Fringe 2026 - Returning Favorites - Joking Apart Theater - I’m Afraid, I Have To Leave

Where you put that comma in the title makes all the difference…

I’m Afraid, I Have To Leave

Description: 
Time to leave, but your hosts have other plans. Sinister agenda? Hostage situation? Or just another visit with your folks? Minnesota Goodbye meets The Twilight Zone. Grab a snickerdoodle, it might be your last!
Venue - Mixed Blood
Content Warnings - Adult language, Gun/weapon usage, Loud Noises, Violence
Genre and Content - Comedy, Horror
Ages 12 to 15 and Up

Joking Apart Theater is another returnee from last year’s pre-Fringe Top 20 list, and just like last year’s show, “The Jaws That Bite, The Claws That Catch,” it looks like we’re in for another unsettling time, if only based on that blood spattered knife next to that lovely plate of Rice Krispie bars in the show’s publicity image.

Also, the show’s Cast and Crew tab lists a Fight Choreographer, the Genres listed are both Comedy and Horror, and the content warnings include Gun/Weapon Usage, Loud Noises and Violence, which make the Adult Language warning seem like the most innocuous of the bunch.

Just like last year’s show had a protagonist stuck in a loop, this year’s characters may also be trapped in another unending ritual that keeps looping back on itself, the infamous “Minnesota Goodbye” (the More Information tab for the show has a link to a handy comedic example of this tradition)

The press packet materials have variations on the show description:

“A never-ending evening with Ole and Lena? A hostage situation? A Cthulhu murder cult? Or is it just another dinner with your folks? The Twilight Zone meets The Minnesota Goodbye.

Minnesota Goodbye meets The Twilight Zone.  From writer/actor, Edwin Strout, who brought you "That's MISTER Benchley To You, Mrs. Parker" in 2003, and last year's "The Jaws That Bite, The Claws That Catch!"

If you’re looking for social discomfort cranked up to 11, this may be your show :)

 

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.