Fringe 2023 - Top 10 - #3 - Primary

Primary
Alex Church

Members of a powerful Democratic family are forced to confront exactly how far they'll go to win after their matriarch loses her primary to a progressive challenger.

15% of sales donated to Women Winning

Venue: Augsburg Studio
Tagged for: Comedy, Drama, LGBTQIA+ Content, Political Content
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor, Flashing Lights, Loud Noises, Other Divisive Content

I’m a fan of Alex Church’s work as a playwright.  So that’s enough to get me in the door.

Back in November, I saw another of his plays, "Abscission," at the Crane Theater (he’s very good with the one word titles).  That piece was very dark.

This Fringe play is about politics so I’m sure that will be much lighter and not have any conflict whatsoever (kidding, of course, though after Abscission, anything is very likely going to be lighter by comparison).

Added bonus, part of the ticket sales go to help Women Winning.

At the Fringe lottery, Alex was telling me and a friend the plot of the play but he hadn't settled on a title yet, so since it was focused on a mother/daughter conflict, we joked he should call it "Election 'night, mother" (Don't worry, there isn't a suicide in this one... I think...)

If you need more evidence, check out Alex’s bio:
Alex Church (He/Him) is a local educator, director, dramaturg, producer, performer, and playwright currently working as the Theater and Performing Arts Coordinator for the city of Eden Prairie. A graduate of UMN Twin Cities, he's worked with the Guthrie, Full Circle Theater, an Alleged Theater Company, Hypnic Jerk Theater, Lakeshore Players, JackDonkey Productions, and Minneapolis Musical Theater, among others. He was a founding member of the innovative sketch comedy group Fool's Errand and produced and performed in the cabaret series Life Support at Bryant Lake Bowl. His original musical about addiction, Relapse, will be presented as a staged reading this fall thanks to a grant from MRAC. Follow him on Instagram @Alex-And-Or-Church for further performing arts antics, escapades, and general tomofoolery!

Update, Alex sent me an email to offer reassurance:

"I can also confirm, no suicide in this one. It's a very snappy show about the stakes and cost of winning that, according to the cast, has the humor of Veep with the drama of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf- (a compliment I can wholeheartedly confirm with their performances, which should be high praise since I'm canonically a hater)."

And here's the political candidate Elizabeth Young's campaign video, entitled "Forever Young":

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.