Fringe 2026 - Returning Favorites - Hey Rube! - So Bright, The Night

The thing I admire the most about Hey Rube! as a theater company is they’re always taking really big swings, and always in completely different directions, with each new project.

The common denominator is that it’s going to be a new script, staged in a uniquely theatrical way.

But the style and content of the script, and the choices in staging, will never be the same as the last thing they did.

And that’s ballsy, and it also keeps the audience on their toes.  They will be entertained, but HOW exactly is this all gonna go down this time?

Whether it’s a wartime submarine drama told with a combination of actors and toys, or a sly (and hilarious) political allegory in the story of a wannabe pirate captain, or a multiversal love story, or a family medical crisis mixed with supernatural/mythological elements, it’s never the same thing twice.

So what might writer/director/producer Marcus Anthony and his latest band of collaborators be up to this time around?

Oddly enough, a remount of a previous production from back in 2016, but as you’ll see in the description, given our current context, particularly here in Minnesota, things are going to hit a little differently this time…

So Bright, The Night

Description: 
So Bright the Night is a hard-boiled historical drama about the Mexican Repatriation of the 1930's. A woman boards a train in hopes to rescue her husband from deportation or worse. History is repeating itself.
Venue - Southern Theater
Content Warnings - Blood, Gun/Weapon Usage, Loud Noises, Violence
Genre and Content - Drama, Historical Content, Political Content
Ages 12 to 15 and Up

In addition to a couple of Hey Rube’s regular collaborators (Matthew Saxe and Shad Cooper) who I’m always happy to see, we also have Diego Symouksavanh in the cast as well, who was the best thing in last Fringe’s “La Tunda: A Reimagining of a Colombian Folklore.” The guy had a monologue that actually delivered on the supernatural menace that show was trying to conjure (with otherwise uneven results outside his performance).

Since there’s only a vague memory of having seen the original production and scouring past coverage in the blog is coming up empty, I’m curious to refresh my memory and see the script in this new context.

 

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.  

 

 

Fringe 2025 - Returning Favorites - Timothy Mooney - Breakneck Twelfth Night

Timothy Mooney’s back and he’s speeding through Shakespeare again.

I quite enjoyed his online Breakneck Comedy of Errors back in 2021 (5 stars), and the random goodness of Lot o’ Shakespeare in 2022 (5 stars again), so it’s nice to see him tackling one of my favorite Shakespearen romantic comedies, Twelfth Night.  Honestly, that’s all I need to know.

Breakneck Twelfth Night
Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre
Venue: Barker Center
 
Show Description:
TWELFTH NIGHT the Elizabethan “Mardi Gras,” finds men playing women, servants playing masters and a good many more dirty jokes than were traditionally allowed! Tim Mooney plays the twins and EVERYBODY ELSE!
 
Genre & Content:
Drama, Solo Show, Musical Theater, Original Music, Physical Theater, Shakespearian Elements
Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor

There’s a short trailer:

 

And a longer, but fun, explainer, breaking down Shakespeare’s use of language, and how the play pokes at the boundaries between gender, class and sexuality among the characters:

Here’s some handy links to my Fringe Top 10, Top 11 to 20 and Returning Favorites lists for this year, as well as all the coverage of this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.  

Fringe 2025 – Returning Favorites – Comedy Suitcase (Joshua English Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen) - The Gentlemen’s Pratfall Club

Sometimes, you just need to take a break and watch a couple of guys fall down a lot.

And you couldn’t ask for a better pair of clowns than Joshua English Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen of Comedy Suitcase.
 
The Gentlemen’s Pratfall Club
Comedy Suitcase
Venue: TRP
 
Show Description:
A struggling actor and a cruel French clown battle for the most coveted role in children’s television: Captain Clumsy. The creators of Bob and Reggie Go to Bed bring you an uplifting comedy about falling down.
 
The Gentlemen's Pratfall Club is a two-person all-ages physical comedy about the joys and dangers of falling down in pursuit of your dreams. It was first produced in 2012 when the creators - Joshua English Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen - were much younger. Thirteen years later, the themes of the show have more depth and the pratfalls more pain.

Comedy Suitcase is a Twin Cities-based theatrical production company dedicated to creating live comedy for all ages. Founded in 2010 by Joshua English Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen, Comedy Suitcase strives to bridge the gap between imaginative theater for children and sophisticated comedy for adults. In the words of Groucho Marx: “A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five!”
 
Over the last fifteen years, Comedy Suitcase has produced multiple Fringe Festival hits, including: The Harty Boys and The Case of the Limping Platypus, Smothers Brothers Grimm, The Averagers, Intermediate Physical Comedy for Advanced Beginners, and Bob and Reggie Go To Bed.
 
Genre & Content:
Clowning, Comedy, Physical Theater, Kid Friendly
Warnings:
Crude Humor, Abuse/Physical Violence
 
I didn’t get to see this show the first time around back in 2012, so I’m looking forward to it.

Previous reviews for this show included:
“Comedy hurts. Well, physical comedy of the slapstick stripe, anyway. Joshua Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen prove it in this clever, colorfully written comedy about a desperate-for-work actor trying to fill the slippery shoes of the recently deceased Captain Clumsy and keep his kid-targeted TV show alive.” – Pioneer Press
AND
“Scrimshaw is fearless in his antics; he is both the Acme steamroller and Wile E. Coyote.” –Twin Cities Daily Planet

Anyone who’s seen Joshua and Levi in any of their previous shows, whether they’re talking as the Harty Boys, or silently clowning as Bob and Reggie, knows they can deliver comedy in many forms.

I was going to say “So if you need a laugh…” but I’m sure we all do so, treat yourself and go see The Gentleman’s Pratfall Club.  I certainly am.

 

Here’s some handy links to my Fringe Top 10, Top 11 to 20 and Returning Favorites lists for this year, as well as all the coverage of this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.

 

 

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Comedy Suitcase

What If We Hugged?

A solo show by Levi Weinhagen

Stories of masculinity, fatherhood, and heart disease from a comedy writer turned race and gender justice worker.

Venue: Strike Theater
Tagged for: Solo Show, Audience Participation
Content Warnings: None

This won’t be your standard Comedy Suitcase Fringe production - no dialogue, physical theater, comedy pratfalls, etc.  But that’s just fine.

I’d happily listen to whatever Levi Weinhagen wants to chat about for an hour.  The artist involved is more of a guarantee of time well-spent than a lot of other random Fringe shows I might go see.  So I’m glad he’s on the Fringe schedule this year, and another of the roster of returning favorites at the Strike Theater venue (Alison Broeren, Mike Fotis, Michael Shaeffer).  I could easily spend a day or evening (or two) at Strike and not hit a bad show.  They’ve got quite the line-up this year.

Very little information on this show, but I’m willing to give it a look just based on the long history of good Fringe shows we’ve all gotten from the Comedy Suitcase team.

If you need credentials to be impressed, here are some of Levi’s from the Fringe show page:
“Levi Weinhagen is a writer, producer, performer, podcaster, trainer and educator. He co-founded the all-ages theater company Comedy Suitcase and has created multiple original shows that were in the top 10 of ticket sales at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. In 2012 Levi was named an Artist of the Year by City Pages. He was the first ever Artist in Residence for the Walker Art Center’s Education and Family programs department in 2014-2015. He is a teaching artist with COMPAS. Levi produced and hosted a podcast called ‘Not About You’ that is a serious yet entertaining look at social justice issues in America. He is a graduate of HOPE Community’s Sustainable Progress Through Engaging Active Citizens (SPEAC) organizer training program. Levi is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory. He completed the 2017 Center for Performance and Civic Practice Summer Institute. Levi also runs Routine Maintenance, a race and gender justice focused consulting firm.”
 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.  

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Hey Rube! (Marcus Anthony)

Behemoth

In an attempt to save her dying mother and reconnect with her estranged father, a cynical daughter sifts through her memories in search of hope.

From the creators of last year's award-winning Orzel Rising.

Venue: Theatre in the Round
Tagged for: Drama, Physical Theater
Content Warnings: Loud Noises

As it says in their show description, these are the folks who brought you the very popular Orzel Rising in last year’s Fringe so… I don’t really need to work too hard to sell you on Behemoth, do I?  They’re kinda pre-sold.

Instead of wartime submarine adventures with the occasional interlude of tiny plastic toys, this year we have a family story - dying mother, estranged father, cynical daughter. Not sure precisely what clues the show image is giving us but the dark background, silhouette of a grassy field and the large head of a horned bull-like creature, plus the title, of course, is giving very Old Testament/Book of Job vibes.  The word behemoth generally refers to a huge or monstrous creature (literally or metaphorically).  The show image also has a woman in a dark robe offering up a pair of bright red shoes (Wizard of Oz style?), and a very enthusiastic cheerleader.

Every show from Hey Rube’s Marcus Anthony is different than the last, but they’re always intriguing (hence Hey Rube’s placement on this pre-Fringe Top 10 back in 2014).  Plus this time Marcus Anthony’s also working with a handful of folks I recognize from previous Fringe shows I’ve enjoyed, so that’s another great sign: performers Mahmoud Hakima (from my Top 10 list back in 2010) and Tara Lucchino (who works a lot with Sheep Theater from my 2015 Top 10 list and Michael Rogers from my 2018 Top 10 list); and choreographer Kirsten Stephens (who, in collaboration with Dean Hatton, was on my Top 20 list way back in 2008).  A lot of talented Fringers collected in one place bodes well for the outcome.

Update, their Fringe preview:

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.  

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre

Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare’s most beloved play! A dose of Renaissance Viagra! Three couples vault their way into the marriage bed via this whirlwind tale of Romantic Rivalry, Fairy Ribaldry, Love Potions… and an Ass!

Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Tagged for: Comedy, Clowning, Storytelling, Physical Theater, Historical Content, Literary Adaptation, Shakespearian Elements
Content Warnings: Sexual Content

Here’s another Fringe offering I’m interested in because I saw a version of it online during the pandemic Fringe in 2021.

In this case it’s not the same show, but it’s the same conceit from the same artist applied to different subject matter.

Timothy Mooney is fully at home in the classics of Shakespeare.  Last year, in the first live Minnesota Fringe Festival since 2019, he joined us with Lot O’ Shakespeare, a completely randomized presentation of monologues from each of Shakespeare’s plays, plus six of the sonnets, chosen bingo-style.  But in 2021’s still online Fringe in the second year of the pandemic, he offered up the Breakneck Comedy of Errors, in which he played all the characters in a super-condensed version of Shakespeare’s comedy, and yet somehow it magically all still made sense and was very entertaining.

This year, it’s a super-condensed version of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream - but this time it’s onstage and he has some help to tell the story. It’s still only five more actors (two touring with him and three locals from the Twin Cities acting scene), so collectively they still have a lot of humans and fairies to cover between the six of them.  Having seen what Tim did all by himself, both in the trimming of the script and the performance of multiple characters all at once in Comedy of Errors, I’m expecting similar amusement this time around.

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage. 

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Heather Meyer

Let Me Say This About That
(Imaginary Podcast Network)

Heather and Danna (with the "help" of their producer Raffi) host a podcast based on audience suggestions and "real advertisements". They improvise genres from true crime to conspiracy theories, or whatever else.

Venue: Rarig Center Experimental
Tagged for: Comedy, Improv
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor, Sexual Content

Fargo Allegro
(Nightfall Productions)

Didja hear all about what happened up there in Brainerd then? …Oh geeze…

Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Tagged for: Comedy, Drama
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Sexual Content, Loud Noises, Nudity, Blood, Violence, Drug Content, Flashing Lights, Gun/Weapon Usage, Abuse/Physical Violence

Very belatedly, I got around to putting Heather Meyer on a pre-Fringe Top 20 list in 2014.  Heather’s been creating very funny, very popular shows for a long time, so it’s no surprise that she’s back in not just one, but two Fringe outings this year.

Whether you’re in the mood for an improvised comedy podcast, or a reimagining of the film "Fargo", she’s part of a team determined to make you laugh this Fringe.

“Let Me Say This About That” already got a test drive earlier this year at the Tucson Fringe Festival (they hold their Fringe in January, imagine doing that here).  Heather, Danna and Raffi got the “Spirit of the Fringe” Award and the “B-C Fan Favorite” Award for their work there, so they must be doing something right. Also, they make their very brief bios on our Fringe site about their pets instead.

For “Fargo Allegro” (a comedy/drama that, just like its source material, has a large ensemble cast and an even larger set of content warnings about sex and violence), Heather’s bio forgets the pets and says, “Heather Meyer grew up in North Dakota and feels many feelings about the movie Fargo, only one of which being "We don't sound like that!" But like maybe we do? She's a performer, writer and just returned as resident artist at the Horse and Art Research Program in Hungary this summer.”

So, wherever you catch Heather in the Fringe this year, you’re bound to be amused.

Update, here's the Fringe preview for "Let Me Say This About That":

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10, and Top 11-20 Lists, plus the full list of all returning favorites at this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2023 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage. 

 

 

Fringe 2022 - Returning Favorites - Hey Rube!

Orzel Rising - Hey Rube

No food, no fuel, no country. Having fallen to the Nazis, Poland sends final orders to her last submarine. This is the true story, told using a Fisher-Price submarine, three flashlights, and stage wizardry.

I’m always curious what playwright Marcus Anthony chooses to tackle next, since each of his Fringe shows is unlike any of the others that came before it (it’s why he landed in my pre-Fringe Top 5 back in 2014). He’s constantly pushing the boundaries of what stories he tells and how he decides to tell them.  Here it’s a war story with a kid’s toy submarine and the actors creating the environment they exist in as the plot pushes them forward.  Their Fringe preview was an intriguing sampler:

 

 

 

(You can click on the following links to see a set of links to the full Top 10 list, the Top 11-20 list, a list of returning favorites, and the full coverage of the 2022 Fringe on this blog.) 

(Side note: Also during Fringe season, Minnesota has a primary election coming up on August 9th.  Early voting options are currently available.  You can also check out what's on your ballot ahead of time on the Minnesota Secretary of State website, as well as other voting services and information.  In Minneapolis, not only do we have the Governor and Lt. Governor on the ballot, but there's our U.S. Congressional Rep., our MN State Senator, the MN Secretary of State and MN Attorney General, as well as our County Sheriff and County Attorney, and two members of the Minneapolis School Board.  These are the people who decide what laws we live under and how they get enforced.  These are the people who decide whether or not we have voting rights.  These are the people who decide how our kids learn.  This is how we change things.  Personally, I'm alternately furious and despairing that my goddaughter and her little sister now have fewer rights over their own bodies than they did a month ago - there are things we can do, voting in the primary (and the general election) is one of them - here's a place you can go to do more.)

 

 

 

Fringe 2022 - Returning Favorites - Tim Mooney

Lot o’ Shakespeare - Tim Mooney

Tim Mooney revives his hit play from the 2010 MN Fringe: one monologue from EVERY Shakespeare play, Bingo Style, with PRIZES! “His delivery sparkles” (Star Tribune) “Sit back and be dazzled.” (tcdailyplanet)

I somehow missed this one back in 2010 (or my memory is so foggy it’s gotten mixed up with other Shakespeare-themed Fringe shows of the past - not just Tim’s, there are MANY others, it’s why one of the search options on the Fringe site allows you to filter for “Shakespearian elements”).  He's got a fun video on his show page to give you a sampler.  Random Shakespeare monologue bingo sounds like a nice change of pace as part of the schedule some day.  And last year’s virtual one-man show, Breakneck Comedy of Errors, was so enjoyable that I’m totally down for some live Shakespeare from Mooney again this year.  As I said last year, all of this is “harder than he makes it look,” so go watch Tim toss some Shakespeare around for an hour and make it look easy.  Like a lot of us, he’s been plugging along on virtual platforms for a couple of years now, waiting for the real thing to return, so I’m sure he’ll be having even more fun than usual up on that stage again.  And his enthusiasm gets transmitted to the audience, so we’re all getting a kick out of it.

 

(You can click on the following links to see a set of links to the full Top 10 list, the Top 11-20 list, a list of returning favorites, and the full coverage of the 2022 Fringe on this blog.) 

(Side note: Also during Fringe season, Minnesota has a primary election coming up on August 9th.  Early voting options are currently available.  You can also check out what's on your ballot ahead of time on the Minnesota Secretary of State website, as well as other voting services and information.  In Minneapolis, not only do we have the Governor and Lt. Governor on the ballot, but there's our U.S. Congressional Rep., our MN State Senator, the MN Secretary of State and MN Attorney General, as well as our County Sheriff and County Attorney, and two members of the Minneapolis School Board.  These are the people who decide what laws we live under and how they get enforced.  These are the people who decide whether or not we have voting rights.  These are the people who decide how our kids learn.  This is how we change things.  Personally, I'm alternately furious and despairing that my goddaughter and her little sister now have fewer rights over their own bodies than they did a month ago - there are things we can do, voting in the primary (and the general election) is one of them - here's a place you can go to do more.)

 

Returning Favorites - Shanan Custer, Joshua English Scrimshaw, and Tim Uren

One person, connected to five Fringe shows:

Not Fair, My Lady - Colleen Somerville Productions - Mixed Blood Theater

Not Fair, My Lady! is an all-woman, company-created musical theatre parody review! It's 2018 and misogyny is alive and well on Broadway. And in the world. Everywhere. Let's...sing about it! Shit.

The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society vs. the Nazis - Rarig Thrust

 Join the Society for two classic World War II era thrillers from the golden age of radio, performed in the style of an old-time radio broadcast, including original announcements, commercials and sound effects.

Our Best Life - Custer and Schmidt - Rarig Thrust

Despite global and personal chaos, Shanan & Emily are living their best lives! I mean, really trying! Do you believe them yet?! Through delightfully funny sketches, they prove everything's fine. (Nothing's fine.)

Right, Wrong or Bomb! A Dating Musical - Backyard to Broadway Productions - Mixed Blood

Right, Wrong or Bomb! A Dating Musical is a musical comedy that celebrates the trials, tribulations and joys of online dating. The story follows three gal pals, one mother and those they meet along the way.

Couple Fight: The Musical - Weggel-Reed Productions - Rarig Thrust

Real couples reenacting their real fights as a fully-fledged musical review. Enjoy new couples and returning favorites perform never-before-seen fights made palatable by clever writing and inspiring music. (I'll touch on that one in another post, as it's tied to another returning favorite.)

and by extension, also

The Screaming Skull - Ghoulish Delights - Rarig Thrust

In this one-man adaptation of F. Marion Crawford's classic ghost story, a sailor spends a stormy night descending into drink and madness, haunted by the cries of a woman he may have inadvertently helped murder.

Speaking of merry bands of co-conspirators, and artists who regularly crank out quality Fringe entertainment, I have the usual multi-show overlap I do every year when discussing Shanan Custer, Joshua English Scrimshaw, and Tim Uren.  Shanan’s involved in (unless I missed one) at least five Fringe shows this year.  She directed the dating musical Right, Wrong or Bomb (video of their Fringe preview here); she’s performing in the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society vs. the Nazis, Couple Fight: The Musical, and Our Best Life; and she was also writer on Our Best Life, and Not Fair, My Lady.  (How is she still standing?  I'm tired just typing all that.)  Tim Uren and Joshua English Scrimshaw are also part of The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society vs. the Nazis; and Tim is also the brains behind Ghoulish Delights’ horror offering The Screaming Skull.  (oh, and Joshua and his artistic collaborator Levi Weinhagen got pulled up off the wait list at the last minute for another offering from their physical comedy duo Comedy Suitcase, called...)

Slapdash Panic: Comedy Suitcase Ended Up In The Fringe Festival With 3 Weeks Notice and No Show! - at Strike Theater

On July 10th, a last minute spot opened up. Suddenly Comedy Suitcase was in the Fringe! Now, Levi and Joshua give audiences a peak behind the curtain and show them how they build a show from nothing to finished.

Not Fair, My Lady had one of the best Fringe previews - great singing, great attitude, with bonus swearing, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing that one.  I think Mom’ll be on board, too. (Oh, and their official show trailer is also scathing and hilarious, too.  Check that out.)

I loved the first Fringe iteration of the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society last year.  It was like stepping back in time into a classic radio broadcast.  That one was a horror story.  WWII radio broadcast recreations should be just as fun, because Nazis are firmly in the rearview mirror for our society and not at all relevant to the present day.  Ah, nostalgia.

Comedy Suitcase always does great work, so that'll be worth seeing for a laugh - whatever they come up with :) 

I’m not much for horror, personally, but I do like the smart, often mischievous way that Tim Uren serves it up through his company Ghoulish Delights, so I’ll probably steel my spine and see The Screaming Skull, too.

Here's some handy links to the full Top 10, Top 11-20 and Returning Favorites lists.

Fringe 2017 - Returning Favorite - Rough Magic Performance Company

"Shakespeare's classic comedy of love/hate relationships made modern by 6 women and 2 puppets. A hilarious and moving tale of love, jealousy, trickery, and redemption with a fresh and feminist perspective."

This company did a really nice rendering of Twelfth Night when they were on my Top 20 list back in 2014.  This time out, it’s an all-female take on Much Ado About Nothing.  It’s a kick-ass cast and these ladies know their Shakespeare.  So if the clowns Dogberry and Verges taking over the story with their peculiar brand of butchered English strikes your fancy, you should check them out. Plus… puppets!

And here's some handy links to the full list of pre-Fringe top 10, and 11-20, returning favorites, and all the random shout outs in these Top 10/Top 20 posts - links all gathered in a single list to take you to fuller posts and Fringe pages.  Enjoy!