Sunday, August 12, 2018

Fringe 2018 - 4 Star Show Rundown


(Reminder: There are no encore slots this year for the best-selling show in each venue.  So there is no extra final chance to catch a popular show at the end of the Fringe schedule. Once they're gone, they're gone, so catch the good shows and/or shows you're really interested in before they disappear)

Delightfully Rude - Elaine Orion - Ritz Studio

tweet review - show 5 - Delightfully Rude - Mom wasn't a fan, but I laughed out loud a lot (which I don't normally due in shows); guess we'll just agree to disagree on this one; your mileage may vary - 4 stars - (FINAL SHOW (TONIGHT) - Sun 8/12 7pm)

Link to full "Delightfully Rude" review

Forsythian Dweller’s Club - Bittersweet Arts Co. - Rarig X

tweet review - show 25 - Forsythian Dweller's Club - an impressively elaborate shaggy dog story of hilariously scary circular logic in which a literary magazine's plans for expansion get way out of hand on a globally cultish scale - 4 stars (FINAL SHOW (TODAY) - Sun 8/12 4pm)

Gay Hot American Summer - GIRL Theatre - Rarig Arena

tweet review - show 34 - Gay Hot American Summer - I wanted to like this one more than I ultimately did; it was certainly gay, well done, and awfully cute, but it kind of refused to end after it ran out of reasons to keep going - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Geminae - Oncoming Productions - Southern Theater

tweet review - show 38 - Geminae - cool anti-gravity physical work; a stranded female astronaut running out of air; her sister down at mission control; a plot for revenge; creepy sci-fi horror - 4 stars - (FINAL SHOW (TODAY) - Sun 8/12 1pm)

My 4 Bodies - Nightfox Stage Productions - Ritz Studio

tweet review - show 44 - My 4 Bodies - a writer/performer living with multiple sclerosis recounts her struggles to make peace with her body and herself - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Night Sets Her Foot In Morocco - Minnesota SkyVault Theater - Rarig Arena

tweet review - #mnfringe show 14 - Night Sets Her Foot In Morocco - less music/more wacky antics in the audience than I was expecting, but still a heck of a lot of fun - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Link to full "Morocco" review

(a) Normal Theatre Play - Goof Goof - Strike Theater

tweet review - show 43 - (a) Normal Theatre Play - show's closed so it can now be revealed, this stage adaptation was not of Cars 3, but of A Christmas Carol (the horror!); Bob Dylan as Fezziwig, however, was inspired comic lunacy - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Robert's Eternal Goldfish - Audacity Theatre Lab - Rarig X

tweet review - show 30 - Robert's Eternal Goldfish - a wannabe misanthrope reluctantly brought back into the flow of humanity by a supernatural goldfish; irascibly charming comic storytelling - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Saint Ex - Spaceheater - Rarig Arena

tweet review - #mnfringe show 15 - Saint Ex - (still noodling over this one) - physical poem where dancer channels both an author/pilot and his wife - compelling visual images, puzzling out what it adds up to - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Link to full "Saint Ex" review

The Shrieking Harpies - Augsburg Studio

tweet review - show 26 - Shrieking Harpies - a fully improvised musical from a single word (this time, mortician) that even the improvisers admitted afterward was really weird; still, what they do is nothing short of amazing, and their voices are great - 4 stars (CLOSED)

Link to full "Shrieking Harpies" review

Still or I’ve Been Choreographed - Kevin Williamson + Company - Rarig X

tweet review - show 29 - Still, or I've Been Choreographed - Kevin Williamson's choreography/performance starts with almost with an absence of motion, making regular motion seem suddenly huge; intriguing exercise in focus, precision, and audience attention - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Link to full "Still or I've Been Choreographed" review

Vert-O-Graph - Marvel Ann Theatre - Rarig Thrust 

tweet review - show 13 - Vertograph - campy satire of mid-20th century suburban obsessions, pulled into another dimension and back again; rules were a little fuzzy, sometimes didn't know if I was supposed to be laughing WITH the gay characters or AT them - 4 stars - (CLOSED)

Link to full "Vert-O-Graph" review


Here's some handy links to reviews of 5 Star Shows, 4.5 Star Shows, 3 Star Shows, and my full Top 10, Top 11-20 and Returning Favorites lists.





























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