Fringe 2026 - Returning Favorites from Years Past

Here's a list of links to all the posts about returning favorites in the 2026 Minnesota Fringe Festival (alphabetical by show title):

After the End - One T Productions (Scot Froelich, Sheree Froelich)

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. 

 

Apologies for the Late Reply - Ben San Del

Stand-up comedy about salvaging sanity in our age of crazy presented by four-time Minnesota Fringe encore winning producer and Acme Comedy Co.'s Funniest Person in the Twin Cities title holder Ben San Del. 

 

 

Bay Creek - Derek Lee Miller

Four generations of smugglers from the river bottoms of Pike County, IL deal with their legacy of violence and crime, and the terrifying entity they accidentally smuggled over the veil from the other side.

 

 

 

Be Not Afraid - Third Space Theater (Alex Church)

2012. A struggling farm in a northwestern North Dakota town transformed by the oil boom is given a warning. A savior is coming.

 

 

Buckeroohaiku's Reverse Armando - Button Productions (Ryan Klima)

True stories. Masterful improvisation. Kate Button spills the stories, while the Twin Cities top improvisors weave them into comedy gold! Brace yourself for an evening of raw, unfiltered hilarity!

 

 

Bury The Leads - Special When Lit (Nissa Nordland, Sam Landman)

Meet Clyde & Faye, two character actors navigating an industry of auditions, rejections, bit parts and false starts. Sometimes funny, sometimes melancholy, it's improv so grounded, it seems scripted.

 

 

Casa Bde-Maka-Ska - Snikt! Bamf! Thwip!

Everyone comes to Rick's. Even in the middle of a hostile occupation. Even in a world where lovers who have been torn apart by circumstance can bond over some well chosen Prince music. 

 

 

A Confluence of Magical Arseholes - The Winding Sheet Outfit 

The feckin' story and singy-song of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. There be the famous supper club for some bored c*nts and dilettantes, and this be that time W. B. Yeats kicked Aleister Crowley's arse. 

 

 

 

Cyrano - Small Waves

A queer heroic comedy in five acts. The story you never knew you already know, like you've never seen it before. An adaptation of Edmond Rostand's "Cyrano de Bergerac."

 

 

 

 

 

Doozy - Dolly Who (Destiny Davison)

A good friend never forgets. Too bad, Dolly did. But no worries, it's her day off! No agenda, no script, no work...and all the time in the world for a little sweet, sweet revenge.

 

 

 

An Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani) - Narate Keys

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. 

 

Empty Nest - Zabel Weinhagen 

Through a mix of sharp stories, absurd sketches, and knowing winks at the audience, Empty Nest dives into life’s big transitions — aging, shifting identities, long-term partnership — and finds the humor in the awkward, poignant, and downright ridiculous moments along the way. 

FAST Death of a Salesman - an alleged Theatre Company (Jake Mierva)

Dr. Duke Didier is putting on a production of Death of a Salesman, in order to prove to his nephew that the play is still relevant in 2026. Too bad his nephew, Braedyn, couldn't give a shit. 

 

 

Fighting Unicorns - Angela Fox Productions

A girl and her unicorn sidekick go on a hero’s journey through a fantastical world of puppets to find her lost story. A powerful show about healing and moving forward. Adventure, wonder, humor, heart. Part of the Social Butterfly Project. 120 min 

 

Foshay! You Know The Tower - Now Hear The Story - Trompe L'Oeil 

As of 1929 Wilbur Foshay was one of the richest men in the US, but the Great Depression had other plans for him. A well-loved 2023 musical that's the true story of a man who lost everything, but found himself. 

 

 

Glengarry Glen Elvis - Michael Shaeffer

Elvis Presley stirs up trouble at an unscrupulous real-estate agency. Jumpsuits jitter and F-bombs fly as a post-Vegas career suddenly involves the temptations of grand theft and a fever for the rock 'n' roll. 

 

 

I Will Become The Silver Surfer. I Will Protect You - Jake Mierva

Galactus has chosen Earth as his next target. But don't worry. I will stop him. I will save you all. I will become The Silver Surfer.

 

 

I'm Afraid, I Have To Leave - Joking Apart Theater

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! 

 

 

 The Importance of Living - Mermaid Productions (Ariel Pinkerton, Tim Uren)

Samuel and Louise really know how to live; no morals, no regrets, no limits, no future. It's the night before their reckoning day and they've come to crack a bottle of wine, swap tales, and have a little fun.

 

 

Improvised Love Is Blind: Minnesota Fringe Edition - DallaDanna Productions

The improvised version of the hit Netflix dating show, Love Is Blind. All of the fun. None of the toxicity. 

 

 

 

Latin Papi - CuerpoxCuerpo - Gabriel Mata

Latin Papi is a bold, playful, and provocative contemporary dance performance blending sensual movement, voice, humor, and theatrical flair created by Armani Rey Colón and Gabriel Mata of CuerpoxCuerpo.

 

 

The Local Music Scene - JimJam Media (Philip Simondet)

Improv inspired by local music. Local musicians perform original songs live. Between songs the Local Music Scene cast improvise scenes inspired by the lyrics. LOCAL MUSIC; improvised SCENEs

   

 M - The World Crime League

A massive manhunt is underway in Berlin. Police have spent months searching for a prolific serial killer with no success. As fear and suspicion spread, the city’s criminal underground decides to take matters into their own hands and hunt the murderer themselves in this new adaptation of Fritz Lang’s classic film noir "M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder." 

  

 

More Better Stories - American School of Storytelling

Storytellers Jon Carlson, Vianna Isbister, Bernadine Joselyn, Hank Roubicek - each tell three times, and Erin Ferdinand, Kory May, Christopher Nelson, Laura Packer, and Anne Wiborg do "one off's" with stories for adults.

 

 

Muskie - New Endeavors

It's Fishing Opener on Lake Mille Lacs, but some of the residents of Garrison, Minnesota have started disappearing. Could it be the work of the terrifying, mythical Muskie? Find out in this Minnesota-based parody of "Jaws." 

 

 

Quadrilogy, a Sabathani Benefit Game Show Extravaganza! (Mahmoud Hakima)

A game show in three rounds with audience participation. Answer questions, build Lego, have fun, win prizes! A different theme every night. Artist proceeds go to benefit the Sabathani Community Center.

 

 

A Revolution Highly Favorable - Maximum Verbosity - phillip andrew bennett low

On the 250th anniversary of American Independence, listen to the words of those who were there! Adapting for the first time 18th-century combat medic, historian, and POW David Ramsay, this fully AI-illustrated show features a different collection of readings each night.

 

Road Trip! - Chris Davis

Too expensive to go on a road trip? Then join two improv comedians as they take a ROAD TRIP without ever leaving the theater! You don’t need to pitch in for gas, just pitch in suggestions for destinations and leave the “driving” and comedy to them. Where will there journey take them? That’s for you to know and us to find out!

Silent Movie! - The Improv Movement Project (Mark Benzel, Sean Dillon, Victoria Pyan)

What happens when you get a group of physical improvisers to make a movie – but without the sets, lights, costumes, props, crew, dialogue . . . or movie. A new genre-smashing cinematic epic each performance.

Small Minded - Tyler West

When Tyler was a little boy he wanted to grow up and be a clown. Come to find out it was a lot harder to achieve the former, than the latter. 'Small Minded' features magic, juggling, clowning, and much more! Is being a dwarf clown REALLY half the size, but double the fun? Or is Tyler West just Small Minded? Either way, this show features juggling, magic, Shakespeare, story-telling, and some Ha-Ha's! from the heart.

 

So Bright, The Night - Hey Rube!

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. 

 

Soap Prov: Show of 10,000 Secrets (Jex Arzayus, Mahmoud Hakima)

An improvised soap opera inspired by audience suggestions. Our cast will create a show filled with your favorite soap opera tropes: steamy affairs, family betrayals, love triangles, seduction, and so much more!

 

Sound and Noise and Bodies - Octoberdandy Productions (Jen Scott)

Fringe veteran Jen Scott presents a one-person storytelling show, a music-show, a bit of a clown show, all about being human and maybe being heard.

 

 

the statue of liberty is nora in a doll's house by henrik ibsen - SUPERMOON (Caleb Matthew Byers, Claudia Errickson, Mads Plonski, Michael Torsch

The Statue of Liberty prepares for and performs Nora in A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. This performance is about doors, lies, and the morphed American definition/concept of liberty. It's an Americana kaleidoscopic ritual praying for a miracle.

 

Stories from the Trauma Dump (Jex Arzayus, Allison Broeren, Shanan Custer, Mahmoud Hakima, Rev. Matt Kessen, Nissa Nordland, Ariel Pinkerton, Duck Washington)

A collective storytelling show featuring local artists sharing humorous tales around mental health. Personal or fantastical, these stories aim to share experience and possibly find catharsis through comedy.

 

Tapeze: a la seconde - Twin Cities Trapeze

An joyful spectacle where every step defies gravity. A circus of rhythm and movement - join us where tap dancing meets the sky. 

 

 

Tech - Mike Fotis

This year's Fringe show opens tomorrow. The props are assembled. The actors have memorized (most of) their lines. The director has blocked the show. There’s only one thing left to do…TECH THE SHOW.

 

 

 

Underserved: Recipes for Resistance - Lady Z Productions

A baker racing against the clock to finish one final bake discovers that the most important ingredients aren't flour and butter—they're the stories that people refuse to let disappear. 

 

 

Watership Down - Melancholics Anonymous

Digger. Listener. Runner. A small band of rabbits embark on a perilous journey to find a new home in this adventurous folk musical adaption of the classic children’s novel. 

 

 

Witness Loudly - Kyle B. Dekker

Operation Metro Surge pitted armed ICE agents against the residents of Minnesota. Kyle B. Dekker recreates a live rapid response call on stage based on his own experiences as a constitutional observer, also  discussing the impact of the event on him and his neighbors. 

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 2026 - Returning Favorites - Gabriel Mata - Latin Papi

It takes a bit of digging sometimes to realize who's actually performing a show (this will be a common theme in a subset of the posts this year).  For instance, I thought I'd already caught all the returning favorite artists from the list of shows, but then I was perusing the Dance category (since Fringe is the one time of year I can catch a lot of dance all concentrated in one place), and in clicking through to the main page on "Latin Papi" I discovered, "Oh, wait a minute, this is a new Gabriel Mata show!  How delightful!"

It just says "CuerpoxCuerpo" in the main listings under the title, but then when you open the show page right under that unfamiliar company name is "Created by Gabriel Mata and Armani Colón"

Description
Latin Papi is a bold, playful, and provocative contemporary dance performance blending sensual movement, voice, humor, and theatrical flair created by Armani Rey Colón and Gabriel Mata of CuerpoxCuerpo.

Venue – Rarig Xperimental
Content Warnings – Crude Humor, Flashing Lights, Short Show (less than 45 minutes)
Genre and Content – Dance (Modern)
Ages 18 and Up Only

Anyone who saw any of his previous Fringe outings here, Out of the Shadows (2017), Dreaming (2018), or Joteria: Our Untold Stories (2022), doesn't need me to tell them they should be getting this one on their Fringe schedule.  But it's been a minute since he was last here in 2022 so for the uninitiated, go see this, you're in for a treat.

I normally go see Gabriel's shows two, even three times in a festival and that is unusual behavior for me.  They're just that good.  Mata creates work that's funny and thoughtful and full of graceful, beautiful movement across whatever space he's in.

This show seems like it's another departure from the shows that came before (a bit more adult - crude humor, 18 and up only? color me curious), but whatever this dancer/choreographer is up to with his new collaborator, I'm excited to see it early on and then come back later for more.  That may be harder this year since the Rarig X space can easily sell out with a popular show.  But I would love to have that problem because that means this show is getting the audiences it deserves.

UPDATE: here’s some additional information on the content of the show from my press packet that I just discovered:

“Latin Papi is a contemporary dance performance with movement and surprise from the Latinx body.

Latin Papi is a bold, playful, and provocative contemporary dance performance created by Armani Rey Colón and Gabriel Mata of CuerpoxCuerpo. Blending sensual movement, voice, humor, and theatrical flair, the work reclaims the Latinx body from stereotype and spectacle while inviting audiences into a 40-minute whirlwind of charm, vulnerability, and unexpected twists. Infused with contemporary Latin sabor, Latin Papi explores how bodies of color are desired, consumed, fetishized, and misunderstood, while also honoring their tenderness, complexity, and power.

Through a series of vibrant and intimate vignettes, Colón and Mata navigate ideas of masculinity, jotería, and performance itself. Seduction and comedy intertwine with moments of raw physicality and reflection, revealing the tension between visibility and objectification. The performers shift between fantasy and authenticity, humor and intimacy, asking audiences to reconsider what it means to look at, desire, and define the Latinx body.

Rooted in collaboration and contemporary performance practice, Latin Papi seeks to create an experience that is immersive, disarming, and deeply human, opening space for connection, recognition, and dialogue with audiences.” 

There's not a lot of information posted about his collaborator Armani Colón as yet, but if you need more convincing, here's Gabriel's bio:

"Gabriel Mata (pronounced: gah-bryehl mah-tah) is a Mexican American dance choreographer, educator, and performer based in Washington DC. Brown Baby is his project based performance company and he is the director of the Latinx Movement Festival in Washington DC. Growing up as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who assimilated to a white and Eurocentric notion of the US for a goal of citizenship, he has cultivated his own choreographic form and movement language as an act of de-centering his concert dance training. He has cultivated dance performance work under the name motion memoirs and teaching of contemporary sabor. Mata’s research is on jotería, Meximalismo, immigration, Latinidad / brownness, and community based movement forms. Mata's dance works have been performed in California, New York, Minnesota, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, New Jersey, Washington DC, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His work has been presented at Stanford University, San José State University, Georgian Court University, Howard Community College, Salisbury University, Howard Community College, Santa Ana College, and American University. His dances have been commissioned by David Herrera Performance Company, Jane Franklin Dance, Atlas Performing Arts Center, Dance Loft on 14, sjDANCEco, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers - SF, Moveius Contemporary Ballet, Dance Place, Silicon Valley Pride, the Hispanic National Bar Association, Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival, and Corazón Folklórico DC. He is part of the Artists Advisory Council at Dance Place - Thresholds, the Latinx Hispanic Dancers United, and the Latinx Dance Educators Association. Mata is the inaugural Social Justice Commissioned Dance Artist at Dance Loft on 14th as well as the inaugural Arts Lab Fellow at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. He has received the S&R Evermay Washington Award and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Research Grant. Additionally, he has been a current recipient of DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities Grants for cultural production."

If that's not enough for you, check out any one of my 5-star reviews of his previous Fringe shows: Out of the Shadows, Dreaming, and Joteria.  I'm a big fan of this artist and will recommend their shows to anyone who will listen so, let the recommendations begin, sight unseen.

It's in the 10pm slot on the first day of the festival, so I may already know how I'm ending my Thursday night on August 6th. 

 

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 - Andrew Erskine Wheeler (Wheeler In The Sky) - In the Garden of American Heroes

Andrew Erskine Wheeler, one of the best actors we have in the Twin Cities, is back again with another of his historically-based solo shows, after two previous back to back award-winning historically-based, 5-star solo show performances in Booth’s Ghost, and Whoosh! The Civil War Mythology of Michael Hickey and His Perilous Precipitation Over St. Anthony Falls.

Do I really need to remind anyone who’s seen either or both of his previous shows that any new creation from Wheeler is definitely something you want on your schedule?  Funny, insightful, smart, taking history’s various misfits and making them fully human, while also never letting them off the hook for their faults and misdeeds.  This time, it’s General George Armstrong Custer.

He also had a charming Fringe preview for the new show (below) during which he reminded us there is a nudity warning (“I cannot stress enough the reading of the show descriptions”)

In the Garden of American Heroes
Wheeler in the Sky
Venue: Southern Theatre
 
Show Description:
An astounding solo show about American memory, myths, and monuments as told by an atrociously monumental a**hole.
 
From a restless haunt along the Greasy Grass, Custer's atrocious, asinine specter lampoons and laments the vainglories of life, and his own infamous legacy of the Last Stand at Little Big Horn. In The Garden Of American Heroes is a satirical, scathing, and scandalous indictment of what has currently befallen the National Endowment of the Arts and what it means to be both memorialized, and metastasized, into American cultural mythology.
 
To honor the 250th anniversary of the United States, the National Endowment for the Arts has provided a list of 250 suitable American Heroes to be the subject matter of future grants. The list of heroes is taken from the proposed list of 250 sculptures for the National Garden of American Heroes to be located in the Black Hills of South Dakota near Mount Rushmore. Conspicuously absent from that list is one of the most famous (and admittedly infamous) names associated with the Black Hills, and all of American history, General George Armstrong Custer. 

Ozymandias as told by Aladdin’s Genie, Wheeler In The Sky revels in Kings and Fools: Titanic emotions, laughter thru tears, archetypes and archvillains, cathartic, confessional, irredeemable characters seeking redemptive arcs; sometimes colossally wrenching, sometimes colossal wrecks. 

Genre & Content:
Comedy, Drama, Solo Show, Historical Content, Political Content, Shakespearian Elements
Warnings:
Adult Language, Crude Humor, Nudity, Violence, Other Divisive Content

(Always intrigued when a show tags itself for “Other Divisive Content” - what *are* we in for that isn’t covered by the other warnings? :)

 

 

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 - The Shrieking Harpies - Shrieking Harpies Presents: Period Piece

While I find non-musical improv comedy to be pretty remarkable (we have some amazing improvisers in this town), I find musical improv comedy to be twice as mind-boggling. So that means it’s always a good time. They're not just creating characters and scenarios from scratch out of next to nothing (just a suggestion from the audience) and keeping them rolling for a full set, they’re doing it with songs they also create out of thin air.  And the Shrieking Harpies are some of the best.  Great voices, great comedic instincts, wild ideas, and they’re just great at working off one another. I’ve seen them twice in the Fringe already but I’m overdue for a return trip.

Shrieking Harpies Presents: Period Piece
The Shrieking Harpies
Venue:  Barker Center
Show Description:
Join the Shrieking Harpies as they create a fully improvised musical narrative for each show in a different time period. You'll laugh, cry, and sing yourself all the way home!
Genre & Content: 
Comedy, Improv, Musical Theater, Original Music, Audience Participation, LGBTQIA+ Content
Warnings:
Adult Language, Loud Noises

I’ll let them do the talking about their new spin on their standard formula:

“The Shrieking Harpies are a musical improv trio consisting of Lizzie Gardner, Hannah Wydeven, Taj Ruler, and Justin Nellis on the piano keys who specialize in creating long-form musical narratives from a single suggestion!  

They’ve been performing together as a known group around the Twin Cities since 2016, and have regularly performed in both improv-specific spaces like HUGE theater and other theaters all over the cities, most recently Twin Cities Improv Festival this summer at the Phoenix Theater in Minneapolis. They have also performed and headlined multiple festivals nationally. 

This is their fifth time performing at the Minnesota Fringe (most recently in 2023), and they are so excited to be back! You can expect their shows to make you laugh, cry, and everything in between, with a touch of magic and strong female friendship. 

This year, we've decided to take a little spin on our show with different periods (of time) as our guideline, along with other audience suggestions.  

While we will be creating our stories within these periods, please do not come to this show expecting historical accuracy, as with most improv shows, you will be gravely disappointed.  

Magic and the fantastic tend to reign supreme with us, as well as the smashing of occasional patriarchies.  

We love having a blast and tend to follow the fun, and we truly love the audiences that come to the Minnesota Fringe!”

Looking forward to a truly random musical no one’s ever heard or seen before.

 

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 2024 - Returning Favorite - Blackout Improv

Blackout Improv Does Something!!!
Rogues Gallery Arts

Blackout Improv, Minnesota's premiere all Black performer improv group returns to the Fringe bringing guests and our renowned approach to comedy which mixes humor, and heart with a social Justice bent.

Venue: HUGE Improv Theater
Tagged For: Comedy, Improv, Puppetry
Content Warnings: Adult Language
Ages 12-15 and up

It’s Blackout Improv.  That’s kind of all I need to know.

They were #2 on my Top 10 list back in 2017 when they were last in the Fringe, and delivered the kind of 5-star Fringe experience I expected.

They make a better case than I can - here’s a pitch from the More Information tab on their show’s Fringe page:

“Blackout Improv is the Twin Cities premiere all-Black performer improv team. Its players have performed on stages all over the world but the group is based right out of the Twin Cities area. The troop was founded in 2015 and continues to grow and expand, currently containing 16 active members! Locally Blackout Improv has been involved in shows at HUGE Theater, The Phoenix Theater, Mixed Blood, The Guthrie, Strike Theater, Bryant Lake Bowl, the Ordway and so many more. We've run workshops in schools and with special groups. We strive to connect with our audiences in a way that promotes honest and inclusive dialogue and conversation. Our troupe consist of seasoned improvisers, teachers, actors, comedians, clowns, cartoonists, storytellers and so much more. You may spot our members on stages across town, on screen, or producing their own works across the creative industry.

It has been a while since Blackout Improv had a venue selling best run in the Minnesota Fringe Festival six years ago. Since then we have been performing all over, gracing stages from Amsterdam to the Ordway just a few weeks ago. We love connecting audiences to Black joy and social justice through our unique style and approach to comedy. Since a lot of what we do is improv its safe to assume that each one of our performances will be unique as we generate a performance for you spontaneously, in large part based on your suggestions. These shows will be especially different as every one of our performances will feature different games with a rotating cast and feature a separate Black twin cities artists as a guest. (More updates on special guests coming soon!) The things you can rely on are  that we will be funny, heartfelt, honest, and unapologetically  Black!!!”

And improvisor and director Duck Washington made a great pitch during Fringe Previews that last time around, which still holds:




If you’ve seen them in action before, I didn’t need to convince you to see them again with this post.

If you haven’t seen them, go.  Treat yourself.  You won’t regret it.

 

Here's some handy links to this year's Top 10 list and Top 11-20 list, also a full list of all returning favorites to this year's Fringe, plus a link to all the 2024 Minnesota Fringe Festival coverage.

While I have your attention, please VOTE :) 

Minnesota is currently in the early voting period for our Congressional and local primaries (I had the U.S. Senate, Congress, and the Minneapolis school board on my ballot) - final day to vote in the primary is Tuesday, August 13th, but you don't have to wait until Fringe is over, go vote right now :)

Early voting for the Presidential Election itself in Minnesota starts on Friday, September 20th. We're lucky to have a lot of time to get our voices heard, so cast your vote, and then make sure everyone you know and love is registered and gets to the polls to vote. Election Day, your final date to vote, is Tuesday, November 5th.

As a queer playwright and theater maker, I want a government that's compassionate and competent enough to keep us all safe and healthy, keep theaters open and running, and personally, I'd just like to be legal myself and keep the weirdos out of government and out of my personal business (and the things I post on this blog, for instance). We all have our reasons, so let's make sure we get the leaders we need and deserve, and get our friends, family and co-workers to raise their voices, too.

Find where to vote and what's on your ballot (with links to candidate websites) and other resources at the Minnesota Secretary of State's website.

For other resources on how to register, volunteer or donate, locally or nationally, check out Vote Save America.

Vote.  Raise your voice. We're not going back.

 

Fringe 2023 - Returning Favorites - Javier Morillo (minnerican productions)

[Update: Sadly, this artist dropped out of the festival in the closing weeks of July.]

patologia (or…fagology)

Duck in Spanish is pato-- but in Puerto Rican Spanish, pato means so much more. It is also the slang, derogatory term for gay. F*ggot. In these pato Puerto Rican stories Javier Morillo
(Weirdly that’s where the show description currently cuts out on the website - and there’s no other information on any of the tabs for the show page.  Hmmmm…)

Venue: Augsburg Studio
Tagged for: Storytelling
Content Warnings: Adult language, Sexual Content

Lack of information aside, I don’t really need much convincing to go listen to Javier Morillo tell stories.  He was a pre-Fringe Top 10 artist on this blog back in 2017, and one of the favorite shows Mom and I saw together that festival.  (Not sure why exactly I missed his show that followed in 2018, but I’m sad the scheduling didn’t work out.  It’s nice that he’s back so I can watch him spin a tale or two on stage again.)

This isn’t tagged for LGBTQ+ content or artists but it qualifies for both, and I like to get as much queer content as I’m able to at Fringe time, because there’s not a lot out there the rest of the theater calendar year.  One of the many reasons I appreciate the Fringe - it’s a place to tell stories that artists don’t get much of a chance to tell anywhere else.  So Javier’s storytelling should be on your list.
 

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 - The Shrieking Harpies

The Shrieking Harpies

The Shrieking Harpies are a musical improv trio featuring Lizzie Gardner, Taj Ruler, Hannah Wydeven, & with Justin Nellis on the keys. Our show blends musical genres into an improvised story!

Venue: Rarig Center Arena
Tagged for: Comedy, Improv, Musical Theater, Audience Participation
Content Warnings: Adult Language

When I think about The Shrieking Harpies as a different genre of improvisers, I’m reminded of that old quote assessing the talents of the dancer Ginger Rogers.  The dancing duo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made their mark in old movie musicals of the 1930s.  They both had long and varied careers in the movie business, together and separately, but as the man in the duo Fred Astaire got more than his share of the good press.  This led someone to remark that Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did - and she also did it backwards and in heels.

Yes, The Shrieking Harpies are another group of improvisers that take a suggestion from the audience and then spin that into an entire 45-minute comedy that didn’t exist before and will never exist again.  The added degree of difficulty here is the story is also a musical comedy.  Lizzie Gardner, Taj Ruler, and Hannah Wydeven don’t just create characters and situations, they create songs. Keyboardist Justin Nellis creates a soundtrack behind them to underpin the whole thing and then follows the musical instincts of the trio to meet them where they’re at and add something more.  As someone who can barely create music on a guitar when I have sheet music in front of me, my mind boggles at the idea of creating something like this out of thin air.  (Also, their improvised musicals are sometimes more entertaining than some of the other Fringe musicals that people write out and rehearse ahead of time.  They’re that good.)

Mom and I saw them in the Fringe back in 2017 (when they first landed on my pre-Fringe Top 20 list) and again when they returned in 2018.  We got a kick out of the show both times.  I missed them last year, but they’re back again this year so I’ve got another shot if I’m feeling in the need of a musical comedy fix.  I can rely on The Shrieking Harpies to deliver.

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 - Andrew Erskine Wheeler

Whoosh! The Civil War Mythology of Michael Hickey and His Perilous Precipitation Over St. Anthony Falls - Andrew Erskine Wheeler (Wheeler in the Sky)

An ‘Homerical Poem’ of memory, art and healing as Minnesota veterans of the Civil War return home.
From the creator of the 2019 Golden Lanyard Award-winning Booth’s Ghost
2022 MN Fringe Charlie Bethel Solo Artist’s Grant
Music by The Lost Forty
Directed by Allison Vincent

This is another one that I really don’t have to say much other than “Andrew Erskine Wheeler has created a new solo show,” and that’s all anyone needs to sign off on making it part of their schedule.  There aren’t a lot of details but I don’t need them.  For me, his name always first conjures up memories of that amazing Walking Shadow production of The Christians, which is what easily landed him on the pre-Fringe top 20 for me back in 2017.  But most folks in the Fringe orbit probably better remember him for the last time he did a solo show of his own creation, the last time we got to have a live Fringe before the pandemic.  Of his 2019 Fringe hit Booth’s ghost I wrote: “new (hell, ALL) actors and writers, take note; THIS is how you do it; how you create different characters with only one person, how you use and fill a space w/your voice and presence; how you tell a story - 5 stars.”  And I stand by all that.  Looking forward to seeing what Andrew has up his sleeve this time. 

 

(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 - The Shrieking Harpies

The Shrieking Harpies

The Shrieking Harpies are a musical improv trio featuring Lizzie Gardner, Taj Ruler, Hannah Wydeven, and with Justin Nellis on the keys. Our show blends musical genres into an improvised story, with a focus on feminism and friendship. No musical styling or genre is untouchable!

As someone who focuses (I will grant you) a little too obsessively on every peculiar wrinkle of the Fringe website when I’m doing my homework, I find humor in odd things sometimes.  For instance, that description above doesn’t fit on the Fringe website because it’s too long.  So, as I’m sure the Fringe site/publicity gurus probably warn all the artists, the description just gets cut off when it reaches the word limit.

So here, it suddenly ends with, “Our show blends musical genres into an improvised story, with a focus on…”

Yes?  A focus on what?  I don’t find that frustrating, I found it unintentionally very amusing.

And because the internet is full of information, I found their website, and what do you know?  There on the front page is their standard description of what they do, which is the same wording, only they don’t have a word limit on their own site, so they continue with…

“…a focus on feminism and friendship. No musical styling or genre is untouchable!”

Whoops, sorry feminism and friendship, you’re cut off!  And though “no musical styling or genre is untouchable,” apparently the standard synopsis is quite touchable and gets lopped off as well.  (See?  I do find amusement in the silliest minutiae sometimes.)

Mom and I really enjoyed the strangeness and inventive whimsy of a fully improvised musical both in 2017 (when they were on my pre-Fringe Top 20) and 2018 (her last two Fringes), so it will be nice to revisit this group again.  Improv comedy is already impressive when it’s done well.  Adding the musical degree of difficulty to the proceedings just makes it doubly impressive (and fun), when done well.  And The Shrieking Harpies do it very well.  You should check them out.

 

(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 - RE|dance Group

 

The Biggest Wail from the Bottom of My Heart – RE|dance group
 
This 8 dancer ensemble presents dance theatre with original text, athletic dancing and a series of powerful vignettes that reflect the urgency, need, and desire to reject ignorance and be a call to action.

RE|dance group was in my pre-Fringe Top 20 back in 2017, but if I’d known just how much both Mom and I were going to enjoy their 5-star show “It’s About Love Again This Year,” they would have ranked a lot higher on the list than I put them when I was just guessing and trying to establish some order in a random numbered list.

It was good to get another taste of their work on video in 2020 during the virtual Fringe (What Love Looks Like), but their ensemble dancing really needs to be experienced live so I’m really glad they’re back on a Fringe stage in Minneapolis again.  Last time they were in town, I said, “Dance this enjoyable to watch, and this emotionally available, is a rare thing, and very easy to love.”  I expect I’ll have similar feeling again this year, so I’m very much looking forward to The Biggest Wail From The Bottom of My Heart.

 

(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.)