Saturday, August 02, 2003

Fringe Opening Night - Part 7

Voice In Head
Minneapolis Theater Garage

Maybe it's better if you have the free beer.

Don't get me wrong. It was fun enough.

The whole company gets a big 10 for "Degree of Difficulty"

It was a real kick to see so many artists from so many different shows - mine had people from - The Art of Ruth Draper, I Hate This, Tour Bus From Hell, War Golems, Jungular Tics, Beowulf, Park-N-Ride, A Woman's Place (and they all get to plug/do excerpts from their shows throughout the performance - so it's a great Fringe sampler) and even several innocent bystanders plucked from the audience.

And it was fun to be interrogated by cast members taking notes to be used later in the show.

And the Pepto-Bismol pink outfits that the staff wore were quite distinctive.

The mock releases they want you to sign prior to the show let you know you're in for a different kind of experience.

But in the end, it felt MUCH longer than it actually was. It's only an hour but I could have sworn it was 90 minutes until someone looked at their watch and corrected me.

Maybe I'm just in need of more structure. But it was really just a very long Shaggy Dog story. And I tend to be one of those people sitting in the audience who wants the experience to add up to something in the end. In the end, it just kind of...well, ended.

Am I glad I went? Yeah. The cast and producers are to be commended. It's pretty amazing to watch come together (warning - come late or close to curtain at your own risk, you may get dragged into the middle of something)

Do I recommend it? Sure. Just not as strongly as some others. The idea of it is fabulous. The execution, I'm guessing, requires free beer. So drink up.

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