Fringe 2023 Review - H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man - Wacky 4-Person Monster Movie Homage - 5 Stars

tweet review - #mnfringe show 28 - H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man: a madcap 4-person marathon, tongue firmly in cheek; homage to classic Hollywood monster movies full of fun stage tricks and physical comedy; I kind of can't wait to see what all these artists do next - 5 stars

H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man from the group [Un]Qualified, led by director and playwright Jake Sung-Guk Sullivan, has created a wonderfully wacky homage to the old Universal Pictures monster movies, specifically Claude Rains’ turn as The Invisible Man.  And they do it with only four (by the end of it all quite exhausted) actors.

“Doctor, a patient is here who doesn’t have an appointment.  It’s the Invisible Man.”
“Tell him I can’t see him.” (face palm)

The bandage-clad scientist Griffin (Doni Marinos), on the run from the law, rents a room in a small town hotel from Mrs. Hall (Courtney VonVett) to hide out and work on a cure for his unfortunate condition (invisibility). His odd behavior makes the hotel staff very suspicious, and draws the attention of Constable Jaffers (Brendan Veerman). An escalating series of robberies by an unseen assailant disturbs the townspeople. Griffin reaches out to an old colleague Dr. Kemp (Tucker Brewster) to help make him visible again, but it may be too late.

“A spectral scoundrel, eh?”

There are a great many invisibility jokes (most of them from the local paperboys hawking their wares, but everyone in the cast of characters gets in on the fun at some point).  There are some fun and clever stage tricks to reveal the invisible man throughout.  There are also several running gags, including miming going up and down the stairs on a stage with no set, that get played out just enough but not too much.  There’s good old fashioned monster movie soundtrack music.  Since we have to imagine a few things too elaborate to stage (even with the cheeky use of shadow puppetry), the production also often feels like an old-school radio drama.  Conversing or fighting with an invisible man also creates some great opportunities for physical theater antics.

“How did you get your clothing to be invisible as well?”
“I didn’t.”

H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man does a great job playing with different genres and some good old-fashioned theater magic.  If you’re looking for a non-stop romp that delivers the laughs, H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man is a Fringe show you should… see (well, three out of four in the cast anyway).

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.