.ly/TSOMNEpisode8YouTube and the Podcast version here https://bit.ly/TSOMNEpisode8Podcast. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, share, and review the show. you can read Cherry and Spoons Fringe wrap up blog post here https://bit.ly/cs_fringe25
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.
We Did it!!! At least those of us who attended the Minnesota Fringe Festival this year did. I Saw 48 shows over 10 days, only missing one day entirely for a Wednesday evening Minnesota United game. On the final day of Fringe I also attended a Minnesota United game, but was able to fit in two shows before the game and then get back for a show in the final slot on Sunday and to attend the closing night party and awards ceremony. August 20th will be our official 2025 Minnesota Fringe Wrap Up episode rather than as originally announced “What the Hell’s a Theater Blogger”, which we’ll save for a future episode. Speaking of Theater Bloggers and awards, I want to give a shout out to my friend and fellow Twin Cities Theater Blogger in good standing Kendra Plant who writes Artfully Engaging which you can read and subscribe to here https://www.kendraplant.com/blog-artfully-engaging. Kendra was a first time producer at this years Minnesota Fringe festival with her show The Kendra Plant Variety Hour: Good Things Edition! -with special guests-, which won a Golden Lanyard Award!!! We’ll have a rundown of all of the award winners on that next episode of The Stages of MN YouTube Show and Podcast. Here are my reviews for the three shows I saw on the final day!
Rat Mass, would probably have gotten my vote for The Spirit of the Fringe Award had I seen it before the last day. This show is full of the type of audience participation I can really get behind. There is never any pressure or coaxing, if you wanted to participate you could, if not you were never threatened with shunning or excommunication. Rat Mass takes the form of a service of the Church of Ratology. Which worships the rat as the ideal form of life. During the sermon communion will be given, three offerings will be taken, with the winner of the best offering being crowned. At the service I attended the winner put in an epipen. There are also hymes led by the rat chorus and you could choose to be baptized into the church at the end by having your face dipped into a bowl of Apple Cider Vinegar. I was not baptized, but I did drink the Apple Cider vinegar that was offered as communion, the taste of which took about 2 hours to fully leave my mouth. The Ministers of the Church of Ratology Joseph Bryant and Perry Letourneau are very charismatic and game for just about anything. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/rat-mass
The Jaws That Bite, the Claws That Catch! is a play by Edwin Strout which begins with a character played by Strout expressing his adoration of the poem “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll. It then quickly devolves into fragmented conversations with his best friend played by David Denninger and an ex girlfriend played by Anna Olson. We take these conversations, at first, as ones that are taking place in chronological order. But soon, we begin to realize they are memories or perhaps even just delusions occurring within Strout’s mind. The poem, perhaps the most famous nonsense poem in the english language, though originally written and published over a decade earlier appeared in Carroll’s sequel to Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass. The nonsensical nature of the poem fits in well with the mirror world into which Alice ventures in the book. But when Strout tries to apply real world meaning and understanding to the work, we feel that it has perhaps shattered his mind. Strouts performance is convincing and one of the strongest of the festival. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-jaws-that-bite-the-claws-that-catch-
The Wickie is a solo clowning show by Richie Whitehead. What’s a Wickie you ask? A Wickie is a person who looks after a lighthouse and keeps the light (it’s wick) lit. It opens with the Wickie confronting the Ocean (pronounced Oh Shawn) for stealing his left shoe. We do get some audience participation, but again it’s very consensual. This was a fantastic way to end the festival and I’m glad I decided to rush back after my game and catch one more show. The Wickie is a great show for the whole family, full of laughs, with clever and deceptively simple gags. It’s the type of show where you think “that’s such a simple thing, but it’s so funny”. Its good natured silliness, and Whitehead’s precise physical humor made this the final The Stages of MN Fringe of the Day Award winner. https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2025/the-wickie
That’s it for day Eleven and in fact the Minnesota Fringe Festival itself. 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 or podcast on or around 8/20 for The MN Fringe Festival wrap up episode 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 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 subs
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