tweet review - #mnfringe show 1: Reincarnation Soup, beautifully rendered tapestry of the past lives of a human across Vietnamese history and culture as they wait in line for their next life to begin; first rate acting and writing, perfect way to start my Fringe - 5 stars
There are a lot of solo shows in any Minnesota Fringe Festival. A lot of them are OK. Some of them are good. Very few of them are great. Reincarnation Soup is one of the great ones. You should see it. The two primary things that make Reincarnation Soup such a fantastic show both come from the same source, the writing and acting of Viet Nguyen.
"I'm not bitter, I just like to sing."
The central conceit of the performance is that a human is waiting in line in the afterlife to be served the soup of forgetfulness which is the first step one takes in order to get ready for their next life and enter it with a blank slate of a mind. And while this person wait, snippets of their past lives are manifested onstage. These seemingly random memories cross time, gender and sexuality and encapsulate many of the complicated highs and lows of Vietnamese history and society. The secret brilliance of the whole thing is that it could either be heavy-handed or completely confusing, and in the sure hands of Nguyen as both writer and performer it is neither of those things. You can follow along easily as the actor unfolds one life after another, never knowing quite where you’re headed next, but knowing you’re in good hands.
"I'd be glad just to come back as a tree outside her balcony."
The parade of humanity includes: a hapless soldier with an unexpected skill at killing; a gay nail salon owner sharing stories with a young punk who vandalized his business under orders from the punk’s mother, a regular customer; a female refugee on a sinking ship; a child playing at a gunfight trying not to think of their father off at war; a survivor of a prison camp who drinks to forget and ends up in a drunk tank telling his stories anyway; a woman who runs a massage parlor which raised the money to get her family to the United States for a better life, left behind as an embarrassment by her adult children - and several others.
"I want the ocean to carry my name back to you."
Each character speaks to a different person who is not the audience, and those unseen people on the other side of each conversation are also very clear and help to flesh out the broader world of this play. So many different faces and personalities created and embodied by one actor, all incredibly distinct, each a window into a different world and time, all creating a landscape of memory that the person in line in the afterlife in the end doesn’t want to forget. But just the existence of this performance is proof that those stories will not be forgotten. They will keep resurfacing. They cannot ever be completely extinguished or lost.
"Sorry, I'll let you read your porn."
Reincarnation Soup is a wonderful showcase for both the acting and writing talents of Viet Nguyen. I’m really glad I saw it as my very first show in the Minnesota Fringe Festival this year. It was a perfect way to get things started, and be reminded of all the things a Fringe show can do with just a couple of boxes, a handful of light cues, and a single actor performing a powerful, smart and funny script. You should make it a part of your Fringe experience this year. It’s easy to see why it won several awards in a previous run at the Orlando Fringe. I’m sure it’ll be among the best things I’ll see at the Minnesota Fringe this year.
5 Stars - Very Highly Recommended
Here's some handy links to a rundown of 5 and 4.5 Star shows I've seen this year, also the 4 and 3.5 Star shows, and the rest, plus this year's Top 10 list, and Top 11-20 List, and the full list of all returning favorites in the 2023 Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.
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