Sunday, August 9, 2026
#mnfringe show 16: Maxxeapolis Goes To Hell: clever premise “amuse the devil and maybe he’ll let you out of hell”; quick-witted, varied, oddball comedy sketches; funny songs; gifted ensemble; actually made me laugh out loud, which is rare - 5 stars
My Top 10 List write-up on this show
#mnfringe show 17: Witness Loudly: storyteller Kyle Dekker puts his work as a constitutional observer into the larger context of MN’s response to ICE occupation earlier this year (and still ongoing); compelling, justifiably angry but also hopeful and funny; 1st draft of history - 5 stars
My Returning Favorites write-up on this show
#mnfringe show 18: Vintage Tunes, Modern Gal: Plucky Rosenthal and her trusty ukulele, hilarious original songs and relentless (but fun) audience engagement spins a tale of trying to connect with others, however awkwardly (and aren't we all?); high energy, goofy, occasionally even sweet - 5 stars
My Top 10 List write-up on this show
#mnfringe show 19: Don’t Be Scared: deeply strange/funny in all the best ways; 2 German clowns as zombie business professionals with singing, dancing, acrobatic presentation for the audience on confronting fears and beating back the darkness; best use of Rarig X space (and crowd work) - 5 stars
My Top 20 List write-up on this show
#mnfringe show 20: Be Not Afraid: looks fantastic; big theatrical stage pictures; great cast really throwing themselves into story of Big Oil destroying a family farm; a bit overstuffed for just an hour; characters, supernatural elements feel underdeveloped despite all the talent here - 4 stars
My Returning Favorites write-up on this show
#mnfringe show 21: The Choose Your Own Adventures of Turtle Boy: perfect family fare; puppeteer and marionette Turtle Boy engage audience multiple times to steer the plot, and volunteer for cemetery and fight training scenes; charming, silly, nimble improv; whole audience very into it - 5 stars
My Top 20 List write-up on this show
#mnfringe show 22: Bury The Leads: top tier improv from Sam Landman and Nissa Nordland as 2 striving supporting actors who never get the lead roles but keep on fighting; their strong friendship the thing that keeps them going despite the daily indignities; funny, sweet, yearning, human - 5 stars
My Returning Favorites write-up on this show
You can find reviews of other shows in these links to my listings of 5 and 4.5 Star Shows (VERY Highly Recommended) and 4 and 3.5 Star Shows (Highly Recommended). 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.
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