Fringe 2017 - 4-1/2 Star Shows

Here's a running list (and links to reviews as I post them) of the 4-1/2 star shows I've seen in the Minnesota Fringe Festival this year:

Atlas Dynamo's Burnt Offerings
tweet review - #mnfringe show 11 - Atlas Dynamo's Burnt Offerings - loose fun combo of songs and stories w/some off-key MN audience backup :) - 4.5 stars
#mnfringe show 43 - Atlas Dynamo's Burnt Offerings (part 2) - no lie, joining the musicians with my guitar for a song was a lot of fun

Broad Sex in the Twin Cities
tweet review - #mnfringe show 56 - Broad Sex in the Twin Cities - brash; very very funny: "No more man-terruptions/I need a man-termission" - 4.5 stars

Dick White: Ghost Detective
tweet review - #mnfringe show 38 - Dick White: Ghost Detective - detective spoof as elaborate (meta) penis joke; ridiculous, very entertaining - 4.5 stars

F@*k The 90s
tweet review - #mnfringe show 33 - F@*k the 90s - @mamepelletier and band dig back 2 decades for bracing look at long shadow of grief and loss - 4.5 stars


Hot Air
tweet review - #mnfringe show 28 - Hot Air - manic, wonderfully silly improv film noir; great black/white look, plus shadow play, live piano - 4.5 stars



Intermediate Physical Comedy for Advanced Beginners
tweet review - #MnFringe show 10 - Intermediate Physical Comedy for Advanced Beginners: skillful silent pratfalls, prop comedy, audience bits - 4.5 stars

It Can't Happen Here
tweet review - #mnfringe show 21 - It Can't Happen Here: apparently it can; streamlined 1930s play almost too painful to watch; happy ending? - 4.5 stars




 
A Mermaid Abroad, and A Fish Out of Water
tweet review - #mnfringe show 30 - Mermaid Abroad, Fish Out of Water - interwoven stories of travel, sex, heartache and home - 4.5 stars

The Migraine Room (Photophobia)
tweet review - #mnfringe show 48 - Migraine Room - spent hour in near darkness but more compelling than much theater w/lights on - 4.5 stars



Mine/Field
tweet review - #MNFringe show 17 - Mine/Field - dance and the ups and downs of the internet; sharp stuff, I'm still looking for the words - 4.5 stars

Pinocchio
tweet review - #mnfringe show 8 - Pinocchio, Sheep Theater - deeply strange, occasionally sweet, mobbed up version; I laughed out loud, a lot - 4.5 stars



Serpentine
tweet review - #mnfringe show 34 - Serpentine - @maxverbosity crams 2 shows' worth of mythological/trans storytelling into 1 hour (phew!) - 4.5 stars


Songs of MN Summer
tweet review - #mnfringe show 25 - Songs of MN Summer - brand new musical each performance, 4 skilled improvisers, 3 singing, 1 on keyboard - 4.5 stars



What You Will
tweet review - #mnfringe show 35 - What You Will - trans meditation on 12th Night distilled to the 2 central couples around twin sibs - 4.5 stars

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, the rest of the returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!