Still trying to figure out the best way to navigate social media platforms that are increasingly full of garbage. No longer using the site formerly known as Twitter, giving BlueSky a try (a lot fewer Nazis). So that’s where the posts on the fly during the festival will be posted (https://bsky.app/profile/matthewaeverett.bsky.social), and then I’ll gather them here at the end of each day for the snapshot of my daily festival travels from show to show, with longer reviews to follow.
MN Fringe update: This year, Fringe overlaps w/ongoing union contract negotiations at the Guthrie for new unit representing the front-facing staff - box office, ushers, guest services, housekeeping. So that's taking a little chunk of today and Friday. Sigh. I'd rather be writing about theater.
MN Fringe show #31: Curly Hair Boy - delightful surprise, tale of boy with ability to heal and communicate with nature on quest to rescue his 2 older sisters; 3 perform entirely in Nepalese, a 4th gives English introduction then joins others; sweet, whimsical - 5 stars
MN Fringe show #32: That Which Is Green - Michael Rogers does it again, and this time he’s not alone on stage for his character’s existential crisis; Alex Van Loh is there, too, which makes all the difference; a lovely, funny, moving exploration of growing up and moving on - 5 stars
MN Fringe show #33: In The Garden of American Heroes - Andrew Erskine Wheeler has a thornier subject this time, General Custer as a representative of many of the founding (and continuing) sins of this country; pacing, staging just a bit off, but guy still commands a stage like few others - 4.5 stars
MN Fringe show #34: Romeo and Juliet, Lottery Style: fun concept, cast assigned roles at start; incisive if imperfect cutting of the text; impressive work by 4 rotating leads, undercut by narrator/MC character inserting himself into key moments for no useful purpose, diluting, distracting - 2.5 stars
Here’s some handy links to coverage of 5 Star and 4.5 Star Shows I've Seen (VERY Highly Recommend), 4 Star and 3.5 Star Shows I've Seen (Highly Recommended), Other Shows I've Seen (3 Stars or Less), as well as my Fringe Top 10, Top 11 to 20 and Returning Favorites lists for this year, and all the coverage of this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.
As I’m sure many artists are, I find myself struggling with the idea of
just “taking time off” (what a luxury) and submerging myself in a whole
lot of theater for 11 days while the world is on fire so… I’m going to
put some phrases and links down here (and at the end of each post going
forward) and if you find yourself compelled to explore one or more of
them, so much the better. There’s a lot going on, and it can be easy to
get overwhelmed and tune out, but as Congresswoman Sarah McBride
recently said, “If everybody shows a little courage, nobody needs to be a
hero.” I freely admit this list and these links are hardly
exhaustive. It's just something to get started. Do what you can, where
you can, however you can. Let’s help one another get through this.
Contacting your elected officials about the issues that matter to you (and protesting as necessary)
Starvation in the Gaza Strip
Immigration raids around the United States
Ukraine fighting off invasion by Russia
Trans rights
Climate change action
Housing shortage and the unhoused
Reproductive Rights
Voting rights, and running for office
The courts, from the Supreme Court on down to the local level
Don’t forget to laugh - even gallows humor is still humor
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