Sunday, September 30, 2007

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Autumn Roses - Naming

Characters don't seem real, or come out of hiding, until you start giving them names...

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Sunday Afternoon Fringey Goodness - Blue Double Feature

First, think about giving the Fringe a helping hand...

Then if you're suffering Fringe withdrawal, the Fringe hits revival continues this afternoon over at the Actors Theater of Minnesota in St. Paul.

There are shows all weekend, this weekend, and the next several into October.

If you missed these shows the first time around, now's your chance to catch 'em.

And if you did see 'em, well, you know they're good, why not go back and bring friends?

Be adventurous. Cross the river. Discover a new little theater space.

Today it's an afternoon of theater, two back-to-back performances of

the much beloved one-woman show

Blue Collar Diaries

from Michelle Myers at 1pm and 2:30pm

After feeling stalked by the long shadows of her blue collar upbringing in St. Paul, Michelle does an about face and gratefully acknowledges the remarkable people who cast them. Eight characters of different gender, race and age reveal a community of people who truly understood that a persons' testimony was not in their uniform alone.

(The preview I saw I was quite impressed with. The link will take you to numerous glowing audience reviews from its Fringe run. Other Fringe bloggers had this to say...)

"I've been complaining a lot about how static most of the one-man previews have been, and this was a good counter-example of a speech that was physically dynamic in a way that underscored what was being said." - Phillip Low

I loved this preview. She was powerful and funny, and this three minutes is still intact in my memory. I'm very excited to see more; I predict a hit. -- Caitlin Gilmet

"Michelle Myers with "Blue Collar Diaries" was my first major discovery for this year. This was a dead-on solo performance depicting a hard-working woman past her own transitory youthful bloom and now dealing with life in the real world as exemplified by her hubby, that idiot, and the neighborhood kids to boot. How to fill three minutes so they seem timeless, evoking a much larger scenario and yet complete in themselves." -- John Munger

Next offerings will be on

Thursday, September 27th,

with a returning laugh-filled double feature from...

the always hilarious Joshua Scrimshaw and Shanan Wexler and their show From Here To Maternity at 7pm

followed by

Take A Left At The Giant Cow - A Beginner's Guide to North Dakota - from Fringe spoken word artists Curt Lund and Laura Bidgood at 8:30pm (my four star review of the show is here)

And if you missed this week's other artists...

Buckets and Tap Shoes

and

Allegra Lingo's I Hate Kenny G (my five star review of the show is here)

they shall return - but don't wait too long - the event ends October 14, and artists are rotating in and out

From Here To Maternity will conclude their run in the mix this coming weekend.

More updates to follow.

The space is the great new little black box, the Lowry Lab - 350 St. Peter Street in downtown Saint Paul (not to be confused for bingo central, it's around the corner in the same neighborhood)

All tickets are $12 and available at the door or by reservation (at no extra cost).

*Receive a $1 discount with a 2007 Fringe button*

To reserve your tickets for a performance, please call the Actors Theater box office at 651-290-2290 anytime Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

Complete schedule and show summaries can be found on the Actors Theater website at www.actorstheaterofminnesota.org

If you're not into any of that, there's always theater in a graveyard after dark - featuring some familiar Fringe faces...

or you can click on the multiple link in the Theater Recommendations section on the front page of my website - www.matthewaeverett.com - to dig up something you like.

See theater - there's tons of it.

Enjoy!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Friday Night Fringey Goodness - Pregnant Buckets, and more...

First, think about giving the Fringe a helping hand...

Then if you're suffering Fringe withdrawal, the Fringe hits revival continues tonight over at the Actors Theater of Minnesota in St. Paul.

There are shows all weekend, this weekend, and the next several into October.

If you missed these shows the first time around, now's your chance to catch 'em.

And if you did see 'em, well, you know they're good, why not go back and bring friends?

Be adventurous. Cross the river. Discover a new little theater space.

Laughs, music and dance abound tonight with a double feature of

From Here To Maternity from the always hilarious Joshua Scrimshaw and Shanan Wexler at 7pm (I saw a couple of preview bits of this and it's a hoot. If you need a laugh to close our your work week, this is the place.)

Notable local critics who've seen the whole thing say...

“...clever and inventive voices in comedy theater...”

-- Graydon Royce, Star Tribune

“As a duo, they are intellectually and comedically agile.”

-- Dominic Papatola, Pioneer Press

“Two remarkable performers tackle a topic that is perfect for comedy.”

-- Chris Kidder, TC Theater by the Numbers

“I’ve already seen the entire “From Here to Maternity” show with Joshua Scrimshaw and Shanan Wexler. Trust me, it is really really funny on an intelligent and skillful level. It’s really hard to do over-the-top comedy and still steer clear of mere gags, delivering true humor instead. They do it. Go thou and see it.”

-- John Munger, Choreographer and Fringe Blogger

followed by

Buckets and Tap Shoes at 8:30pm (they'll give you an end of the week energy boost to send you into the weekend - great music and dance)

Those more articulate about music and dance say...

Feeling down, blue, traumatized? This show'll fix you right up. It 's the new tap generation, and it's funky, fantastically fast, a little bit Zen, and lots of happy. Since Buckets and Tap Shoes debuted at the 2004 Fringe, the Ausland brothers (Rick and Andy) have tightened and brightened their routines. Gone is the wild novelty of their earlier iteration. Now they're downright professional, but still totally fun. Along with the Auslands, the carefree Kaleena Miller and flat-out amazing Ricci Milan twirl like ballerinas, suspend themselves on their toes in tap freezes, pitter patter both melody and rhythm with quicksilver speed, and suddenly fold flung out arms, legs and feet into a meditation position. Om!

-- Camille Lefevre, Star Tribune

"Stomp on steroids reaches new heights." by David Trudeau
...
Not only are these musicians and dancers incredibly talented, but they are so dedicated to giving their high energy to us, that they have obligatory changes to dry clothing half way through. The four-in-unison tap routines are knock-em-dead and they just don't stop, piling one on another. These artists should be decorated for their huge efforts to go beyond the call of performance, drumming and dancing themselves into a lather, while we, the audience with mouths agape just can't quite believe they can do what they do so well. And they just keep on going, never missing a beat. See this!

Tomorrow night's Saturday night double feature will be...

7pm - more Buckets and Tap Shoes

8:30pm - the much beloved one-woman show Blue Collar Diaries from Michelle Myers

with more to follow on Sunday afternoon

And don't forget that

I Hate Kenny G - from Allegra Lingo and Commedia Beauregard (my five star review of the show is here)

and

Take A Left At The Giant Cow - A Beginner's Guide to North Dakota - from Fringe spoken word artists Curt Lund and Laura Bidgood (my four star review of the show is here)

will be back again next weekend, too.

More updates to follow.

The space is the great new little black box, the Lowry Lab - 350 St. Peter Street in downtown Saint Paul (not to be confused for bingo central, it's around the corner in the same neighborhood)

All tickets are $12 and available at the door or by reservation (at no extra cost).

*Receive a $1 discount with a 2007 Fringe button*

To reserve your tickets for a performance, please call the Actors Theater box office at 651-290-2290 anytime Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

Complete schedule and show summaries can be found on the Actors Theater website at www.actorstheaterofminnesota.org

If you're not into any of that, there's always theater in a graveyard after dark - featuring some familiar Fringe faces...

or you can click on the multiple link in the Theater Recommendations section on the front page of my website - www.matthewaeverett.com - to dig up something you like.

See theater - there's tons of it.

Enjoy!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Thursday Night Fringey Goodness from Kenny G, A Giant Cow, and more...

Not that I want you to forget the equally great current production of Measure for Measure from Nightpath Theater that performs this evening as well, but I'd be remiss (and already have been last week) not to mention here on my Fringe blog of all places that a number of Fringe hits are being revived over at the Actors Theater of Minnesota in St. Paul.

The space is the great new little black box, the Lowry Lab - 350 St. Peter Street in downtown Saint Paul(not to be confused for bingo central, it's around the corner in the same neighborhood)

All tickets are $12 and available at the door or by reservation (at no extra cost).

*Receive a $1 discount with a 2007 Fringe button*

To reserve your tickets for a performance, please call the Actors Theater box office at
651-290-2290 anytime Monday-Friday 9am-5pm.

There are shows all weekend, this weekend, and the next several into October.

If you missed these shows the first time around, now's your chance to catch 'em.

And if you did see 'em, well, you know they're good, why not go back and bring friends?

Be adventurous. Cross the river. Discover a new little theater space.

Laughs aplenty to be had this weekend, starting tonight with a double feature of

I Hate Kenny G - from Allegra Lingo and Commedia Beauregard at 7pm (my five star review of the show is here)

followed by

Take A Left At The Giant Cow - A Beginner's Guide to North Dakota - from Fringe spoken word artists Curt Lund and Laura Bidgood at 8:30pm (my four star review of the show is here)

Tomorrow night's Friday Fringe double feature is...

7pm - From Here To Maternity from Joshua Scrimshaw and Shanan Wexler

8:30pm - Buckets and Tap Shoes

with more to follow on Saturday and Sunday

More updates to follow.

Complete schedule and show summaries can be found on the Actors Theater website at www.actorstheaterofminnesota.org

If you're not into any of that, there's always theater in a graveyard after dark - featuring some familiar Fringe faces...

or you can click on the multiple link in the Theater Recommendations section on the front page of my website - www.matthewaeverett.com - to dig up something you like.

See theater - there's tons of it.

Enjoy!

Monday, September 17, 2007

Review - Measure for Measure - Nightpath Theatre - 5 stars

"Quick - what's the first word that comes into your head when I mention the concept of producing Shakespeare's comedy-drama "Measure for Measure" onstage as a group of actors pretending to perform a radio play version, all doing multiple roles, complete with sound effects, set in the Old West of Vienna, California?

Brilliant.

Not the word you were thinking? Trust me, neither was I. But after seeing Nightpath Theatre Co.'s production of "Measure for Measure," brilliant is exactly the word that springs to mind. Shakespeare purists may recoil in horror at the very idea, but anyone who loves great theater should enjoy themselves enormously. I can't recommend this show highly enough..."

For the rest of the review, click here

And see this thing if you can, it's great.