[Last but not least in my blog entries on returnees from previous pre-Fringe Top 20 lists, here’s one from last year’s list, back again…]
An Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani)
Description:
An Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani) is a musical that explores Khmer culture during the Angkorian era, where King Jayavarman VII (1181–1218) reigned with queen Jayarajadevi, Indradevi as his consort.
Venue - Southern Theater
Content Warnings - Flashing Lights
Genre and Content - Comedy, Dance (Classical, Global, Modern), Musical Theater, Original Music, Spoken Word, Storytelling, Historical Content, Kid Friendly, Religious Content
Ages 2 to 6 and Up
Thankfully the More Information tab on their show page helps to make up for my lack of knowledge of Khmer culture:
“My name is Narate Keys (playwright/producer) and I am a Khmer (pron. “khuh-MAI”) playwright from Cambodia. The Khmer are the largest ethnic group in the country of Cambodia. I am producing a musical called an Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani), which I started to write and develop in 2025. An Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani) is a historical fiction story set during the twelfth century where King Jayavarman VII finish building the Angkor Wat. There will be original songs composed by Simmi Nelson, choreographed by Lexi Wolfgram, and directed by Abraham Vue.
This production is important to share the history of the Angkorian people in our Khmer community. With a population of over 100,000 Southeast Asian in Minnesota is home to one of the largest and most thriving Southeast Asian diaspora communities in the nation. We are honored to share a story to enrich our underserved community including the Hmong, Khmer, Lao and Viet diaspora communities on reclaiming language through theatre, collective storytelling working with arts markers and with our actors, singer, producer amongst many others to bring this musical into fruition.
An Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani), the musical is a passion project. I dreamt of writing about the Angkorian Kingdom and sharing the abundance of storytelling of the Khmer people. In 2013 I began thinking about going back to my homeland, Cambodia. My vision came true when I landed in Phnom Penh in 2015. After visiting Angkor Wat and exploring Siem Reap, I began my research and wrote my first musical, Apsara. I'm happy to produce another musical called an Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani). It's a family collaboration with all the cast and crews ranging from ages 5 to 46.
An Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani) is for all ages to enjoy.”
Last year’s production, “Aspara, the Musical” was also set in 12th century Khmer (with a modern day framing plot line surrounding it, and spirits crossing back and forth - I think, to be honest it was sometimes hard to tell what was going on). My review on the fly at the time was:
“lightly confusing show set mostly in 12th century kingdom of Khmer but constructed and sounding like a 21st century Disney musical, which didn't seem to serve the story, the subject or the culture it was trying to convey; cast doing their best; 3 stars”
I’m assuming they learned a lot from their first outing, and this go-round will have the benefit of having been through the whole Fringe process last year.
If you’re interested in something unique, another musical from this group about a different culture in a different time will definitely be that. There’s a cast of over a dozen, and many of the actors are kids this year. So that’ll be a change of pace even from last year’s production.
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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