Scot Froelich (he of the one T in Scot) has been spinning ingenious and affecting tales of heartbreak both before and after I flagged him back in 2013 as #5 on my pre-Fringe Top 10 list that year.
The end of the world and/or humanity, one could argue, is just a different kind of heartbreak. So while I’m not much for dystopian scenarios, if Scot’s telling the story and playing the guitar, I’ll go.
After The End
Description:
Following a devastating global pandemic, Jeff is left to fend for himself. Twelve years later, he’s built a farm, a solar array, and – to pass the time - a hobby of playing guitar for the audience in his head.
Venue - Mixed Blood
Content Warnings - Adult language, Suicidal ideation/self-harm, No late seating allowed
Genre and Content - Comedy, Drama, Musical Theater, Solo Show
Ages 12 to 15 and Up
No late seating allowed.
Don’t want to disrupt the vibe of the end of the world by showing up late :)
The More Information tab and press packet provide additional context:
“We've all contemplated questions like, "What's your desert island playlist?" or "If you only had one day to live, what would you do?" and considered the decisions around finality and isolation. Luckily for Jeff, he doesn't have to think of answers. He's had twelve years to live them. There's a meticulous garden, a glorious solar array, the world's most magnificent vinyl collection, and a wide variety of canine companions.
As time stretched on, though, he had to find a true hobby. A way to express himself. Enter: YOU. Thank you for being Jeff's imaginary audience. The solar generator only has enough juice for 60 minutes of performance, though, so make sure to get there early.
The human population has been reduced to... Jeff. He’s learned guitar, but who is his audience?
25-season Fringe veteran Scot Froelich returns to the stage with a question: If you were the last person on earth, what would you do? How would you grieve the loss? How would you remain joyful? How many dogs would you keep? And what keeps you going? After a global pandemic reduces the population to... Jeff, he is left to ponder these questions while learning gardening, hunting, and guitar. But why is he still here and what does he intend to do with his time?”
I do also appreciate that they hired a human (Hannah Boehme) to do the artwork for the show’s publicity. (In a dystopia, we humans need to stick together and not just submit fully to the computers, which if of course harder and harder to do every day, he says, typing on a laptop and posting to the internet…)
The show has Mike Mellas as director, Nicole Wilder as Music Director, and Sheree Froelich (who helmed recent Fringe shows I quite enjoyed - The Wind Phone in 2024 and My Empty Arms in 2022) as stage manager on this one so we’re in good hands all around here.
UPDATE - Here's his Fringe preview:
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.
