Fringe 2025 - Other Shows I've Seen - 3 Stars or Less

Here's a handy list of coverage of the other shows I've seen so far ranking 3 stars or less, with links to full-length reviews as they're posted, in alphabetical order by title:

3 Stars - Good Job

MN Fringe show #15: Apsara, the Musical - slightly confusing show set mostly in 12th century kingdom of Khmer but constructed and sounding like a 21st century Disney musical, which didn't seem to serve the story, the subject or the culture it was trying to convey; cast doing their best; 3 stars 

 

 

 

 

MN Fringe show (lucky)#13: J and R - The Drama Experience remixes Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers as young queer fanfic so it’s kind of messy and melodramatic but very well-intentioned :) - 3 stars

 

 

 

 

MN Fringe show #4: La Tunda - great concept, game cast, just wish the execution matched the idea (queer trans twist on ancient monster legend); moments and scenes shine with humanity or dread, but overall it meanders a lot; however, audience really loved it (standing O), so what do I know? 3 stars

 

 

 

MN Fringe show #40: One Who Is Home - Irie Unity and Olivia Nelson create some sweet moments and lovely turns of phrase throughout; but we know something’s up at the start, so why keep it secret rather than using all that time to explore all the questions instead? 3 stars
 

 

2.5 Stars - Not Bad, Still Needs Some Work

 

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  

 

 

 

MN Fringe show #6: Simone Weil and the (Insufferable) Existentialist Breakfast Club - well, the title did warn me that the characters played by puppets would be insufferable (check); like the existentialists, I was left wondering: why am I here? what am I watching? what is the point? - 2.5 stars 

 

 

MN Fringe show #54: Someone Always Pays - well, it was brief; so many questions; is the waitress in some kind of doom loop, since the other character doesn’t seem to know what’s going on but she does? Why is she stuck here? Why are we? At least they let her sing a song? Baffling - 2.5 stars 

 

 

MN Fringe show #45: The 4 Ws and The H of Murder - so many questions; if this is serious why is no one calling the cops? if this is comedy why isn’t it funnier? tone, logic and reality all over the place; no podcast works like this; there’s a dead queer person and no one cares (yikes) - 2.5 stars 

 

 

MN Fringe show #30: The Professionals: A Broadcast - so many interesting ideas here, perhaps too many? The cast is energetically committed but to what, exactly? Show rarely lands on a concept long enough to convey it to audience so it ends up a bit of a confusing dystopian muddle - 2.5 stars  

 

 

 

1 Star - Life's Too Short 

(none yet...) 

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), 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