Review on the fly:
#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
Sam Landman and Nissa Nordland created the characters of Clyde and Faye, respectively, and have channeled all their talent, experiences, and frustrations with the life of a working actor, into the improv comedy duo "Bury the Leads" (coming to the Fringe under the banner of Nordland’s producing company Special When Lit). In addition to these two main characters, who ironically seem to be destined to a career of supporting roles, Landman and Nordland also play a host of other characters in the entertainment industry (directors, agents, fellow actors, family members, cinematographers and crew). They take input from the audience at the beginning of each show with a couple of questions (the night I attended it was “what’s a mundane task you don’t like?” and “how do you flirt?”) and selection of a couple of random accessories from their big bin of costume bits and pieces they’ve labeled as “Make ‘Em Ups.” From there, things go in all kinds of comedic directions.
“We are not assigned to one or the other.”
“Because we have MASSIVE range.”
Central to the concept is the friendship between the characters of Clyde and Faye - how they support one another, how they continue to grow closer. We see them individually and together enduring the absurdities of self-tapes, auditions, and meals with agents to talk about options. Because they’re supporting players to the rest of the world, they’re often working with characters that don’t have names, or characters who have only one, or no, lines. Clyde and Faye, though, are always fully formed human beings, even if the people around them sometimes come off as stereotypes. But even these “bit players” in Clyde and Faye’s universe have their little moments of humanity peek through sometimes. It’s often satirical, but never mean-spirited. Even the transition “music” bits, also created by Sam and Nissa, are hilarious, accompanied by slides that let the audience know what’s about to happen. They’re pseudo-funky meta commentary on the actors’ need to take a water break or change a costume piece, even as those performers are right in front of us, doing whatever. That, too, is the life of an actor, getting the transitions right, on and off stage or camera.
“It’s not a thing. Don’t treat it like a thing. I just need to tell you something.”
It’s a tribute to Landman and Nordland that audiences can so quickly become invested in the success or failure of these two struggling artists, wanting them to succeed, or at least have someone give them a chance, or really just see them. You also could be forgiven for rooting for the two of them to get together romantically. The thing that really landed the night that I saw them was a moment when Clyde was getting a big case of imposter syndrome, genuinely wondering if he was even an actor at all, if he’d just been wasting everybody’s money and time (especially his own). Then Faye steps in and becomes his cheerleader, reassuring him that he is the artist he wants to be; she sees it even if nobody else does. You don’t have to be in the arts to have that crisis of faith in yourself, or to wish that you had a good friend like that to keep you from spiraling.
“I don’t need your opinion. Just stick to the lines.”
All of which makes this whole show sound much more serious than I mean to. It is, first and foremost, an improv comedy concept, and Landman and Nordland are very gifted improvisers and comedians, in addition to being able to pull off those human moments that are constantly punching through the larger narrative of Clyde and Faye’s absurd career struggles. Kudos also to Kayla Dvorak Feld listed as Performance Advisor, for the assistance she offers in helping the two creators and performers to fine-tune and adjust the concept.
If you need a laugh, "Bury The Leads" has buckets full of them. Along with generous dose of heart.
5 Stars, Very Highly Recommended
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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