Fringe 2017 - Day 10 - Saturday Schedule - Batting clean-up

I finally get a chance to see some shows today that were on the Top 10 list that I hadn’t been able to see yet.  Also slotting in a show that hadn’t been on my radar but others have been raving about, and doing a return trip to a show I liked quite a lot the first time around.  Thankfully they’re all clustered in Uptown so not so much running around as the past two days.

The big ticket items on the list today that I’m scheduling the rest of my day around are:

4pm - Spy In The House of Men: A One-Woman Show With Balls - Penny: For Your Thoughts - Bryant Lake Bowl

Finally!  This show was on my Top 10 list (at #10), so I’ve written about it before.  She also had a great preview in the Touring Artists Showcase.  But the schedule just wasn’t lining up before.  Today.  At last.  Very much looking forward to it.  She’s got over a dozen audience reviews and an average 5 star rating and I am not at all surprised.

5:30pm - Skirmish of Wit: Your Imaginary Forces - Minnesota SkyVault Theatre Company - Jungle Theater

This young folks were also on the Top 10 list this year (at #6) so I’ve written about them before as well.  They also had a totally charming preview in the Touring Artists Showcase and people have been talking them up whenever I mention them if they’ve seen the show before me.  Nearly 20 audience reviews, an average 4 star rating.  Also very much looking forward to this one.  Just down the block and around the corner from Penny’s show.

Also Consider at 5:30 - There Ain't No More - Crane Theater

(The above, sadly, means that the one show that was on my Top 10 list (at #9) that I’m not going to get a chance to see is There Ain’t No More.  One of their last two shows was 10pm last night, when I was recruited to play my guitar on one song with Scream Blue Murmur at the Southern; their final show? today 5:30pm out at Crane Theater, opposite this show and across town at the same time. Sigh.  Everyone I’ve met and talked with who’ve seen There Ain’t No More are raving about it (also 2 dozen audience reviews averaging out to 5 stars).  Saddest thing about the Fringe, you can’t see all the good stuff, no matter how you try.  If you’re closing to NE than Uptown and looking for a 5:30 show, see There Ain’t No More.)

and later…

8:30pm - Out of the Shadows - Gabriel Mata/Movements - Intermedia Arts

Yes, I’m seeing this one again.  Now that I’ve seen it once, I want to revisit it and watch it, knowing the broader outline of how it progresses, seeing different details this time.  It’s a graceful, funny and really winning performance.  This show (along with Boombox and Odd Man Out) are still my top 3 favorites of the festival this year.  So I’m also just doing something nice for myself in the home stretch and seeing a show that I know is going to entertain me.  Nearly 50 audience reviews, still averaging out to 5 stars.  Not at all surprised, since I gave it 5 stars myself.

10pm - Dungeon - Hit The Lights! Theater Company - Jungle Theater

Actually DUNGEON but I find all caps titles kind of annoying, or I worry that I’m screaming at blog readers.  The preview in the Touring Artists Showcase by these folks was such wonderfully inventive and fun shadow work that I was totally intrigued.  Fellow artists I know and trust have been raving about it, practically giddy.  They’ve also got nearly 70 audience reviews and are holding steady with an average 5 star rating.  So a lot of people like it and aren’t shy about saying so.  Hope I’m also one of them.

Since 4, 5:30, 8:30 and 10 are all in Uptown, it seemed silly not to try other shows at nearby venues, to see if I could keep today’s carbon footprint and traffic stress to a minimum.

So here’s the rest of the line-up

1pm - Fool’s Paradise - Desolate Maude - Bryant Lake Bowl

I like a good show about heartache.  This dance/storytelling hybrid might be just the thing.  They were on my list of random shout-outs anyway, and their dozen audience reviews are averaging out to 4 stars, so it’s worth a look.

2:30pm - His Name Doesn’t Matter - Power Clashing Productions - HUGE Theater

Haven’t heard much about this one, but they’ve got 30 audience reviews and an average 5 star rating, so the people who are seeing it are liking it.  Bonus points for GLBT content, so that tips me in their favor.  On the schedule they go.

and later…

7pm - The Migraine Room (Photophobia) - Public Displays of Affection - Jungle Theater

Regular Fringers who’ve seen and described this one to me basically say it’s an oddity that was built to happen in something like the Fringe Festival.  Not to everyone’s taste (only five reviews and they average out to 3 stars), but that isn’t necessarily an indicator of anything one way or the other.  I could be its audience, or not.  Only one way to know for sure.  The only tricky thing is it apparently takes place in near darkness, so if I’m not careful, I may end up taking a power nap before the 8:30 show.  We shall see…