My Fringe for Friday, August 13th

Show count as of yesterday, 27 (30 if you count my return trips to Dandelion Snow and Philosophy: The Music of Ben Folds)

A full day on the run today - let's hope my (good) luck holds out... (Thus far only one missed show due to lateness, and only one dud - knock wood)

1pm
Before Dark
The Live Action Set with Theatrical Music Co.
Minneapolis Theatre Garage

I should tag this one a Hidden Gem because up until the day before the Fringe it was hidden even from me. When I first started tooling around the Fringe website, there wasn't a lot of information on this show other than it had GLBT content. Description was sketchy and the Fringe site wasn't fully functional with the bios and searchable by people's names yet. But many of the same people in this group were also behind last Fringe's Exposure, which I liked quite a lot. I'd heard from Noah Bremer that he and his crew were going to be back again, but then I didn't hear any more - like what the title was or anything. So when the site went live and it wasn't obvious I thought, oh well, must have fallen through for whatever reason. The day before the Fringe opens I get an email from Megan Odell explaining that Before Dark had been the show I was looking for. Now there's all kinds of info on their Fringe page and they're well worth a look. Add them to your schedule, catch today's performance, unfortunately their last. I haven't seen nearly enough dance yet, but this show is big step in the right direction. Highly recommnended, sight unseen. These folks never let me down.

2:30pm
Agog
Spoken Word Fringe
MCTC Whitney Studio

I haven't seen enough spoken word either, although the rivers and torrents of beautiful language of Vision's Tale comes close (4-1/2 stars, highly recommended - see their Fringe page and add one of their last two performances to your schedule)

Oops, sidetracked, I was talking about Agog. Two reasons I'm going to see this. My friend Eli Weintraub is in it - she's a funny and talented playwright but I've never had the pleasure of seeing her perform, so this should be fun. And Curt Lund, Fringe volunteer (staff?) extraordinaire, is also in the cast. Curt's been usher at several shows I've been to, including Fast Fringe, and he's housing Whiskey Bars (also highly recommended) performer Bremner Duthie, who says only nice things about him. Figure if he does all that for the Fringe, coming to see his show is a stab at good recompense.

Visit their Fringe page and add them to your schedule either today or Saturday, their last performance.

Originally I was going to see

Jaws: The Musical
Mime Rifle Productions
Brave New Workshop Theatre

And I still recommend that. I was going because it just sounded like a heck of a lot of goofy fun. From what I'm hearing from friends whose opinions I respect, it's exactly that. But you gotta support your friends when you can. And like I said, I need a little more Spoken Word on my plate.

Side Note - Mic, if you're reading this, I know you want me to go see Radio, Radio. I'm sure it's a lovely show. But there are so many great shows this year that were already on my list that I probably won't get to, that I probably won't get to yours either. I spent the last 8 months producing your ten minute play as part of Fast Fringe 1: The Agony. I appreciate your zeal in plugging your show (God knows we all have to), but with my blogging duties, a person only gets to play the friend card once.

4pm
Lokasenna
Maximum Verbosity
MCTC Whitney Studio

I wrote this one up before - a little folklore revue. Click here to see my preliminary thoughts on why I wanted to see it. I've heard mixed things but what the heck, vist their Fringe page and add them to your schedule either today or Sunday, their last performance.

5:30pm
Jack and Ben's 10th Annual Bar Crawl and Moveable Feast
Joseph Scrimshaw
Brave New Workshop Theatre

I've said it before, I'll say it again. It's Joseph Scrimshaw. He's funny. Just go. Two more shows, today and Saturday. Visit his Fringe page and add him to your schedule. You can also go to his website to see more about the show.

7pm
Punk Rock Awesome
Ferrari McSpeedy
Brave New Workshop Theatre

I've been looking forward to this ever since I saw these guys perform at Improv A Go-Go a couple of months ago, and even more so after they did a little preview of it for my TV show shortly thereafter. At the risk of seeming redundant, it's Ferrari McSpeedy. It's the conclusion of their wildly successful Punk Rock trilogy. It's funny. Just go. Visit their Fringe page and add them to your schedule for one of their two last performances - tonight or Saturday. And learn more about them at www.ferrarimcspeedy.com

8:30pm
Dandelion Snow
Out On Stage Productions
MCTC Whitney Mainstage

Did you really expect me to be anywhere else?
Audience reviews are generally quite good. And the Star Tribune said this, "Playwright Matthew Everett is a diehard romantic. He unashamedly wears his heart on his sleeve in this sweet tale of love lost and found. Dana and Ash were high school sweethearts who meet again in their thirties. Everett handles a complex web of relationships past and present with subtlety and gentle good humor. The simple production and strong performances underscore the play's emotional honesty." (William Randall Beard) Only two performances left, including this one and Saturday afternoon. After that, we're done.

Click on our Fringe page, add it to your schedule and come join us.

If you want to learn more about the play, read excerpts, etc., swing on by my website.

10pm
Good Clown/Bad Clown
Crap Apple
Illusion Theatre

Bryan Bevell (the director of Fast Fringe 1: The Agony and Fast Fringe 2: The Ecstasy) also directed this - which means he's directed at least 11 plays for the Fringe this year. This is a remount of a very popular and funny show that was part of the reason City Pages lauded the Bryant Lake Bowl this year in its "Best of..." issue. I want to support Bryan - he's a really fine director and a nice guy. Clowns creep me out, but it sounds like this show will be good for a laugh at the end of a long day.

Visit their Fringe page and put them on your schedule - they also have Saturday and Sunday shows.

Word of warning - Illusion shows run overtime and that can mess with your schedule elsewhere on the Fringe. That's why the two Illusion shows I'm going to today and tomorrow are at the *end* of my schedule.

(For more of my writing - plays, past blog entries and more - visit www.matthewaeverett.com)