Fringe 2016 - Write Me A Song - Music Created From Your Suggestions In Real Time - 5 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe Write Me A Song: I honestly wasn't sure that was gonna work, but we did it, brand new song; that was a rush - 5 stars

Write Me A Song ended up on my Top 10 list this year because the idea intrigued me:

Ever wanted to write a song but didn't know how? Sometimes all you need is a catalyst. Join me and a group of strangers for a fast-paced night of creation. I choose a topic and we'll write a song on the spot.

Having spent the last several years myself learning the basics of playing guitar, starting to write songs for my plays, and cautiously dipping my toe in the water of playing my guitar and those songs in public, I’m even more impressed by the people who seem to do all of that so effortlessly because all of it feels like an enormous mountain to climb.  So, creating a song in less than an hour?  Doesn’t seem possible.  And yet, in Write A Song, we do.  Every show will be different because every audience will be different and thus every song will be different.

The description’s a little misleading because singer/songwriter Jeromy Darling doesn’t really choose the topic.  He lets the audience do it.  He gives us a set of things to choose from, but he’s starting from scratch.  He’s not using bits and pieces of songs he’s already got in the pipeline.  He’s crafting a song from the inspirations put in front of him.

First he gives a little background on his work with The Salvage Project, which takes music into prisons and homeless shelters around the country.  The mission has a Christian underpinning to it, but don’t let that scare you off, he’s not there to proselytize anyone.  This is about the music. 

The mission does guide the topics however.  The audience gets to choose between Faith, Hope and Love.  Show of hands, the audience chose Love.  Then the audience gets to choose if the song’s going to be in a major or minor key (after he lays out the different sounds).  Audience chose minor key.  Then the audience gets to choose if it’s going to be a fast or a slow song.  The audience was tied, so Darling made the executive decision it was going to be a slow song (though the final product still seemed pretty perky in terms of rhythm so I think we ended up splitting the difference).  Darling is self-deprecating and funny and charming.  He’s the ideal vessel for pulling people out of their shells and getting them to play along.

Then while Jeromy spent five minutes noodling over chord progressions and muttering nonsense syllables to feel out a potential melody, the audience members each got several post-it notes and a pencil and were encouraged to write something - words, phrases, maybe even a stab at lyrics if you were feeling ambitious, someone even drew a picture of a cat so illustrations are not out of bounds.  Once the five minutes were up, Darling’s able assistant collected all the notes and laid them out on a white board at Darling’s feet and he looked them over.

Then a phrase at a time, a line at at time, verse, chorus, additional late entry audience suggestions thrown in, the song took shape.  He tried to keep a running monologue going of the thought process passing through his head as the song coalesced, though he did warn us up front that there would likely be some awkward silences along the way.  He did, however, keep playing the guitar nearly the whole time he wasn't actively engaged in talking to the audience, and sometimes he'd even play idly under the conversation.

He apologized in advance to anyone whose words he didn’t end up using.  No reflection on their contribution.  While I certainly understand that everything the audience cranks out couldn’t possibly all get wedged into a single song, I have to admit a little thrill when a single word I offered up on my set of post-its really grabbed him and kicked off the chorus.

And there it was.  A song.  Done.  Sure, it’ll probably be finessed and recrafted a little, but the foundation of the whole thing was really solid.  The plan is to get a song out of each of the five performances and then release a Fringe EP of the end result, recording it all probably taking a month or so.  Pretty amazing.

People who live in music speak a different language than I do.  It’s fascinating to watch them speak it fluently and create right before your eyes.  It’s even more compelling to watch them reach out to a room full of strangers, take in their ideas, and translate them into song.

I’m going back to catch another performance.  It’s the rare Fringe show, or any theater production really, that can get me to do that.  If you’re looking for a change of pace and a front seat to the thrill of creation, Write Me A Song is a Fringe show you should have on your schedule.

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - The Gospel of Sherilyn Fenn - Salvation Through Porn - 5 stars

#mnfringe The Gospel of Sherilyn Fenn: mesmerizing hilarious and terrifying mix of religion, anorexia, suicide, and porn - 5 stars

Brad Lawrence and The Gospel of Sherilyn Fenn were high on my top 10 list this year for a reason, all signs pointed to the fact that the guy was a consummate storyteller.  Seeing The Gospel of Sherilyn Fenn for myself was proof that everything people were saying about this guy was right.  It’s just him, and occasionally his bottle of water, onstage for an hour, and the man is absolutely mesmerizing.  Also hilarious and horrifying, but never less than absolutely compelling.  Once he starts talking, you can’t take your eyes off the guy.

“The God of youth group was Christopher Walken wearing George Burns as a skin suit.”

It helps that he’s got a hell of a story to tell, and knows just how to spin it.  It’s hard being a fat kid with glasses and a mullet in sixth grade.  Brad’s unexpected escape from social exile comes when he finds that he can draw sex acts and violence he doesn’t yet understand at the request of other kids who would otherwise be bullying him.  And he makes a little money at it, too, until the school administrators get wind of it and insist he get some therapeutic help.  Taking his art to the other extreme, he manages to garner some notice and awards on the Christian art circuit, which might even lead him to a scholarship at a conservative Christian college.

“I was years away from finding out how intimidating a naked woman could be.”

But when a troubled older relative ends up on his parent’s doorstep, Brad is suddenly confronted with the kind of access to pornography he always thought he wanted, but isn’t quite prepared for.  There are sudden turns in the tale I won’t spoil here.  And I have to say, even though Brad himself is no longer a believer the way his family brought him up to be, the depiction of conservative organized religion and the effect it has on a kid’s psyche is rich and multi-layered. 

“There’s the brown shag carpet road to perdition.”

It’s not the knee-jerk, one note Christian-bashing we’ve come to expect from popular entertainment.  Just the sequence where people are praying over young Brad in a glass elevator at a Christian conference is amazing, and there’s more where that came from.  But Brad’s salvation, such as it is, comes ultimately from the unlikely source of adult TV late night on Showtime during the free summer preview period.  Brad’s outlook on life, religion, sex and his own body are completely transformed.  Thank you, Sherilyn Fenn.

“Hey, why don’t you draw me a picture of the Pope f**king a dog?”

You have to hear this man tell his story for yourself.  Fair warning: adult content.  But when people are talking about great solo shows, The Gospel of Sherilyn Fenn is the kind of show they mean.

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - Full Heart Living LIVE! The Bootcamp Experience - A Live Action Infomercial for Happiness - 3 stars

#mnfringe Full Heart Living - basically a live action infomercial but they're selling happiness so... 3 stars

I know what you’re thinking.  How can he only give happiness 3 stars?  I’m sure this show will have its following.  But it’s not really theater so much as it’s a live-action infomercial for Tom Glaser’s book Full Heart Living. 

Glaser interviewed people with perpetually sunny dispositions to see what their common strategies were for engaging life and embracing happiness (and bouncing back from misfortune).  It’s a self-help book.  It’s a self-help show. 

The cast is mostly white and mostly female, as is the director Nicole Wilder.  The energetic ensemble (Lynn Maiers Paulson, Mykel Pennington, Patricia Reeves, Erica Szaflarski, and G. Zachariah White) bring the material to life with a lot of the strategies you might find in basic theater games.  The script is largely transposed from the book, and feels a lot in structure and delivery like any number of documentaries or infomercials that can be seen on the far edges of television programming schedules whenever they need to plug a hole with some content.  They even call the programs “participant guides.” 

It’s exactly what it intends to be: an introduction to the book and its contents.  There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it.  If you’re in the mood for a little positive thinking reinforcement, Full Heart Living LIVE! could be just the ticket for you.  It was a sold out crowd at the first performance and they were clearly there to buy what Glaser and company were selling. 

But though it’s well-executed, I wouldn’t call it theater.  At least not the kind of live performance that I go to a theater to encounter.  Full Heart Living LIVE! The Boot Camp Experience could be a welcome change of pace or refuge for an hour for any number of people.  I personally just wasn’t clicking with the way the production wanted to engage me.  Look over the links and video they’ve got posted, and decide if it’s for you.

3 stars - Recommended

Fringe 2016 - 5 Star Shows for Saturday, 8/6

5 star shows

7pm

For Worse - Mixed Blood - review here
Sometimes There's Wine - Theater in the Round - review here
Happenstanced - Rarig X - review here

10pm

The Abortion Chronicles - Theater in the Round - review here


4 star show

4pm

Couple Fight 2: Friends and Family - Theater In the Round - review here

Fringe 2016 - Caucasian-Aggressive Pandas and Other Mulatto Tales - Just as Irreverent and Discomfiting as I Hoped It’d Be - 5 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe Caucasian Aggressive Pandas and Other Mulatto Tales: just as funny, challenging and earnest as I'd hoped for - 5 stars

Given how charged the atmosphere of the country is over the last two years in regard to the concept of race, I was looking forward to seeing Derek “Duck” Washington’s brainchild through Fearless Comedy Productions probably more than anything else in the Fringe this year.  That’s why you’ll see Caucasian-Aggressive Pandas and Other Mulatto Tales at the top of my Top 10 list for 2016.  The production itself was everything I’d hoped for and, naturally, more.  Good artists always surprise me.  I missed this show in its original run outside the Fringe so I was really happy to get a second chance to finally catch it. 

“If I use a cell phone during the performance, I am a racist.”

Duck is joined onstage by Matthew Kessen as our bumbling but reassuring narrator, Ted Femrite and Kirsten Wade as (among many other things) the vengeful pandas of the title with a taste for white meat (look out, fellow caucasians), and Suzanne Victoria Cross - who looked like she was having a heck of a time saying inappropriate things and making people uncomfortable with a smile on her face. 

“The white I have in me, it was never gonna shield me from hate.”

Director Jena Young keeps things hopping, and gets the ensemble to strike that tricky balance throughout Duck’s script between serious subject matter, and not taking people or their prejudices too seriously.  There’s some gasps, there’s some groans, there’s some anger on behalf of people who shouldn’t have to put up with such sh*t, but mostly there’s a lot of absurdity and laughter.  Because, let’s face it, prejudice just makes everyone hanging onto it look stupid. 

“I wanted to prove my parents didn’t a mistake by not wearing a rubber.”

The headings should give you a clue: Chapter 1 - How I Learned To Hate Mariah Carey; Aside #1 - Bill Cosby (“I didn’t think you could do anything worse than Leonard Part 6”); Chapter 2 - Caucasian-Aggressive Pandas; Aside #2 - The Chocolate Chip Cookie Game; Chapter 3 - Growing Pains; Aside #3 - More Awkward Interactions With White People; Chapter 4 - Checking Other; Aside #4 - Smells Like Teen Spirit; Chapter 5 - The Oreo Paradox. 

“We’ve given you more than the necessary amount of exposition!”

Duck takes his story growing up biracial and mines it for true life tales both silly and heartbreaking, and for comic situations like those hungry pandas who need him to prove that he’s more black than white (in ever more outrageous ways) so they don’t eat him; or the moment in the afterlife when he needs to choose a segregated heavenly reward.  Caucasian-Aggressive Pandas and Other Mulatto Tales was everything I hoped it would be, and needed it to be.  You should put it on your schedule.

5 Stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - The Abortion Chronicles - Quite Possibly The Most Powerful Show In The Fringe - 5 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe The Abortion Chronicles: I was expecting this to be powerful, compelling and well done, but... damn - 5 stars

The Red Letter Society, the group behind The Abortion Chronicles, features a lot of the usual suspects from Freshwater Theatre - curators Ariel Leaf, Ben Layne and Ruth Virkus, dramaturgy by Virkus with Alyssa Thompson (who also stage manages), performers Leaf, Mame Pelletier, Scot Moore, Katie Starks and Jesse Corder.  So you know you’re in good hands. 

“It feels like a privilege to have my heart broken, daily.”

They reached out to the community for people to tell them their stories of abortion.  Some people are performing their own stories, some are performing the words of others, some people preferred that their story - though performed - remain anonymous.  We also get the words of the people who work at Planned Parenthood and Whole Women’s Health. 

“The parents of the dead live for him now and always, even though he’s gone.”

There are any number of ways that something like this could go off the rails.  It could be angry, it could be overly sentimental, it could be repetitive, it could just be too damn painful to sit through.  The Abortion Chronicles not only avoids all these pitfalls, it opens up and humanizes the issue of abortion in ways I was not expecting.  You’ve heard tell of unwanted pregnancies, or fetuses with severe birth defects that need to be aborted for the health of the mother and avoid the needless suffering of the child.  But stories of real people in these situations ring true in the way hypothetical discussions just can’t. 

“I thanked him, closed my legs, and left.”

Director Layne and the cast (which also includes strong performances from Dana Lee Thompson, Nissa Nordland Morgan, Tonya Wershow, John Leaf, Linda Sue Anderson, Alexis Clarksean, Heidi Garrido, and Opal McCarthy) work every angle - and level - of the Theatre In The Round space.  The final image, which I won’t spoil, is simple, stunning and beautiful.  The round stage is transformed into a women’s health clinic where patients wait their turn for an appointment, and to speak.  Any basic way I describe this piece isn’t going to do it justice.  Nothing about the staging, the stories or the performances is expected.  The show is constantly serving up something you couldn’t have anticipated.  In several instances, the children who are not born are just as present in the mind as the women on stage talking about them. 

“I love you.  I’m sorry.  Please forgive me.  Thank you.”

The Abortion Chronicles is enormously compelling viewing, and quite possibly the most powerful show in the Fringe this year.  (If I see too many more shows that knock me back on my heels with the same force this one does, I may need to call for backup.)  That said, I welcome theater that moves me like this, over theater that feels safe, any day of the week.

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - Happenstanced - Has Parenthood Changed Allegra Lingo? Yes and No, and Both For the Better - 5 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe Happenstanced - you won't be surprised to learn Allegra Lingo: still a great storyteller, just added great parent - 5 stars

No one is going to be surprised when I saw that Fringe veteran Allegra Lingo puts on a great solo storytelling show.  But she doesn’t immediately break out the music stand and script to read from.  Happenstanced is Lingo’s first show since her 2014 Fringe hit The Genealogy of Happenstance, which recounted the story of Allegra and wife Amy’s quest to have a child.  And now they have that child.  Matilda.  And Matilda is our prologue. 

“I thought ninjas were coming to kill me.  In a townhouse.  In Minnetonka.”

Allegra shows Matilda around the theater, then they descend into the Rarig X and root around in the toys and crayons for a minute or two.  Then Allegra introduces Matilda to her extended theater family, the audience, “These people have been waiting a long time to meet you.”  But soon enough it’s time for the handoff to mother Amy, and the whole audience spontaneously begins to wave goodbye as Matilda makes her exit. (And dammit, I didn’t cry through the entire show, but I just cried typing that.) “You guys are witnessing something very rare right now.  I am out of earshot of Matilda.  It’s been a wild last 19 months, y’all.”

“Are you ready to see the castle?”

Allegra then proceeds to get out that music stand and script and present to us six short pieces from a wealth of material that has been the first year or so of parenthood.  There’s the unconventional birth, and the excursions to Walt Disney World.  There’s the unexpected identity struggles involved with not being the birth mother - and thus a bottle and not a breast feeder, or feeling the need to demur when people mention “She has your eyes” or “your height.”  There’s the strange sleep habits of children, hoarding things around themselves, a behavior from Allegra’s past she sees reflected in her daughter.  And there’s grappling with how dark the world can sometimes seem, and here you are trying to raise another human being to be part of it. 

“She doesn’t know how to deal with celebrity babies.”

I’m only a godfather myself, but I’m struck by the truth of a quote that floats around which says, "To have a child is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”  Allegra Lingo’s still a great storyteller.  Parenthood is just ripping away another layer of artifice that Lingo has always had between her and her audience.  She’s not any more sentimental now than she was before.  She’s just as clear-eyed, just as much the wry observer of life’s absurdities.  But her heart’s walking around outside her body now.  She can’t hide anything from us anymore.  On some level, that must be terrifying.  But man, is it making her a better storyteller.

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - Couple Fight 2: Friends and Family - Next Time Mabye Less Couples, More Fight? - 4 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe Couple Fight 2: Friends and Family - consistent slightly mindless fun - 4 stars

I missed the first Couple Fight last year, but I like the concept: people reenacting the most ridiculous fight they ever had with a loved one, so they can laugh at themselves at the same time we do.

“You don’t think you’re Mom, and that makes you more Mom than Mom!”

There’s a lot of couples in this second outing of Couple Fight, friends and family edition.  There’s husband and wife team Rachael Davies and Andy Kraft, sisters Angie Martin and Casey Haeg, mother/daughter duo Pat and Emily Schmidt; friend pairings Sulia Altenberg and BriAnna Daniels, Anna Weggel-Reed and Richie McLarn, and Andy Hillbrands and Katy Kessler; and another husband/wife team that’s actually reenacting a battle of wills between mother Lacey Zeiler and toddler Lila (represented here by husband and father John Zeiler).  Playing yourself rather than a character is tough, and some performers were more successful at it than others.

“Are you still uncomfortable?”
“Always.”
“Me, too.”

Each of the fights was entertaining, but as the show continued I found myself wondering if I’d be getting more out of the fights if they were allowed more time to breathe.  Maybe if we had fewer couples and longer fights, they might be able to pay off more effectively.  Things felt a little crowded and a little rushed.

“I’m not done with my tantrum yet.”

For instance, while the friend fight between Sulia and BriAnna felt a little unfocused, I found the subject they were struggling with - race and how to discuss it in a way that wasn’t just trying to make uptight white people feel better - really intriguing.  Give them a director with a firmer hand and a little more time to play out that fight and that could be powerful as well as uncomfortably funny. 

“You’re using my tax money to ban my smoking.”
“You don’t pay taxes.”
“I know.”

Likewise, Andy and Katy’s fight (choosing sides in the Bernie vs. Hillary battle for the Democratic nomination for president) was actually a multi-part fight across several months.  No part of it really nailed the extremely fraught feeling I know many friends have had debating with people they respect about that choice - the lens they choose to look at the other candidate through, and the facts they choose to recite at one another.  Those are the kind of fights that can end a friendship if people stop listening to one another and close their minds as well as their ears.  That fight needed more time to land its blows, and less opportunity to defuse the situation by allowing them the chance to step away and restart.

“We’re gonna put on jammies/we’re gonna put on jammies/we’re gonna put on jammies/so mom can have some wine.”

Even Anna and Richie’s fight over the university’s indoor/outdoor complete smoking ban could have used more space.  This was probably the most successful of these three examples in actually seeming like a fight with stakes.  But the complexities of that fight, both personally and politically, felt short-handed rather than fully realized.  It seemed the most like a fight, and got some heartier laughs, but it still felt like it could have been pushed further.

“I’m so glad our party’s unified.”

The two most successful fights were family fights.  Sisters Angie and Casey who kick off the evening, fighting while driving, had the most detailed and personal fight.  They also played with the convention of being in the round on stage for better laughs, turning around to face another part of the audience when their “car” was turning around, too.  Anyone who’s ridden with someone whose driving habits they can’t stand (especially if it’s a member of your family) completely understood the dynamics of this fight, which made it all the funnier.  They didn’t edit the family nature of the fight to make it nicer either.  In the spirit of the concept they allowed their fight to be just a ridiculous as fights between siblings often get.  (Yes, I have a younger brother, why do you ask?)

“How can you not like football?”

John Zeiler in a T-shirt and diaper pretending to be his own toddler daughter that wife Lacey is trying to get to go to bed probably isn’t fair to anyone else competing with them in the fight-off.  It’s weird, cute, and the physical comedy of trying to get a toddler into footie pajamas were the most genuinely earned laughs of the show.  The fact that he also played himself taking a call in mid-toddler fight, and then was using his portrayal of his daughter to get a little “booby” time as himself were both pretty fun variations on the convention of the couple fight.

“We knew I was gonna be a CONvergence widow.”

Some fights seemed like they were stretching their premise pretty thin, but most of the fights felt like if they had a little more time they might be more substantial, both as fights and entertainment.  But overall, the full show was still a win by Fringe comedy standards.  No one will go away not having chuckled, chortled or guffawed here.  There’s a lot of laughs to go around in Couple Fight 2: Friends and Family.  Keep tweaking the formula, who knows what you could end up with?

4 stars - Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - Ball - The Catalysts - If A Man Is Permitted To Channel Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli, It's Probably Max - 5 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe Ball: A Musical Tribute to My Lost Testicle; Mom says "That was spectacular. HE is spectacular" - that about sums it up, 5 stars

Max Wojtanowicz is so talented, it’s honestly kind of depressing for other artists.  I mean, seriously, how do we keep up?  Max got diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer in January of this year, went through surgery and chemotherapy (while also performing in shows like Theater Latte Da’s C), wrote and is now performing a fantastic Fringe show (called Ball: A Musical Tribute To My Lost Testicle) about his experience with cancer in August.  Really?  That’s a thing human beings can do?  I’m clearly not working hard enough.

“I can see you’re gettin’ lively as I pole dance ‘round the I.V.”

Ball: A Musical Tribute To My Lost Testicle is - well, let me put it this way.  My mom is 78 years old.  To walk any distance now when we leave the house she has to use a cane.  We need to avoid stairs as much as possible.  It is not an easy thing for my mother to get up and down out of chair.  The moment Max Wojtanowicz was done performing, that woman was on her feet with the rest of the audience giving him a standing ovation.  She got up faster than I did.  Her first words when it was over were, “That was spectacular.  HE is spectacular.”  Yeah.  Yeah, he is.

There’s a song called “Fondle Your Balls”

Max isn’t interested in presenting another pastel-colored Lifetime movie for television about battling cancer.  Thankfully he’s still close enough to the experience that he recalls the rough edges and prickly moments with clarity and detail.  But he takes that unsparing approach and funnels it through his two favorite performing tools, song and comedy.  And he does it brilliantly.  Whether it’s a telling reinterpretation of a pre-existing song from the musical theater canon, or taking one of those tunes and offering up his own satirical lyrics (“We’ll Take Manhattan” becomes “At HCMC,” for instance), or presenting a completely original song of his own, Wojtanowicz slays this thing.

His one remaining ball, personified by a puppet, gets to sing a medley of songs featuring the word One

Max is using this play to process his own experience. He’s using this play to warn others.  He’s using this play to thank all the people who work in the cancer care industry and caretakers of loved ones, and applaud his fellow cancer survivors.  All of that makes it sound like this play would be hard to sit through.  But there’s so much laughter and so much song that the performance is the exact opposite of a downer or a well-intentioned but dull documentary.  It’s a celebration of life.  The man is belting out songs because he still can.  If that isn’t giving an enormous middle finger to death, I don’t know what is.

There is a letter addressed to his not so dearly departed right ball

Max’s father wasn’t as lucky in his own battle with cancer.  Max knows he’s fortunate.  He’s not placing himself on any pedestal.  In fact he’s kind of embarrassed to be a standard bearer when so many other people fought so much harder and lost so much more.  But this is the story he’s been given.  And these are the skills he has with which to tell it.  And frankly, he knocks the damn thing out of the park.  He could be overcome with emotion at any moment, and several times very nearly is.  But he always pulls himself back from the edge and delivers a performance like the professional he is.  Some solo shows are self-indulgent “look at me” exercises.  Ball isn’t one of those.  This is a story that needs to be told, in the hands of a storyteller who knows exactly how to tell it.

“Welcome to the poison party.”

Ball: A Musical Tribute To My Lost Testicle is fantastic.  Max as a performer is inspiring.  (But, uh, Max, could you dial the brilliance down just a little bit?  You’re making the rest of us look bad.  I’m kidding, of course.  Go on and set the bar high.  By the time we catch up, you’ll be that much further ahead).  Oh, if it wasn’t obvious, see this show.

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - Sometimes There's Wine - Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool - How Much Convincing Do You Really Need? - 5 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe Sometimes There's Wine - can these women just write and perform all the comedy? (Oh wait, Shanan is) 5 stars

“Let’s think about Blake Shelton for a minute.”

Shanan Custer and Carolyn Pool have created another great showcase for their considerable acting, comedy, and writing talents in Sometimes There’s Wine, and they’ve clearly found a great co-conspirator in director Anya Kremenetsky.  The whole show hums right along from one sequence to the next, with Eric Webster’s skillful sound design as further humorous glue tying the thing together.  There’s a lot of moving parts to Sometimes There’s Wine, so stage manager Morgan Lavandowska must have quite the pre-show checklist in place so that everything gets laid out just right and Custer and Pool can sail from one scene straight into another.

“It’s this little sliver of time where you can either get pregnant or break a hip.”

I was embarrassingly late to the party in regard to Custer and Pool’s first two woman Fringe tour de force 2 Sugars, Room For Cream.  (I could be forgiven for a little of that, since the show was so popular in its first run it was damn hard to find a ticket.  And rightly so.)  When I finally got to see it, I quickly realized that I’d been harboring a lot of ridiculous preconceived notions about it.  My brain foolishly thinking labels like “comedy” and “women” somehow meant this show was destined to be just fluff, or not something a guy could enjoy.  Far from it.  In fact 2 Sugars, Room For Cream, and now Sometimes There’s Wine, are exactly the kind of shows I’ve been longing to be entertained by.  Then I miss ‘em when they’re sitting right in front of me.  Not making that mistake again.  Custer, Pool and company get packed houses, repeat productions and awards for good reason - they make great theater.

“I am going to marry it, or at least have my way with it.”

Sometimes There’s Wine follows the 2 Sugars, Room for Cream template (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it) - multiple scenes, quickly sketched characters that become fully realized people.  The key ingredient this time is alcohol instead of caffeine.  And just like caffeine, alcohol isn’t always these women’s best friend.  But sometimes it very much is.  The way it’s a friend for the audience is in the way it loosens the tongues of these various characters and gets them talking.  Custer and Pool are a few years on from their 2009 Fringe hit, so are many of their characters, and their concerns.  But they also play much younger (down to elementary school age, even).  Key phrases, bits of information, jokes, or character relationships loosely tie the evening together in a way that tweaks your brain just enough to make you realize you probably should be paying closer attention.  This is one of those plays where I’m scribbling madly because every other line is so smart and funny I want to share it.  You can be laughing so hard you miss the next joke.

“How hungry are you?”
“I could eat my own face.”

Custer and Pool are so great at playing off one another that a lot of the evening feels improvisational, or just like actual conversation between two people, rather than two actors trading funny lines with each other.  The trickiness of relationships between family and friends is a common thread.  These are the people you can say anything to, and about, whether you really should or not, and they’ll (probably) still love you anyway.  Wedding receptions, dinners alone, doctor appointments, family holiday meals, waiting in airports - getting through life isn’t always a picnic, but the people you love, even a stranger’s friendly listening ear, and a little wine, can help make it easier.

“Don’t have sex ‘Jane Austen-style’.”

You should just go see Sometimes There’s Wine for yourself. It’s almost impossible to summarize, but it’s a treat to experience in person.  Theater this good shouldn’t be taken for granted.  Go.

(And if you feel like you can't get enough Shanan Custer - don't worry, there's more. She can also be seen in Snow Country, Cougar-oke, and Celebrity Book Club. Enjoy!)

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - For Worse - Theatre Ubound - A Comic Gem - 5 stars

Tweet review - #mnfringe For Worse - 2 clever and funny related monologues, sharply directed and performed (definitely for better) 5 stars

One of the many things I enjoy about Anne Bertram’s work as a playwright - in general and here in Theatre Unbound’s 2016 Fringe show For Worse especially - is her mischievous sense of humor.  It’s a sense of humor that emerges from the things her characters say, whether they’re trying to be funny or not.  It’s a sense of humor about the way of the world in general, and the ways of theatrical storytelling in particular.  It’s a sense of humor that extends to her partnership with the audience, in the things she allows her spectators to know that often even her characters don’t.  That mischievous sense of humor in all its forms is the key thing that makes For Worse such a great time. 

“Some people have less of an impact than others.”

A play made up of two interconnected monologues can be deathly dull in the wrong hands.  Here, not only the writer, but director Miriam Monasch, and performers Edward Linder and Stacey Poirier, really nail it.  It’s a perfect partnership.  Everyone’s bringing out the best in everybody else.  The staging is simple but incredibly effective.

“Food poisoning.  That would be a very good thing.  That would be awesome.”

Linder and Poirier portray characters on two sides of a marriage (also married offstage in real life, but thankfully with a lot less drama).  The time is late 2008, when the entire economy seemed to be spiraling down the toilet with no relief in sight.  Linder plays Greg, a numbers guy who came up with the perfect algorithm for a company wanting to downsize its workforce.  Now he and his formula are in high demand, but he’s more than a little uncomfortable with turmoil he’s unleashing on the lives and families of the working class.  Greg’s conscience prompts him to an act of rebellion that he may or may not end up regretting.  His churning intestines certainly have second thoughts.  Greg is seated on a plane, stuck on the tarmac for maintenance issues.  Trapped on either side of him are two women who really wish they could unhear a lot of what he’s saying, just making the whole thing that much funnier.  A phone call from Greg flips us over to his wife Michelle on the other end of the line (a simple and lovely transition).

“There is nothing more frustrating than not being heard.”

Poor Michelle is substitute teaching and thanks to Greg’s calls, among other things, hasn’t had time to read the lesson plan.  She finds herself in front of us, her class, tasked with a vocabulary lesson in words with Latin, Old English and Greek origins drawn from William Golding’s classic novel Lord of the Flies.  With each passing word, Michelle spirals from eye-rolling to anger to tears at an ever more alarming rate.  Her hilarious tangent into a one-person recap of Euripides’ The Bacchae is worth the price of admission all by itself.  I can’t remember I time when I’ve enjoyed Poirier’s acting this much.  Both she and Linder are enjoying the hell out of this play, and that enthusiasm is contagious.

“At that point I was longing for the face paint and the sharp sticks!”

Another thing I love about Bertram’s writing is that the details are all there for the actors and audience to find, but she doesn’t hit you over the head with them.  If you give the play half your attention, you’ll enjoy it on a basic entertainment level.  But if you listen more closely, so many seemingly disparate threads tie together is such satisfying ways, you come away from the play with a greater appreciation for everyone involved.  Saying this play is about two sides of a marriage is almost too simplistic, because it makes you think the play is all about the relationship.  That’s not the focus.  It’s about these two very different people, who they are, and what they’re bringing to the relationship.  What they are and aren’t getting out of it.  And what we as the audience see that they don’t.  If Michelle could see Greg on that plane, and if Greg could see Michelle in that classroom, they might be able to see their way to rebuilding their marriage.  As it is, they’re having one-sided conversations with themselves, unaware that the other person has a very different view of, say, how their daughter is being raised, and how that troubles them.

“Finding a responsible adult is a challenge.”

For Worse is hilarious, and sad, and lovely.  Great work by all involved.  You really should see it.

5 stars - Very Highly Recommended

Fringe 2016 - Why You Should See: Hostil Watching - The Drollery (Fringe Top 10 list 2008)

A couple in an Amsterdam Hostel. This is a true story. Out of respect for some involved things have been changed, for everyone else it has been told exactly as it occurred. 10x10. Matt Alto & Amanda Chial

Matt Alto and his compatriots presented some razor sharp, seriously uncomfortable comedy/satire that not everybody laughed at (or got, or enjoyed) in 2007 with Blonde On Blonde.  I laughed, I squirmed, I got it, I enjoyed it.  So when they came back in 2008, they landed at number 3 on my Top 10 list that year.  I’m happy to say they’re back yet again in 2016 with their new show Hostil Watching.  This time including someone listed as “Stage Manager/Shadow Figure.”  I got an email recently from Matt Alto and he said “I do not want to give you a specific pitch for the show Hostil Watching, as I think that a sense of mystery and wonder will add to the experience.  Though I will say that I think it's the most honest and important shows that I have produced.  At moments it may appear immature, but I think it's one of the most mature shows I've directed.”

So it seems to be in line with some things I wrote about their very first show, a review which they quoted (along with several of their more insulting audience comments) to publicize their second show:

“Watching it you’re sometimes tempted to think, ‘Boy, these guys are stupid.’ But no one stupid makes a show this smart. Someone once said, ‘Life is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel.’ The Drollery is thinking. You may be feeling. It’s a testament to this odd little piece of work that it works no matter which direction you’re going with it. These guys are on to something. Just what that is, is still anybody’s guess. But I wouldn’t say no to more of it.”

If you haven’t seen The Drollery in action, you should see Hostil Watching.  If you’ve seen The Drollery in action, then I really don’t need to convince you to go see Hostil Watching, do I?  This isn’t one of those blockbuster Fringe hits, but I’d be willing to wager it’s still essential Fringe viewing.  I’m looking forward to it.  (It’s up against other things Mom wants to see in her limited Fringe visit, or on the other side of town for one of our days, but I’m determined to see it come Wednesday 8/10.  You lucky readers don’t have to wait that long - you can catch one of their first three shows at HUGE theater during opening weekend - Friday 8/5 at 5:30pm, Saturday 8/6 at 4pm or Sunday 8/7 at 8:30pm.  Go.  Laugh.  Squirm.)

Fringe 2016 - The Usual Suspects - Tom Reed and Anna Weggel (Fringe Top 10 2008)

I missed the first outing for Couple Fight, so Mom and I are grabbing a look at Couple Fight II: Friends and Family (Thursday 8/4, 8:30pm, their opening night):

Real pairs of friends, family and lovers reenact real fights in this sequel to 2015 Fringe hit "Couple Fight." Mixing heaviness and hilarity, couples outwit a toddler, bridge political divides and solve racism.



And after a long weekend of Fringe-going, I gave Mom the option on Sunday 8/7 night of staying put in the Rarig Center for the final slot at 10pm, or we could walk all the way down the block and half way up the hill on Cedar Street to catch Tom Reed’s Lounge-asaurus Rex act.  Mom didn’t hesitate.  For Tom Reed she’s breaking out the walking cane and getting some evening exercise to make that last venue of the night.

Lounge-asaurus Rex is the greatest lounge singer in the world and he knows it. In this audience-inspired lounge act, Rex works the crowd with witty banter, soaring ballads and dangerously sensual dance moves.

Fringe 2016 - Why You Should See: For Worse - Theatre Unbound (Fringe Top 20 list 2005)

Stuck on the tarmac, Greg faces his worst mistake and wishes for an air-sickness bag. Substitute-teaching 7th grade, Michelle summons Dionysus. Monologues about marriage and the stuff we just can't keep down.

Anne Bertram is one of the best playwrights in the Twin Cities, and we don’t see her scripts on stage around here nearly enough.  I’ve seen one of the monologues that’s part of For Worse in its developmental stage.  There’s obvious playwriting, there’s obtuse playwriting. Then there’s the playwriting where you think you know what’s going on, but then the situation and the people continue revealing things that surprise you and cause you to reevaluate the story in front of you and what it means.  It’s playwriting that engages the audience rather than allows them to just be passive observers.  That’s the kind of playwriting Anne does.  It’s why I look forward to reading her scripts.  It’s why I enjoy watching her scripts come to life on stage.  So that’s why Mom and I are starting our Fringe at 5:30 Thursday 8/4 with Theatre Unbound's production of For Worse.  You should check it out. (Fringe show page)

Fringe 2016 - Top 10 List - 1-5

1 - Caucasian Aggressive Pandas and Other Mulatto Tales - Fearless Comedy Productions

Mixing story-telling and sketch comedy in a blend of black-and-white concepts, Pandas is a humorous exploration of what it's like to be mixed raced, handle stereotypes, and find your place in the world.  Racism will be mocked, racists shunned, and stereotypes exposed.

I’m looking forward to seeing this Duck Washington show probably more than anything else in the Fringe this year.  I was sad to have missed it in its initial run so I was excited to see it resurface in the context of the Fringe.  Duck is a smart, funny, gentle soul who always brings his best to whatever material he’s working on (whether he or someone else has written it) and making that material better.  With his merry band of artistic conspirators, Duck and company are tackling an issue that we need to talk (and somehow laugh) more about.  The topic unfortunately couldn’t be more timely, so thankfully we couldn’t be in better hands.  Mom and I will be at the opening performance Friday night.


2 - Lewis/Clark - Rhymes With Montana

Two explorers attempt to discover what remains when there is nothing left to explore.

I think I saw Debra Berger’s hit 2013 Fringe show Hello Stranger a little too late.  Everyone had been raving so wildly about how wonderful it was that I think my expectations were set way too high. I didn’t get to encounter the production on its own merits, but through someone else’s filter (says the guy who writes reviews of Fringe shows).  I still enjoyed it quite a lot but it didn’t rock my world the way it seemed to so strongly impact other people. I missed last year’s To The Moon, so I’m glad that I have another chance to catch Berger and her collaborators (Emily King, Tyler Mills, Derek Trost and Tyler Michaels) doing what they do best.  It’s a treat to be able to escape into a world of self-awareness about art and a whimsical view of life and its changing fortunes and boundaries.  I’m looking forward to spending time with them again, and I don’t say that lightly.  This time I’ll try to approach the experience with no preconceptions.


3 - Ball: A Musical Tribute To My Lost Testicle - The Catalysts

Max Wojtanowicz was diagnosed with stage 3 testicular cancer in January 2016. A friend told him to "conquer it, and then sing about it." A one-man comedy about the moment when life throws you a curve... ball. A real-life story about laughing (and singing) in the face of darkness. Through stories and songs about his journey through the fun-filled world of testicular cancer, Max Wojtanowicz processes and maybe overshares his thoughts and feelings in his fourth original musical.
Every year when I compile this list, there’s always an easy call.  There’s always an artist I run across and go, “How the heck did they not wind up on this list before now?”  I’ve seen three out of the first four shows Max and his Catalysts have produced: Fruit Fly (2012), Shelly Bachberg Presents: How Helen Keller and Anne Frank Freed the Slaves (2013), and A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant  (2014). [I was experiencing Michele Bachmann fatigue last year, so I skipped Shelly Bachberg Presents: Orange is the New POTUS (2015), but that didn’t make it any less of a hit with Fringe crowds.] Max is a tireless artist with a clever satirical point of view and a generous sense of humor. Cancer didn’t seem to slow him down a bit, and with his medical treatments behind him he’s back in the thick of the action, producing what I’m sure will be yet another hit Fringe show. We’re lucky we got to keep him around.


4 - The Disillusionist - Stunt Theater

It's the last day of summer at WONDERPARK AMERICA?. Between his last two performances, the resident magician's show and life fall apart over the course of one afternoon... and you get to be part of it!  A high energy alcoholic interactive farce.

The creative mind behind this Fringe show is Neal Skoy, which is pretty much all I need to know.  If it’s Neal’s artistic brainchild, I’m there.  Neal is a clown.  No, I mean he’s a trained  professional clown.  (He also seems to make a habit of performing in shows that drive me just a little nuts.)  But since this is Neal’s show entirely, I’m anxious to see it for myself.  Who doesn’t love a high energy alcoholic interactive farce, am I right?  Plus, there’s a listing in their cast and crew for a Magic and Movement Consultant, which sounds like fun.  This show is one of the reasons Mom and I are finally going to get our butts over to NE Minneapolis and the brand new Strike Theater.


5 - The Gospel of Sherilyn Fenn - HT Productions

Best title on my top 10 list, possibly best title in the Fringe this year.

The true story of how storyteller Brad Lawrence survived a childhood in the Reagan Eighties - the rise of the moral majority and meth amphetamine, the terrors of sex and nuclear bombs, and his guest role in a sibling’s suicide -  by escaping into pop culture. This is a show about learning compassion for oneself through the saving grace of late night cable television.

For the longest time, a truncated version of that show description was the only thing on the guy’s Fringe page.  He’s since added a bit more.  Honestly, I probably would have gone anyway, just because of the title.  But he sent me a press release, so I had all kinds of other info.  The thing that sealed the deal, though, was a press quote about one of his other solo shows:

“For one hour on a bare stage, he [Brad Lawrence] has nothing but his dry, harrowing sense of hubris to hold the audience, and he is fascinating unquestionably.”
Matthew Trumbull, NYTheater.com

If the name Matthew Trumbull sounds familiar, that’s because the guy was here in the 2013 Fringe with his amazing one man show The Zebra Shirt of Lonely Children.  Anyone who saw that, like me, knows that if Matthew Trumbull is praising another solo performer, that person is really good.

There’s a lot more info on his website hblawrence.com, including video clips, so check that out if you need more convincing (first thing you notice, just as Sherilynn Fenn doesn’t look like she did back in the 80s, neither does Brad - they have both aged quite well)

Fringe 2016 - Top 10 List - 6-10

6 - Oh Snap! My Alien Children Are Trying To Kill Me - Zm3 Productions

A hysterical touching look at a fatherhood. Through soul stirring spoken word and beautifully crafted monologues this master storyteller (Zel Miller III, the Zm3 of Zm3 Productions) recounts what it means to be a father raising kids of color in America.  What it means to be a parent of a 16 year old handsome son on the autistic spectrum who longs to be a photographer, and an 8 year old "diva.”
"Any male can be a father but it takes a man to be a daddy."
This high energy emotional ride of fatherhood performed by award winning national hip-hop theater artist gives us a look behind the curtain of what it takes to raise children of color in these turbulent times and highlights the joy of fatherhood. Miller has a unique take on fatherhood, he has been a youth advocate for over 25 years and he has worked as a facilitator for nine years at domestic violence shelters.

The man’s been a collaborator with local Pillsbury House Theater.  Other titles include: "hands up hoodies down,“ "My child, My child, my Alien child,” "The Evidence of Silence Broken,” ”oh sh$t...it's a girl,” "B-boy Bluez,” and "Ballet eats the bullet" so - sign me up.  Mom and I are seeing his opening show Saturday night.


7 - Write Me A Song - Loud Folk Records

One of several Fringe acts on my list that are squandering the real estate of their page on the Fringe website.  Now, I’ll grant you, this description might almost be enough to get me in the door:

Ever wanted to write a song but didn't know how? Sometimes all you need is a catalyst. Join me and a group of strangers for a fast-paced night of creation. I choose a topic and we'll write a song on the spot.

But then, since there’s zero information on the Fringe page, and the musician’s name - Jeromy Darling - is just unique enough to make a web search super easy, well, what do you know - here’s the guy - www.jeromydarling.com (click the side menu and choose My Life for some pretty amazing photos ruminations on his family and music career - and here’s the music - http://music.jeromydarling.com/ - exactly the kind of folky, acoustic stuff I’m grooving on these days.  Make it easy for us to find you and love you, dude.  Mom and I are hitting his opening performance Saturday afternoon.


8 - Trump’s America (It’s Hell) - F.E.A.R. Productions

Worst title on my top 10 list.  Mostly because it lost me on the word Trump.  Follow that with America.  Follow that with hell.  And I’ve pretty much tuned out.  But then I read the show description:

250 years after a complete global collapse, the unlikely combination of a tender young caregiver and his warrior companion go on a search through hell to find the man he loves before it's too late.

So, wait?  Trump’s not even in it, he’s long dead.  And there’s gay content.  The image is cool.  The young caregiver searching for the man he loves is played by my friend (and recent director) Denzel Belin.  The warrior companion is female.  If you didn’t tell me the title, I would totally go see this play.  So I’m going to ignore the title and totally going to see this play.  (Titles are hard, folks.)


9 - Four Duets and One More - DA Dance

5 different stories: Can a change of hats change your life? Can you find a way to meet halfway? Can you overcome your own false image? Can 2 men actually be equals? Can 2 lovers overcome their past and connect?

I saw Denise Armstead’s (DA Dance) last Fringe show The Three Bonnies because it involved the music of Bonnie Raitt, cowboys, horses, and my friend Cade Holmseth.  Since I enjoyed that one so much, and Denise, Cade and company are back again, that moves this dance show up toward the top of my list.  The title could be punchier but here’s the info on the dances:

The Dances of Four Duets and One More.

World premiere, “Do You Like My Hat?” Underlying tones of whim and mystery with a beatnic sense of humor. Imagine a seductive fantasy of your life wearing hats and parading around in the Illusion.

Next saunter on over wearing your favorite Cowboy hat to observe, ”Half Halt.” Yield and stop all the Confusion. A notable glimpse into a private scene of two lovers trying to communicate their wants.

"Feel My Monkey (WTF)"  A woman  identifying her false sense of self. An uncomfortable, lush, dry feel with a humorous edge of a struggling woman altered ego.

"Hey Hey Hey,” a friendly playful  duet of male comradeship.

Gerry Girouard's "Left Holding . . . Survivor's Guilt" A modern dance take on tango, delving into the private world of two mourning lovers struggling to balance the surges of grief, blame, anger and passion. Dedicated to all those involved in the Pulse massacre in Orlando Florida.

So, you know, that about covers it.


10 - The Gun Show - IDIC Theatreworks

I could go either way on this one, given the subject matter.  But since the single actor noted below is Aaron Konigsmark, and the playwright is female, I’m on board for this one.

The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy telling stories about guns. Guns are either fun or terrifying; tools or weapons; safe or deadly; necessary or useless. Can we please just talk about guns?  The Gun Show uses a single actor, a box of props, and five heartwarming, funny, and tragic true stories about guns in playwright E.M. Lewis's life to encourage us to acknowledge each other's positions and share our own feelings about the presence of guns in all of our lives.  Without choosing sides, The Gun Show urges us to have a conversation - instead of an argument - about how the subject of guns has become one of the most divisive and complicated issues in America today.

Fringe 2016 - Top 20 List - 11-15

11 - One Man’s Journey Through The Middle Ages - Third Act Productions

This one person show with gay content may hit me a bit too close to home, but I suppose that’s why the description grabbed me in the first place:

A fast-paced look at life over 40, the challenges of middle age and times when "man planned, and God laughed." A one-man show featuring sudden hearing loss, bad dates, unrequited love, and moments of grace. The show is about dealing with real life--the reality of being single, dealing with physical illness, and of finding the humor in a range of life situations: the good, the bad, and the ugly. From trying to squeeze into a tank top in the gay mecca of Provincetown to a romantic mishap at Obama's first inauguration, "One Man's Journey" speaks to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, an underdog, or someone who doesn't quite fit 'inside the box' of a conventional life.

The artist has apparently done a little bit of everything, from national radio to performing at the Gay Games, Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and synagogues, churches, and community centers in the Northeast and Midwest.  So I guess it’s about time he brought his show to our town.


12 - Darlings - Animal Engine

This show description in “More Information” kind of knocks my socks off:

Darlings is a two person play that reimagines J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” from the perspective of the Darlings, two parents struggling with the loss of their children. They search for them by day and tell stories about a place called Neverland by night... where the mermaids will drown you, the pirates might kill you, and you can’t trust the charming little boy with the impish smile.

I missed their show Petunia and Chicken last year, so I’m doubly interested in checking them out this year.


13 - AfterLife - SunsetGun Productions

I missed this one the first time around, too, so I’m happy to get another chance to catch it in this year’s Fringe.  Performer/co-writer Candy Simmons keeps racking up accolades out on the Fringe circuit with her performances.  The play sounds like a potentially fascinating mix of different types of women:

A midwife who would kill for a family. A homemaker in search of her true nature. A successful executive hanging by a thread. What do these three women have in common? Nothing... and everything.

The write-up says it aims to explore “women’s changing roles throughout the 20th century… a significant day in the life of three different women in three very different eras of time. How far and how far haven't we come?  Ruth, a 1928 Appalachian midwife, would kill for a family.  Marion, a 1950s homemaker, wants to discover her true yogic nature.  And Karma, a slowly unraveling film producer, would settle for a bit of sanity.”


14 - Yes! Feed The Monkey! - Theatre Curiosita

I remember a discouraged artist stuck low on the wait list a few years back.  So I was happy to see their name associated with this weird little title, goofy little picture, delightfully odd show description:

Two loving bureaucratic chums secretly administering the Save Mr. Boban Foundation grapple with the confines of a dictatorial regime when they discover a monkey with whom they build a relationship. Will they be able to rescue the monkey? Will this offer an attempt at freedom and overthrow of the regime and afford the opportunity to pursue their one true love and live merrily ever after?

What the heck?  Why not?  Adding it to the list...


15 - The Accidental Organist - David Boyle

After I search for gay content, I next search for religious content, this one has both.  The guy’s been working the Fringe circuit already with this one, and heads to St. Louis right after us.  Plus, honestly, I have no defense against a description like this:

In 1991 David Boyle took over his dying father's job as church organist and choir director. This solo show is a workplace confessional that highlights twenty-five years of sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant interactions with the congregation.

And a Chicago reviewer used the words “well-wrought mix of wit, cussedness, close observation and earned emotion” - it’s the earned emotion that closes the sale for me.

Fringe 2016 - Top 20 List - 16-20

16 - A Pie.  A Duck. And A Shoe. - Sparkle Theatricals

This was the only Fringe preview that changed my mind from “Well, that seems kinda vague”:

Clever comedy, marvelous music, delightful dance, and an astonishing live animal act. It will be a barrel of fun, a treat for the kids, a grand exhibition of extraordinary amusements.

To “Hey, that guy knows how to work a room and time his preview perfectly. I might really enjoy that show.”  Plus their cast list includes “Carnage The Executioner: Beatboxer”  And one of the producers is Rick Ausland, of Buckets and Tap Shoes fame.  So this one gets more and more promising, the more you look at it.

17 - Twice - Its Time Productions

No it’s not a parody of the musical Once, thank God.  When doing the gay content search and the religious content search, this one also comes up with both.  Plus it’s new plays (I wish we could search for “new plays” on the site, it would make my life easier).  Plus I like the idea: 

Three stories told TWICE. Sex. Church. Death. REPEAT. Six one-act plays by two playwrights - Chris Andersen & Lee Richard Lawing. Two versions of each scene remind us we are seldom original, never alone and things are rarely what we think.

18 - Genesis // Revelations - SB Movement

This one got on the list because 1) I wanted more dance on the schedule, 2) it had an intriguing description:

Finding parallels between Biblical content and actual experiences, we move through the only way we know how: with sometimes fumbling feet, strong second positions and hope of being protected along the way.

3) their photo was interesting, 4) they actually listed who was in their ensemble (so many Fringe shows foolishly don’t this year), and 5) two of the people listed are dancers of color I’ve seen in previous Fringe shows that I liked.  So this one seems like a good bet.

19 - masc4masc - Perfect Chair Productions

The first thing I do with the Fringe listings is look for gay content.  This one fits in the schedule with Mom around other things we’re seeing in the area that day.  Still, I’m torn.  I want to be supportive of new work but starting with the title, this is pretty much everything that drives me nuts about the gay community.  Then there’s the description:

Recently dumped and down on his luck, Cody thrusts into the homosexuals? #nohomo fast-paced world of online "dating", only to learn that - despite being #totesmasc - gay stereotypes are sooo yaasssterday!

And it’s a musical, because, of course it is.  So are we celebrating, satirizing or savaging the subject matter here?  And just what combination of those approaches would I be comfortable with.  The more I read the promo material (and they provide all kinds of handy info on the Fringe site and elsewhere), the more I wonder if this is a good idea.  But what the hell, here we go.


20 - When She Became Me - a pro-choice play about abortion - Constructed Theatre

This one had me at the title.  Then I read:

Ensemble-based production comprised of real stories from women who had abortions before and after Roe v. Wade. Their stories and words are  combined with the experiences of the show’s creator growing up with her mother volunteering at, working at, and then running the only abortion clinic in North Dakota during the 1990s.

So yeah, this is the kind of show I go to the Fringe to see.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2016 - Previews - Advice to the Players

Night two of the Fringe Previews is upon us.  Time to kick this blog into gear.  But first, based on what I saw last week, a word of advice to the 30 companies previewing tonight: It's not a good preview if we can't see you.  The Rarig Thrust has audience on three sides, and yes, the bulk of the audience is sitting right in front of you.  And yes, most of you will not be performing on a thrust stage.  But consider it practice.  The three minutes you're doing is already out of context.  You can make another adjustment or two for the good of your show.  Here's a rule of thumb, if you're not breaking the line of the proscenium arch, then you're too far upstage and most of the people on the sides can't see you.  Some poor guy near me last week really wanted to see the Charles Schulz stand-in drawing his Charlie Brown sketch but the pad and easel (I'm assuming it was a pad and easel, since I never actually saw it) were so far upstage, old Charlie walked upstage and right out of site, for the remainder of his preview.  And I'd be willing to bet the live drawing on stage schtick was supposed to be a big part of the draw for the show.  Oh well.  The Schulz show was not the only offender by a long shot, just a handy example.  The one show that changed my mind from, "I have no idea who they are or what this show's about so, eh, whatever" to "Wow, I might actually like that, I should put them on my list" was a preview where the guy knew how to work the audience, ALL the audience - A Pie. A Duck. And A Shoe.  So a preview can really work for you.  But I need to be able to see it.  Walk downstage.  Stay there.

Review - AfterWind - Off-Leash Area - Giving Disaster A Human Face - 5 stars

Looking over past reviews I was kind of stunned to realize I haven’t attended an Off-Leash Area production in five years.  Upon seeing their latest offering, AfterWind, I have to say I’m very glad I’m back.  Off-Leash Area is always at its best when the choreography of Jennifer Ilse fills a world expertly rendered and brought to life by Paul Herwig, and both are on full display here in AfterWind, seamlessly entwined together.  There aren’t any boundaries where one ends and the other begins, they just keep feeding off of and strengthening each other.  (I’m honestly still trying to wrap my head around the experience of AfterWind but I need to write something.)

When you enter Savage Umbrella’s SPACE where AfterWind currently lives, don’t settle for the first seat you see in front of you.  It was only after I sat down that I took in the fact that the audience surrounds the central playing space of the AfterWind set designed by Herwig.  In addition, each corner of the theater space on the perimeter holds a different shrouded installation.  Each is revealed in time.  Depending on where you’re sitting, you get a different perspective.  Nothing is lost - the performers skillfully play to all sides of the space at all times - you’re just looking at things from another angle.  AfterWind is so brief (only about an hour) and so immersive, it probably warrants repeated viewings.  There’s a whole lot going on here.

AfterWind sets itself the daunting task of imagining the unimaginable.  AfterWind takes place in the moments after a bomb goes off. Potential audience members could be forgiven for thinking, Why would I want to sit through that?  Given everything that’s been wrenching news coverage this way and that, with one traumatic event after another lately, subjecting one’s self willingly to an artist trying to unpack the details of such an incident doesn’t sound much like “entertainment.”  But AfterWind takes a step back from documentary-style realism and focuses not on the incident itself, but on the humanity of those involved in its aftermath.

There is no blood.  There is no screaming.  In fact there’s hardly any dialogue at all, and nothing you’d consider an actual back and forth discussion.  AfterWind focuses instead on stage pictures, much of the time pictures of human movement abstracted and slowed down to the point of near immobility.  Every detail here matters.  Ilse and her principal dancers - Kaori Kenmotsu, Jesse Neumann Peterson, and Darrius Strong - do such precise, controlled work that I marveled anew at the things the human body can do moving through space.  At the same time, they are so often silent that even a repeated word or phrase uttered in a whisper seams explosive and makes you lean in.

A brief prologue, which also includes the contributions of Robert Borman, Misty Brehmer, Alys Ayumi Ogura, and Lori Mercil, helps establish the ordinary world that’s about to be turned upside down.  Scenes from a restaurant, scenes from an office.  Craig Harris’ sound design (or, as it’s probably more correctly described in the program, a sound composition) kicks in from the very first moment.  The audience and performers are awash in sound from beginning to end.  At first with a cacophony of speaking voices blending together, accompanied by an underlying track of common sounds associated with such indoor environments.  When the lights (designed by Paul Epton) suddenly shift and an echoing boom suffuses the space, the human voices and normal sounds cut out, replaced by an almost otherworldly soundscape.

At this point, Paul Herwig, who until then has been trapped in a ramshackle booth lit from within, labeled as “Death Anxiety,” breaks out and joins the action.  He rips the sides off the remnants of the building surrounding the survivors, wood and pieces of foil fluttering everywhere to the ground.  One by one he reveals the installations, all manifestations of destruction, death and fear - all of which have to be seen to be believed.  One by one he interacts with the remains of a regular human day now given a strange, unnatural context - a briefcase, a carry-on bag, a cell phone.  He channels the final messages, oddly soothing in some cases, cut off abruptly in most cases.  Loved ones calling from inside the scenes of disaster, saying what will be their final goodbyes.  Herwig wanders the perimeter of the central space, twitching, in a stained shirt, his face covered in grey reminiscent of the ash-covered people wandering the periphery of the fall of the Twin Towers in New York, and many other more recent bomb blasts.  Herwig also tellingly echoes words of political figures in our own time, as well as the fascists of the past.  Their words blend together a little too easily for comfort.

Meanwhile inside the damaged building, the four dancers struggle to breathe, to escape, to help one another, to live, and to go with some measure of grace when escape and rescue are no longer possible.  They interact with the fallen office furniture trapped in the space with them.  They also turn to their fellow dancers to console and even carry one another.  To say it’s a comforting piece isn’t quite right.  No one wants to hear that final breath.  No one wants to see the lights go out.  But at the same time, in a weird way, it’s not just horrifying but also calming seeing human beings in this situation, struggling mightily to live despite the odds.  It makes a dark place, and dark times, a little less dark.  Something I didn’t think was possible.

But then, I shouldn’t be surprised when artists collaborating with Off-Leash Area manage to do something I wasn’t expecting.  It’s what they do.  Part of me wants to argue for a longer piece, but I’m not sure what more time spent in this creation would accomplish.  It seems to make its point, or rather its impact, quite simply and then is done.  To lobby for “more” somehow almost seems to be asking for some kind of plot to be imposed on this atmospheric and symbolic piece.  The more I think about it doing anything like that, the more wrong it seems.  Leaving an audience member wanting more is a rare and very good thing.  AfterWind, too, is a rare and very good thing. (runs through July 31, 2016)

5 stars, Very Highly Recommended

(Photo courtesy Off-Leash Area: counterclockwise; foreground: Jesse Neumann Peterson, Jennifer Ilseher, Kaori Kenmotsu, Darrius Strong)