Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorites - Josh Carson and Andy Kraft

Josh Carson and Andy Kraft (2012 Top 10) of
Outlandish Productions - The Wright Stuff, or You’ll Believe They Can Fly!

The story of two brothers who got knocked down -- but they got up again. Nothing's ever going to keep them down.

Hetero life partners and comedic partners-in-crime Josh Carson and Andy Kraft are particular favorites of my mom, so we have to fit them into the schedule.  And it’s no hardship, they’re always hilarious (and strangely heartwarming, too, between the pratfalls).  They’re assaulting history with comedy again, a la Our American Assassin - this time it’s the Wright Brothers trying to get that first plane off the ground.  In their Fringe preview, the inclusion of historically accurate medicinal doses of “cocaine” made them so enthusiastic, they ended up sacrificing a chair as well as bruising themselves.  They’ll entertain you even if it kills ‘em. (Perhaps we shouldn’t encourage them, but they’re so good at it.)

And if you need a second dose of Mr. Carson, he’s also hosting the celebrity impersonation show Repertoire Dogs.  They also had an amusing (though less physically imperiled) preview.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, the rest of the returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Tom Reed

Tom Reed (2008 Top 10), involved in both:
Weggel-Reed Productions - Couple Fight 3: Weddings!
(with 2014 Top 10’er Shanan Custer)

"Couple Fight 3: Weddings!" features real couples reenacting their real fights centered around love, weddings, marriage and friendship. Relate to the joys of relationships for better or for worse.
and
Turd Spout Productions - Stranger-er Things: Netflix and KILL

Parody powerhouse Tom Reed hilariously reenacts season one of "Stranger Things" in a one-man musical romp. This nostalgia and pop culture-infused horror cranks the comedy to Eleven and will leave you dying.

The last time I saw Tom Reed in a Fringe show, he was serenading my mother in his underwear.  That is to say, he was in his underwear, not my mother.  Oh dear.  Anyway… Tom is always fun and strange.  Last year was an improvisational lounge act.  When he first came to my attention back in 2008 he was the Reed part of the name in the improv duo Rampleseed.  Between then and now he’s become kind of a one-man Fringe juggernaut doing musical parodies of popular series like Harry Potter, Twilight, the Hunger Games, and the Disney princesses.  He and his equally funny and talented wife Anna Weggel have launched another series called Couple Fight, restaging theater couples’ most ridiculous relationship fights.  This year Tom’s taking on the Netflix hit Stranger Things, and Couple Fight is taking on Weddings.  Should be plenty of laughs to go around as usual.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, the rest of the returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Derek Miller

Derek Miller (2006 Top 10) of
The Miller Conspiracy - The Banana Wars

War. Famine. Pestilence. Bananas. One man takes on America's "small wars" in Central America to show how a century of death and destruction made it possible for you to buy bananas at 60 cents a pound.

Speaking of bananas (and not to be confused with The Second Banana Revolt), Derek Miller also has a show, with banana in the title, and a banana in his hand.  But that’s about as silly as it sounds like it’s going to be.  Whether as a writer, actor, director, or puppeteer, Derek Miller never fails to impress me (like way back when with the Fringe show on a raft in a pool at the YWCA) and often amuse me (as with last year’s five part Fringe paean to B-Movie Actors).  So if Derek’s doing it, I’m on board.  You should be, too.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, the rest of the returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - The Fourth Wall

The Fourth Wall (2015 Top 20) - Fruit Flies Like A Banana: World Tour

“Fruit Flies” returns with a madcap trip around the globe. YOU choose the itinerary! This high-octane variety hour combines music, theatre & dance, with each piece inspired by a different locale.

Another last minute dropout on the Fringe schedule means that we get this clever and talented trio three years in a row.  Their first year the audience determined the random order the show took place in by picking a card.  Last year the audience determined the order by picking a letter of the alphabet off a clothesline.  This year, it looks like we’ll do it by location.  My mom actually asked if “those artists” were going to be here again.  “You know, those people running around playing musical instruments.”  Yes, indeed they are, Mom.  It’s always an amazing physical, musical, whimsical, mad dash of entertainment, so we’re looking to get them on the schedule while she’s still in town.  They’re a hard working bunch, so we’re sure to get another good show.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, the rest of the returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Ben San Del

Ben San Del (2006 Top 10) - Spec

Stoner robots, suicidal ghosts, and disapproving gargoyles—a four-time Fringe encore winner performs original stories on these and other near-future/supernatural speculations.

A last minute dropout in the weeks just prior to the Fringe gets us another dose of Ben San Del, so everybody wins.  Whether it’s stand-up (Fiddlestick Conundrum, An Agony of Fools, Animal Cracker Genocide, Strawberry Fields Temporarily, Mittens For Fat Kids) or script writing (A Nice Guy’s Guide To Awkward Sex, Minnesota Middle Finger, and Fringe 2016’s encore slot winner Apple Picking), Ben always delivers some of the Fringe’s funniest material.  This year he’s going the speculative fiction route.  Mom and I enjoyed a dose of it last Fringe from other artists.  I look forward to getting Ben’s spin on the art form.  His Fringe preview was charming as ever.  Mom and I have been seeing Ben’s Fringe shows from the beginning back in 2006, no reason to stop now.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, the rest of the returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Matthew Foster

Matthew Foster (2003 Top 10) of
American Civic Forum - Themselves They Made Immaculate: Clara Barton at Andersonville

In 1866, Clara Barton, the Civil War's Angel of the Battlefield, testified to Congress on her work in the postwar South. Linda Sue Anderson performs this sobering—but heartening—look into our past and present.

Mr. Foster, then at the head of the Ministry of Cultural Warfare, was on the very first of these Top 10 lists I was asked to compile.  Last year, heading up the American Civic Forum, he was back again entertaining Mom and me with - of all things - dramatic readings from Supreme Court decisions and dissents.  We weren’t the only ones who loved it.  This year, it’s Clara Barton and Andersonville.  I am chagrined I didn’t have a frame of reference but a quick Google search guarantees me that anything they choose to do with this subject is going to be compelling Fringe fare.  Can’t wait.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, the rest of the returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - The Random Shout-Outs

So, I tagged a bunch of other shows in the postings on the entries in my pre-Fringe Top 10/Top 20 lists.  Here's a list of them all in one post, with links to their pages on the Fringe website.  Also worth poking around to see if you want to add them to your schedule:

35 Different Angles From Which To Hate Yourself

Broad Sex In The Twin Cities

Buffy the Bedbug Slayer

Code: L-O-V-E

Facility

The Fainting Room

First Year Queer

Fool's Paradise

Good Friday: Round One

Good Kids

Gravitational Collapse

Gruesome Playground Injuries

Hot Air

It Can't Happen Here (also a fundraiser for the ACLU)

Katie Versus The Devils

Mine/Field

Not Quite: Asian American By Law, Asian Woman By Desire

Pope Joan

Sisyphus

Subpar Heroes

Thor: Jurassic Park

US-52 South

Wait...didn't Patrick's Cabaret close?

Wish You Were Her

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #10 - Spy In The House of Men: A One-Woman Show With Balls

Transgender writer and performer Penny Sterling's award-winning, laugh-out-loud theatre engagement maps her journey through a life-long coming-out process.

This stand-up comedian found after her transition that she had another story she wanted to tell.

“I made it to the semifinals of the 2016 ‘Funniest Person' competition, but my heart wasn't in it,” she says. “I realized I was sacrificing truth for jokes, and that's not what I wanted.”

A series of Facebook posts about being transgender helped her friends so much “‘You should write a book,' they'd say,” recalls Penny. “‘I don't wanna write a book,' I'd reply. But I could make a show about it.”

She’s been taking festivals by storm in New York, Ohio and DC ever since (sold out houses, glowing reviews, audience favorite awards, etc.).  And now she’s coming to the Twin Cities.  So I’d be silly not to check this one out.

(Random shout-out: another female queer solo show, First Year Queer, also almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #11 - A Pickle

The MN State Fair rejects Doris' traditional kosher pickles claiming they "look" spoiled. Something funky's going on and she's gonna raise hell. A darkly comedic look at pickle prejudice. Based on a true story.

The playwright here is Deborah Yarchun, and I’d basically go to see anything she writes - even something about pickles at the Minnesota State Fair. Why? I helped run a new play reading series for Workhouse Theatre for three years and in year one we had submissions from dozens of playwrights.  The one that really stood out was Deborah Yarchun. She sent us excerpts from four different plays.  We asked to see all four of the full scripts.  Over the next two years, we ended up doing public readings of all four scripts.  She had another script she was working on.  We read that and did a public reading of that one, too.  (That script was Great White, for which she just ranked an honorable mention for the $45,000 Relentless Award for Playwriting.)  Each of her scripts is wildly different, yet they all seek (and find) the humanity in people we’d normally find it difficult to understand - outsiders and “losers” who nonetheless struggle and find meaning and purpose for their lives despite daunting circumstances.  And of course, there’s much welcome humor all along the way.  If you get a chance to see a Deborah Yarchun play, you should.  And here one is in the Fringe.  Lucky you.  Bonus points - you also get the phenomenal local actress and comedienne Angela Timberman saying Deborah’s words.

(Random shout-outs: other notable scripts, Pulitzer Prize Finalist Gruesome Playground Injuries, and a play I saw workshopped down at the William Inge Theater Festival this spring in Kansas, Facility, both of which almost made the list here.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #9 - There Ain’t No More

An award winning tour-de-folk operetta. An old folksinger confronts his legacy, his troubled past, and death itself with five instruments, square-dance calling, and dirty jokes in this heartfelt hootenanny.

Well, who doesn’t like a heartfelt hootenanny, am I right?  Also, the press release says, “enough dirty jokes to make a beaver blush” so now I’m doubly curious.  It also says it’s a “haunting, heartfelt hootenanny,” so, points for alliteration. Press coverage has used phrases like “Ozark renaissance folklorist” and “simultaneously ancient and avant-garde” so if I write a review of my own I’m clearly going to have to break out the thesaurus.  The production’s been racking up the awards at other Fringes in Orlando, Portland and Tampa, so it sounds like we might also be entertained.  If you don’t see enough banjos the rest of the year, this show looks like a good place to get your fix.  They just added a video to their Fringe page which helps make the case further, so check that out.

(Random shout-out: to a completely different kind of solo show from out of town, The Fainting Room, which almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #12 - Songs of MN Summer

An improvised musical of fun and friendship. Join them for a magical musical journey through the lives of lovable characters who get into all sorts of mischief. Created on the spot every time!

I think the name “Shrieking Harpies” is a bit unfortunate, though I’m sure it’s meant in jest.  If you’ve never seen a musical completely improvised on the spot, you really need to.  It’s amazing.  I have a hard enough time comprehending how non-musical improvisers do their thing.  Throw in the additional degree of difficulty of creating and singing melody in real time in front of a live audience (extra nod to a piano player who can play along while this happens), and my mind is blown.  The three women involved here are regulars at HUGE theater so they know their stuff.  Every performance, a totally new musical.  Put this on your schedule if you’re looking for something different than your usual Fringe musical.

(Random shout-outs: the female-centered stories of Gravitational Collapse, and Broad Sex in the Twin Cities, and the improv noir Hot Air, which almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #8 - KnoW WesT

A runaway acapella stage coach ride down the collapsing mine tunnel of history and into a dream. By the creator of the unexpected, hallucinatory 2015 Fringe hit, Brother Ulysses.

Listing your past Fringe outings by name is super useful, particularly if people really liked what you did before.  Don’t be coy, do what these folks did.  Don’t just say “I did the Fringe three times before” - tell me the name of the shows.  I might not have heard of them, but there’s a fair chance I might have.  I caught Brother Ulysses way too late at night, way too far into the Fringe.  The hallucinatory part of it combined with sleep deprivation to make me wonder if I was truly awake for the whole thing.  But the parts I know I was alert for I enjoyed tremendously.  They were unrepentantly odd and engaging storytellers.  So I’m sure this one holds more of the same.  I mean, “a runaway acapella stage coach ride down the collapsing mine tunnel of history and into a dream.” Don’t you want to find out what the f**k that means?

(Random shout-out: an ever-rotating assortment of various artists over its five show run, it’s Wait…didn’t Patrick’s Cabaret close? - which almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #13 - It’s About Love Again This Year

This lively and humorous show is an expression of how and where love surges in our lives. Combining original text, recognizable music, and explosive dancing, we ponder the many nuances and textures of love.

Choosing dance is always a crap shoot for me.  I don’t see enough dance the rest of the year (though there’s no shortage of it around the Twin Cities), so I use the convenience of Fringe not to allow myself any more excuses.  Dance is always something I end up raving about every Fringe.  There were two on my top 10 list for the Fringe at year end in 2016.  Dance was also one of 2015’s highlights that I attended twice.  Here, the video they posted on their page sold me.  There’s some humor and whimsy, and I could use more of that these days, dance or no.  So they’re on my list.

(Random shout-outs: a couple of other more melancholy shows about love that almost made the cut - Fool’s Paradise, and Wish You Were Her.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #7 - Finding Mohamed

Finding Mohamed is a multimedia show that follows the life of a refugee women as she journeys to find her lost son at sea. This show touches on the plight the refugees' journey to safety.

Her previous show was called “How To Have Fun In A Civil War.”  Her additional information says “she uses her art to connect and bridge different cultures and generations and has become known for her uniquely humorous approach to exploring trauma through the eyes of children.”   Also, “she interweaves text, movement, and digital media to create a multi-sensory artwork that illuminates invisible stories of immigrants. Her artwork takes on the form of plays, poetry, installations, puppetry, and community collaborative artworks.”  There’s also a video profile of her on the show’s Fringe web page that’s worth watching.  I can’t think of a single reason why I wouldn’t want to see this show.  On the list it goes.

(Random shout-out: truly random, because I don’t think these shows have a single thing in common, but Subpar Heroes is another show that almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #14 - Passing The Poison

Bold dance, timeless songs by James Walsh and Gypsy, hopeful voices of lovers and veterans expose what haunts the Vietnam vet and their new war to protect their kids from the devastating legacy of Agent Orange

Honestly? This one caught my eye because the image is so weird and evocative. Then the description makes it seem even weirder.  There’s a couple of dancers I’ve seen in other Fringe shows I liked (which were also odd, come to think of it - the shows, not the dancers).  It’s nice to see three females heading up the show as choreographers.  It’s a Minnesota progressive rock band they’re pulling out of 1970s obscurity for their soundtrack.  And I just want to watch them weave the dance and the music and the words and the subject matter together and see what the heck they come up with.

(Random shout-out: to another dance show with unlikely subject matter - privacy and identity in the internet age - in Mine/Field - another show that almost made the cut)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #6 - Skirmish of Wit: Your Imaginary Forces

Playing with the forces that cause inexplicable, contradictory, motivations and self-destructive actions of characters on and off stage, the minstrels celebrate the "messiness" of spontaneous interaction.

These youngsters have got to get better at spreading the word about their show.  I remember being curious about them last year, and then a hardcore Fringer whose opinion I trust (and is not easily impressed) told me they were absolutely enchanted by their show, so I was sorry I missed it.  Apparently, they do the kind of work that makes you think, “OK, theater’s in good hands, the next generation knows what they’re doing and they’re only going to get better.”  So this time around I’m going to make it a point to try and see whatever it is they’re up to.

The description gives me next to no clue, really.  But I found their website - and there’s links to coverage of last year’s Fringe show, plus a video on a Go Fund Me page, and a super short YouTube recap of their reviews.  They’ve also been gathering awards on the school theater festival competition circuit while they’re at it.  But hey, guys, don’t make us work so hard to find you.  Post some names, some links, you know, the basics.  Some of us are still web dependent rather than word of mouth at this point.  Give yourselves a fighting chance.

(Random shout-out: Good Kids, another Fringe show with a young cast that almost made the cut)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #15 - What You Will

"Words are grown so false, I am loathe to prove reason with them.” Foolishness. Disruption. Assumption. New beginnings and uncertain endings. An exploration of “Twelfth Night” through transgender identity.

Twelfth Night is one of only two Shakespeare plays I don’t get tired of (As You Like It is the other.  Pretty much every other popular Shakespeare play I’ve reached (and passed) my pain threshold with.  So other Shakespearean Fringers, it’s not you, it’s me.  I just need a break this year.  I wish you luck with everyone else.  Your audience will find you, I have no doubt.)  This one, however, has the added benefit of a trans spin on the presentation.  So I’m doubly curious.  I don’t see any familiar names involved, but I’m still ready it give What You Will a chance.

(Random shout-out: another show with a trans twist, Pope Joan - which almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #16 - PHD (Po H# on Dope) to Ph.D.: How Education Saved My Life

A theatrical adaptation of her memoir, Dr. E's one woman show takes audiences through crises of an urban Black girl ensnared in teenaged sex trafficking, addiction, and abuse to self-discovery and love.

Some solo shows, the person has to work hard to find a story that fills a whole Fringe slot.  (No shame in that, some stories are smaller than others.)  Dr. E is one of those people who looks like she has the opposite problem (in a good way).  She appears to have led such a full, tumultuous life thus far, what do you choose to leave out?  Plus she’s not just a professor, published author and speaker, she’s also expresses herself in song.  So this show looks like it’s going to have a little bit of everything going for it.  She’s a former Minnesotan, now teaching back in her home state of Ohio.  But she’s here for a visit with quite a story to tell.  So she easily ranks a spot on the short list this year.

(Random shout-out: another solo show by a female person of color, this one with GLBT content, Not Quite: Asian American By Law, Asian Woman By Desire - which almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #5 - Out of the Shadows

This perfectionist's theatric dance solo includes shifts, swivels, pas de bourrees, and leaps. It's a life lesson in hard work, discipline, authenticity, and humility. The narrative will keep you on edge.

I mentioned this show before when I was talking about choosing shows - and how random it can be.  This artist was already on my list but after Gabriel Mata’s Fringe preview this week, I’m sure he’s on everyone else’s list to see, too.

A friend asked me at intermission of the previews, “Do you think he did that costume change on stage during Dawn’s introduction on purpose?”
“Uh, yeah, and if I had a body like that I’d be doing costume changes onstage where everybody could see them, too.  That’s just good marketing.”

But Mata’s not just another pretty face with a dazzling smile.  The man knows how to move.  And he also has a great sense of humor.  Honestly, anyone who can flirt with a sound cue of a disembodied voice and also make it funny?  That’s a show I want to see.  The dance alone was going to be great, but the guy has a lot more than that going for him.  I’m sold. (Did some more digging - he's got a website and an instagram account, if you want to know more)

(Random shout-out: another show with GLBT content with a dance component - 35 Different Angles From Which To Hate Yourself - which almost made the cut)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #4 - A Resister’s Handbook (for holding onto optimism in shitty times)

As an union leader, Javier Morillo has always held that organizing is a vocation of optimists. Facing attacks against immigrants and workers, he asks how do we hold onto optimism in today's really crappy world?

I’ve got enough fatalism and pessimism to go with my politics already, thank you very much.  It’s why I’m skipping a lot of the political content in the festival that looks like it’s already given up.  This show looks different.  I’ve seen Javier’s storytelling before, so I know that’ll be good.  And I’m kind of surprised I haven’t had producer Levi Weinhagen on this list before.  Probably because he’s always been partnered with a Scrimshaw, I thought I had him covered.  (And he’ll be doing pratfalls with Joshua in Intermediate Physical Comedy for Advanced Beginners, so I can see his work onstage as well as here behind the scenes.)  So, how do we hold onto optimism in today’s really crappy world?  I’m all ears.

(Random shout-out: another political-minded show, a Fringe 2017 adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' sadly prophetic novel It Can't Happen Here, which almost made the cut - special note on It Can't Happen Here, it's a fundraiser for the ACLU; the two dozen artists working on this project are doing it for free, so all their profits from ticket sales will be going to one of the main legal fronts of the resistance, the American Civil Liberties Union.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #17 - Bear Eats Bear

A retro-future audio adventure on a vintage cassette. Hike to discover and join the Rebels in a feral, apocalyptic American wilderness. When society burns, what narrative remnants remain?

This is one of those site specific things I unfortunately can’t share with Mom because of the walking involved, so I’ll have to try and catch it after she’s gone.  I mean, who doesn’t want to listen to a show on cassette tapes and go on a hike into the feral apocalyptic wilderness after society burns?  The show image is kick-ass.  Normally, I don’t line up for bleak storytelling, but all the moving parts of this one have me interested almost in spite of myself.  So it’s on the short list of “how do I get there and back in time for the next show” things that are worth the risk.  We shall see...

(Random shout-out: to another show that brings a lot of strange elements together Thor: Jurassic Park, which almost made the cut)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #18 - Skins

Dark, dangerous, and delightful, this re-imagined fairy tale takes a sordid slant on "Cinderella". From the twisted minds of the Brothers Grimm comes a tale brimming with puppetry and music.

Here’s where listing the people involved with your Fringe show really helps.  The combination of the names and the bios made me realize, “OK, something good’s probably going on here.”  The names I immediately recognized were Eva Adderley, a fellow playwright, and Kevin Springer, the sound designer.

Eva’s many projects over the past year have always been intriguing, so if she’s interested in helping this production, it’s worth a second look by others, too.  Ever since Kevin did an amazing job composing the sound for my play Leave, I’ve been a fan of his as both an artist and a person - he’s just good people, and his design makes the world of any play richer and more complex.

Now throw in Emily Zimmer and Logan Verdoorn, two performers I’ve seen and liked in other projects.

Finally, the name of director David Hanzal was tugging at the corner of my mind.  Before Collective Unconscious, he launched a company called Red Letter Theater with a production of Phaedra’s Love by Sarah Kane back in August 2009.  Since that was eight years ago, I’ll give myself a pass on it not leaping to mind immediately.

(I interviewed David for an article that my editor [not the Daily Planet] chose not to publish at the time.  It was about the launch of three new theater operations.  Red Letter and one other theater company discussed are no more.  The third was HUGE theater, and they’re still making the Twin Cities a better place for long form improv, while also serving as a Fringe venue.  Small world.)

(Random shout-outs: to a couple of retellings of old stories in a new context - Sisyphus, and Code: L-O-V-E, which almost made the cut)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #19 - Stranger

Memory, history, text and ritual entangle three strangers in a sprawling, modern epic, summoning the immense joy, messiness and struggle of being seen at the intersection of race and faith as Jews of Color.

Intelligent explorations of religion are always a draw for me.  Featuring artists of color is another plus.  And one of my co-workers in the Guthrie Theater box office is the writer/producer on the piece.  There’s a video clip on their Fringe page (warning, it loads and starts playing automatically, so scroll down and open up the More Information section to actually watch the thing.)

(Random shout-outs: two other religion-focused shows that nearly made the cut - Good Friday: Round One, and Katie Versus The Devils; also another Fringe show from a fellow co-worker in the box office - Buffy The Bedbug Slayer)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Top 20 - #20 - One Foot

Finn wakes up one morning to find his foot missing in this haunting meditation on love and death. Poetic. Icy. Pure Minnesotan. Starring local standout Andrew Erskine Wheeler (THE CHRISTIANS, Walking Shadow).

Ever since I saw Walking Shadow’s amazing production of The Christians last year, I’ve been keeping an eye out for other things Andrew Erskine Wheeler does.  Didn’t have to wait long, of course.  Walking Shadow used him again almost immediately in The River, and he also showed up in another of my top 10 favorites of 2016, Underdog Theater’s Baltimore Is Burning (and we’ve now tied the Fringe list back to the #1 spot again).  Andrew and his director Lanny both reached out to let me know he was performing in this show.  They also did a Fringe preview that was quite charming.  So I’m curious to see the rest of the story.

(Random shout-out: a completely different, and darker, bit of storytelling US-52 South, which almost made the cut.)

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - The Winnowing

And here’s where it gets brutal.  For me, as someone who wants to see absolutely everything, and knows I can’t.  And who wants to write about absolutely everything, and knows I can’t.  So, how to decide?

After the first three on the Top 10 list leap to the top of the pile, who’s next?

As I blogged before, trying to do this list AND the hopelessly convoluted schedule at the same time quickly became a no-go.

So setting aside the returning favorites, who are their own list…

I go through the show listings.

For the remaining 17 slots on the pre-Fringe Top 20, I have 41 candidates.

Yikes.

So I whittled it down.

Top 4 to 10.  Top 11 to 20.

And I’ll try and namecheck the other two dozen that didn’t make the cut as we go.

Fringe 2017 - Top 10 - #3 - Dick White, Ghost Detective

When a P.I. wakes up a ghost, he must pair up with the only person who can hear him, a career criminal, to solve his own murder. Quick, vaudevillian, and self-aware, this play will exhaust and delight you.

I have to admit that after Odd Man Out and Blackout Improv, there weren’t obvious shows (aside from the reliable returning favorites, of course) that leapt out at me as something to get excited about.  Then I did a little digging on the Minnesota Fringe Festival website and discovered Dick White: Ghost Detective.

Back in Fringe 2014, the day before the end of the festival, I gave a random new play a shot.  The two guys behind  it seemed to have an oddball sense of humor in the videos they posted online so I figured, what the hell, it might be fun.

That show was Supernova!: A One Man Play by Rex Douglas!: A Two Man Play by Turner Barrowman and Collin Klug.

The premise was that the star of this supposed one man show had gone AWOL, and the two guys who each thought they were his designated understudy were battling for who would get the chance to fill the big man’s shoes.  But that was really just an excuse for the two of them (along with help from some friends) to unleash a truly random assortment of comedic riffs that, still, all managed to tie together as a cohesive (and very entertaining) whole by the end.  They even got to perform the big closing space monologue.

I enjoyed myself so much, I made note of the fact they had one final show the next day, closing day of the Fringe.  I don’t see shows more than once very often at the Fringe.  Certainly not the very next day.  But I knew I wasn’t going to find anything that I would enjoy more than seeing that show again, so back I went.  And I was amused and entertained anew.

Makes me wish I’d written a review at the time.  I ended up gushing about it on Joshua Humphrey’s Fringe wrap up edition of his podcast on Twin Cities Theater Connection.  I probably should have transcribed that.  I should have known they’d be back.  Barrowman and Klug launched the weekly Boy Kisses comedy showcase in the Universe Games store after hours soon after their Fringe outing and kept it going for a couple of years, just recently bringing that run to a close.  (There’s a lot of video bits posted online so you can get a feel for their style).  They even took Boy Kisses on the road to Chicago in recent weeks.

Boy Kisses as a title is a delightful bit of counterintuitive trolling.  The target audience for stand-up comedy in the back of a gaming store is, primarily, straight white bro dudes.  Imagine the guys getting ready to go out for the weekend, “What are you gonna do?”  “I’m seeing a comedy show.” “Which one?” “Boy Kisses.” (“But really, it’s not gay, I swear.”)  And it’s not just a joke in a “No Homo!” kind of way.  And that’s one of the things I think I appreciated most about their work in Supernova.

Barrowman, Klug and company aren’t afraid to show intimacy onstage between men - and I’m not just talking physical intimacy.  It’s emotional intimacy as well.  Like all good improv comedians, they realize that intimacy between men offers a whole range of other options for comedic storytelling.  Being nervous and walling yourself off from that means that you’re cutting yourself off from the full set of tools you could be using in your work.  It’s acting.  It’s pretend.  No one really thinks you’re gay or, God forbid, sensitive, emotionally vulnerable.  And if they do, who gives a crap?  Every year I go looking for genuine intimacy onstage between men that’s part of good storytelling.  I rarely see it.  Supernova wasn’t gay, but it was so homoerotic at times that it was a lot gayer, and a lot more honest emotionally, than most of the shows at the Fringe that year that claimed to have gay content.

And again, it was funny.  It wasn’t a drama.  It was a deeply weird assortment of goofy character riffs.

Now, I could be wrong.  This might be a different Collin Klug.  There is precious little evidence on the Fringe web page for the show to allow me to be certain (like say, a bio listing any past work, either Fringe or Boy Kisses related).  And Facebook, normally my go-to for actor confirmation research, isn’t any help because, unlike a lot of savvy Fringe artists, there’s no show or poster art on Klug’s personal page, and no related Facebook event, etc. (Update: just got invited to the event on Facebook, I have the correct Klug. Yay!)

The only thing that makes me think I’m not barking up the wrong tree is Klug lists his “theater company” as - I'm Related To Lin Manuel Miranda.  That’s the right style of humor, as is the show description blurb.  And during the ramp-up to Fringe 2014, the duo made a joke out of the idea that Turner was related to Torchwood and Arrow actor John Barrowman.

Like I said, I had to do some digging on this one.  I’ll know if I was right to be excited soon enough.  Meantime I’m putting it toward the top of my list of recommendations for others to check out.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Fringe Scheduling - Every Day A Little Death

Scheduling this year is a particularly challenging puzzle this year for some reason. 

I’ll have to confer with Mom on her preferences for the first six days of the festival.  There are multiple options most days in which way we could go, depends on what she wants to see more. 

She likes to fill all 30 slots during her visit, so that means clustering our shows together in the same general area, since there’s no late seating and we don’t want to take the chance of missing a slot (it’s happened). 

Plus, she’s 79, and I am now 15 years older than I was when I started Fringe blogging so high speed sprinting to a venue is out of the question.

Even if you’re around for the whole festival, as I will be, it’s only humanly possible to see 56 out of 166 shows.  And that’s if you see something in every single slot and don’t see anything twice. 

So no matter what a person does, about two thirds of the Fringe is just out of reach.

So just like every year, the hard decisions mount.

Given the complexity I’m going to set the schedule aside for a little bit and focus on posting the rest of that pre-Fringe Top 10/Top 20 list. 

I was hoping to work out both the list and the schedule at the same time, but the schedule is proving resistant. 

If past is any guide, no matter how I plunk down that Top 10/Top 20 list, I’m going to end up missing a few of them just due to logistics.

So, if I could see quite literally everything, which 20 new acts would be first in line…?

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorites - Victoria Pyan

"Nobody noticed the first bombardment, not when it happened. One morning we woke up as usual, and there were babies on our doorsteps. We chose to take them in. Then the choices got much, much harder."

In addition to serving as director of Making It Home for Delve Theatre, Victoria Pyan of Little Lifeboats is also performing as part of the ensemble of this horror show - how do you battle back against weaponized children who are trying to kill you?  Not for the faint of heart.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorites - Laura and Zach Delventhal

"The largest population of Somalis in North America lives in the Twin Cities. Listen as a local ensemble of storytellers share their experiences of the joys and challenges of creating home in Minnesota."

Though I enjoyed their over the top comic antics with the short plays of Chekhov in 2015, their upcoming showcase of immigrants to Minnesota feels like perfect timing as a way for all of us to understand one another a bit better.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorites - Ariel Leaf and Scot Moore

"From communism to circumcision, from getting high in Winnipeg to getting laid in Nepal, Scot Moore and Ariel Leaf invite you aboard for their adventures abroad. But use the bathroom first."

Even though I got to Scot Moore’s one person show Break Your Heart late in the festival last year, and didn’t get to crank out a full review of it, it still wound up on my Top 10 post-Fringe list of shows for 2016.  Mom and I have both enjoyed Ariel Leaf’s solo shows expounding on the colorful (and slightly terrifying) events of her life.  So putting them both in the same storytelling show feels like a win-win.  Looking forward to it.  Here’s their preview of interlocking key phrases out of their respective tales.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Sheep Theater

"Ex mobster Gepetto wishes his wooden puppet child, Pinocchio, to life and now there’s an insane puppet who can walk and talk and gets involved with the mob and Jiminy Cricket’s expected to make this kid good."

Honestly, just see these people.  Doesn’t matter what they’re doing.  They’ve already produced one new play that’s guaranteed to be on my Top 10 list for theater for the whole of 2017 (The Assassination of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary Franz Ferdinand), and they may earlier this month have just presented another (The Good Boy And The Kid).  They’re so good, and so prolific, it’s kind of ridiculous.  But thank God they’re hard at work in the Fringe as well.  Can’t wait.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Scream Blue Murmur

"Northern Ireland's Scream Blue Murmur search for explanations in a world of chaos and flames. Through spoken word and song, this show is an irreverent look at a world of constant change and bizarre happenings."

If you didn’t have a chance to see them in 2007 or 2009 or 2011, boy are you in for a treat!  I'm so happy they're back.  Music, spoken word, actual genuine Irish accents (plus, they're just charming, lovely people).  I’ve loved them all three times before, I expect no less this time.  Set aside a slot for them on your schedule and enjoy a little something different.

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Rough Magic Performance Company

"Shakespeare's classic comedy of love/hate relationships made modern by 6 women and 2 puppets. A hilarious and moving tale of love, jealousy, trickery, and redemption with a fresh and feminist perspective."

This company did a really nice rendering of Twelfth Night when they were on my Top 20 list back in 2014.  This time out, it’s an all-female take on Much Ado About Nothing.  It’s a kick-ass cast and these ladies know their Shakespeare.  So if the clowns Dogberry and Verges taking over the story with their peculiar brand of butchered English strikes your fancy, you should check them out. Plus… puppets!

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!