Vintage Tunes, Modern Gal
Description
A charming musical comedy solo show plucked right out of the vaudeville era following cabaret performer Plucky Rosenthal and her quest to find the one thing she’s never had: a band.
Venue – Rarig Kilburn Theatre
Content Warnings - None
Genre and Content – Solo Show, Comedy, Original Music, Physical Theater, Audience Participation
Ages 7 to 11 and Up
This one is another late addition to the schedule but this artist and her style of one-woman musical comedy has been here before. Last year, in fact, with “Big Honor Student Energy” (here’s the preview of that)
I missed that one, but I did catch her “One Woman Beaches” back in 2022 and thoroughly enjoyed it. (And here’s that show’s preview)
My 5-star mini-review of that online as I was flying through the latter half of that year’s festival was:
“Alisa Rosenthal is a comedic whirlwind of song, dance, and multiple personalities covering all of the 1988 movie Beaches plus a sampling of her own theatrical upbringing”
Her new Fringe outing was winner of the Spirit of the Fringe at 2025’s Elgin Fringe before landing on our schedule this year.
I think my favorite review of that which has has posted on the More Information tab of her show page is from a volunteer at the Elgin Fringe who after seeing “Vintage Tunes, Modern Gal” said to the artist:
"Thanks for making Green Bay weird again!"
Minneapolis is, of course, already weird, but we can always use a little more. Plucky Rosenthal, in addition to the weird, has the comedic and vocal chops to deliver a fun show, so I’m very much looking forward to it.
And she is also in the very first slot of the festival, on Thursday 8/6 at 5:30pm - which would be a very fun way for anyone to start their 2026 Fringe on a high note (or several of them, depending on the song).
In the spirit of continuing with the “Beaches” theme from Fringes past, the ukulele-forward nature of this new show brought to mind an old Bette Midler tune, “Ukulele Lady” - given previous experience with Rosenthal’s shows, I’m expecting a similar vibe.
If you need further convincing, here’s her bio:
“Plucky Rosenthal
Creator and Performer
Plucky Rosenthal is an award-winning musical comedy variety act, specializing in bringing her signature warmth and vintage-tinged original songs to rooms across the country. A seasoned emcee, she's a mainstay on the Chicago variety scene and national fringe festival circuit, bringing her live game show, solo hour, and shorter sets to sold out ballrooms and dive bars with 6 people in them alike. You may recognize her alter ego from last year's fringe show "Big Honor Student Energy," 2022's "One-Woman 'Beaches,' and 2019's "Songs to Caftan In." National festivals include: Andy Kaufman Awards, NYC (semi-finalist), Minnesota Fringe Festival, Elgin Fringe Festival ("Spirit of the Fringe" winner), Twin Cities Jewish Humor Festival, IndyFringe, Green Bay Fringe Festival, Old Greeny Fringe Festival (Ithaca), Windy City Burlesque Fest, Chicago Women's Funny Festival, and Artscape Baltimore.”
Interested in hearing about other artists I recommend based on past outings in the Fringe? Here's a link to a list of all the coverage of returning favorite artists from past pre-Fringe Top 20 lists of mine that are part of this year's Minnesota Fringe Festival. And here's links to the 2026 versions of my pre-Fringe Top 10 list and Top 11 through 20 for the 2026 festival as we ramp up toward the start of the Fringe on August 6th.
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