Fringe 2026 - Returning Favorites - Trompe L’Oeil - Foshay! You Know The Tower – Now Hear The Story

[Because I’m a completionist, or at least am often plagued with completionist tendencies, and because the shows don’t start for another five hours yet but my Fringe vacation has already begun - at least day job-wise - and I have some time, let’s knock out these last three artists who were on previous pre-Fringe Top 20 lists and have returned again for this year’s festival.  Starting with the one I just saw a preview for last night…]

Foshay!  You Know The Tower – Now Hear The Story

Description: 
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.
Venue - Rarig Thrust
Content Warnings - None
Genre and Content - Drama, Musical Theater, Original Music, Historical Content
Ages 12 to 15 and Up

The press packet materials offer a bit more context to those of us who aren’t up on our Minneapolis/Foshay history:

“Wilbur B. Foshay was the poster child for the twenties and thirties. During the Roaring Twenties, he capitalized on a decade’s long bull-run stock market to catapult himself to lofty financial heights. At the opening of the Foshay Tower in 1929, he was at the apex of his career. Fate, however, and the Great Depression had other plans for him. When his company filed for bankruptcy, he learned his troubles were just beginning. At the lowest point in his life, Wilbur gained strength to turn his life around, and discovered by losing everything he thought was important, he was able to find himself.”

According to the Minnesota Historical Society, Foshay had a three-day grand opening celebration when his tower was completed, and then only two months later the stock market crashed.  There’s not just one but two court trials, plus some jail time before Wilbur and his partner in business (crime?) are later freed by one president and later pardoned by another.

So it’s a rags to riches and back to rags story.  

According to the More Information tab on their show page:

“For the 2026 season, we will be remounting Foshay! in a 60-minute Minnesota Fringe Festival format. The show will present 19 of the original 31 songs first featured in the 2023 World Premiere full-length production.”

If each of those songs is a minute long, that’s a third of the run time.  If they’re each three minutes long, that IS the run time.

So expected a lot of music and singing and dancing.

They’ve told the story once before in its expanded version, so they’ve had some time to fine-tune it in front of audiences, and also they probably know best how to shave the whole thing down to fit in the Fringe.

The preview was pretty impressive. The two leads, or at least the central couple of Wilbur and Leota (Landon Hudson and Elisheva Scheuer), have big, professionally trained voices.  Hudson in particular was belting his heart out, which is good, because the preview venue is also where they’re going to be performing and Rarig Thrust is a big space to fill with your voice.  The song was clever and the lyrics were fun (not always true in a Fringe musical, so that was most welcome).

Your mileage may vary in terms of how much you relate to the protagonist being a guy who got rich buying up utility companies that other people still ran for him.  But even in this one scene, it’s clear the musical is trying to get you to empathize with the guy, and he’s hardly the first problematic “hero” of a musical.

I do have to hand it to the folks of Trompe L’Oeil - they’re constantly pushing themselves to create new plays and musicals, often with a basis in historical fact, and get them up on their feet on stage for people to see whenever the Fringe lottery ping pong balls roll their way (with an uninterrupted streak between 2013 and 2019, and then again every year since 2024). They use the Fringe as the platform it was designed to be, an incubator for new works of theater.

 

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 2026 - Returning Favorites - Tyler West - Small Minded

Back in 2018, when Tyler West’s traveling mime show “Abeyance” landed on my pre-Fringe Top 20 list at #13, we were only his third Fringe appearance, about which I wrote:

“Tyler West's combination of mime, comedy, self-generated live sound FX, and interaction with audience members on and off stage is a delight - 5 stars”

But that was a whole pandemic and two ancient presidents ago so, it’s been a minute, and I was very happy to see he was returning with a new show, Small Minded.

The Minnesota Fringe website being a living, breathing, evolving organism throughout the month of July, the first time I culled information on the show, its description said this:

“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!”

When I went back to double check and see if more information had been posted, I found this new description:

“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.”

Both these descriptions are part of the press packet for the show, so it seems OK to post them both.  More context is always helpful.

Small Minded
Created by Tyler West
Directed by Cleo DeOrio
Venue - Southern Theater
Content Warnings - Adult Language 
Genre and Content - Clowning, Magic, Solo Show, Comedy, Physical Theater, Audience Participation, Storytelling, Shakespearian Elements
Ages 12 to 15 and Up

There’s not a lot else on the show’s Fringe website page, but there is a video trailer:



And Tyler has a YouTube page with other samples of his work to watch.

Also, I noticed that back in the day an anonymous poster actually took the time to post a comment on my pre-Fringe blog post on Tyler’s show “Abeyance” to share:

“Fun fact: Minnesota is only Tyler's third fringe, but at his second, San Diego, Tyler won one of the two cultural exchanges that SD Fringe has with other festivals. As as result, he has been offered a slot at Sydney Fringe. (Full disclosure: I am the logistics coordinator for San Diego and I'm a house manager at MinnFringe.)”

It’s weird to find a post on a blog entry that isn’t spam, and also pretty cool that Tyler’s show inspired someone to share more information.  I shouldn’t be surprised, really.  It was a fun show.

And I expect no less from this one.

So if Tyler’s last show was before your time, or you missed him back in 2018, now’s your chance.  I feel very safe in promising you will be entertained.  Small Minded is on my schedule so perhaps I’ll see you there.  

In fact, if you want to start your Fringe on a fun note, Tyler’s show is the first slot, 5:30pm, on the first day of the festival, Thursday 8/6. Can’t go wrong with that.  Trust me. (And it’s a Bring a Friend to Fringe (BFF) performance, too, so you can buy a ticket and get an extra for free to bring someone with you.) 

UPDATE - Here's their 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.  

 

  

Fringe 2025 - Returning Favorites - Jim Stowell (Dogdog-Beardog) - Ranger Jim

Jim Stowell landed in my pre-Fringe Top 20 back in 2018 on the strength of all the past work I’d seen him do as a storyteller, first as a stage manager who had to watch him tell the same story night after night and yet somehow never got bored.  I’ve followed his work since shifting my theater roles to being a playwright and theater blogger and thoroughly enjoyed his last 5-star Fringe outing.  Looking forward to another hour of compelling stories both light and dark.  (His bio is epic if you need more convincing :)

Ranger Jim
Dogdog-Beardog
Jim Stowell
Venue: Rarig Arena
 
Show Description:
Jim worked 16 seasons as a Park Ranger in three National Parks. He takes you to different places than most National Park stories. Stories of going eye to eye with an eagle, the out-of-nowhere event of man dying in Jim's arms, and living and working in a lighthouse on an island in Lake Superior.  Comedy, death and magic in our National Parks.

Jim has been onstage somewhere in the Twin Cities or the state of Minnesota for the last 57 years. Starting as an actor in 1968 to performing a one-man play at the age of 82 in Minneapolis in 2025.
 
Genre & Content: Drama
Warnings: Adult Language

 

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 - Michael Rogers - That Which Is Green

Having just a few weeks ago seen Michael Rogers’ latest one-man acting/writing tour de force Berlin To Rugen over at the Phoenix Theater, my mind boggles that he also had the time to write and rehearse a whole other production for the Fringe this year as well (even if he isn’t entirely alone this time and has Alex Van Loh to share the acting duties).  Needless to say, after the big step forward that Berlin to Rugen was (and that’s saying a lot, considering how great Fringe 2024’s As Above, So Below was), I’m fascinated to see what’s next from Rogers.

That Which Is Green
Michael Rogers
Venue: Southern Theatre
 
Show Description:
Two friends reunite hiking to a great and holy tree deep in the woods, but arrive to find it withering. As they confront its looming demise, they must face what the tree and their friendship ever meant to them.
 
That Which Is Green is a new emotional roller coaster from award-winning writer/director Michael Rogers (2024 MN Fringe Artist's Pick and Best Drama award from What the Fringe!?) Inspired by the silly sincerity of "Over the Garden Wall" and the downfall of societal pillars we all count on, That Which is Green is about two friends coming to terms with a changing world, the chaos in their own lives, and the lies we tell each other to preserve some sort of safety amidst it all.
 
Genre & Content: Comedy, Drama, Religious Content, Political Content, LGBTQIA+ Content
Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor, Mental Illness, Violence
 
Michael Rogers’ output is oftentimes daunting to me, struggling as I am some days to get my playwriting legs to be a bit less wobbly under me, but I’m grateful for the example, the entertainment, and the ample food for thought.  It’s the kind of new play creation I go to the Fringe for every year. 

 

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 - Jamie Brickhouse

I Favor My Daddy: A Tale of Two Sissies
Jamie Brickhouse

A gay, alcoholic son uncovers the truth about his martini and bikini loving conservative father in this darkly comic, intimate, enthralling show that shines new meaning on the old question: "Who’s your daddy?"

Venue: Open Eye Theatre
Tagged For: Comedy, Drama, Solo Show, Storytelling, LGBTQIA+ Content
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor
Ages 18 and up

You don’t need me to tell you to go see Jamie Brickhouse’s new Fringe show - just listen to what playwright and drag legend Charles Busch said (yes, Psycho Beach Party, Die Mommie Die, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, that Charles Busch):

“[I Favor My Daddy] scores on so many levels: funny, touching, honest, insightful and most of all a wonderful entertainment.”

Also, Jamie has compiled some of the best one-liners from the show in a video trailer (I think my favorite turn of phrase is “nervous as a sodomite whore in church, which I am”)



If you need more convincing, it’s already won awards at the New York International Fringe Festival, San Francisco Fringe Festival and the FRIGID Festival New York, and has a slew of other complimentary quotes from reviews far and wide listed as well.

Jamie is also nice enough to quote me talking about his last Fringe show here, 2018’s Dangerous When Wet: Booze, Sex, and My Mother -

“Jamie Brickhouse weaves a tale you couldn't tell just anybody’s mother, but my Mom and I both liked it a lot; Brickhouse spares neither his mother nor himself but it’s a hell of a story.”

This is posted right under another glowing quote from John Townsend in Lavender Magazine, which was sort of a one-two punch for me because, well, the last time Jamie was here in the Twin Cities, both my Mom and John Townsend were still alive.  Weird six year gap, with a pandemic in the middle of it, which didn’t kill either of them, just hundreds of thousands of others.  (Morbid turn, apologies.)

All of which is more proof I need a good, reliable, queer hour of laughter more than usual these days, so it’s a good thing Jamie has a new show in town.

Also, check out Jamie’s website if you want to see the bottom half of the image he had photographed for his publicity.  Apparently it only fits well in portrait, not banner mode.

My work here is done.

Go see the show.  I’m planning to.

 

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 2024 - Returning Favorite - Michael Rogers

Unsurprisingly, this one’s a double feature (because it seems like everyone and their sister is doing multiple Fringe shows this year)

The Life Robotic
Playabunga Productions - John Hilsen

A robot yearns to live a normal human life... BUT it can only say what the audience texts in on their phones. Hilarity ensues as the crowd drives the action and story, all from the comfort of their own seat.

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Tagged For: Comedy, Improv, Original Music, Audience Participation
Content Warnings: Adult Language
Ages 7-11 and up

AND

As Above, So Below
Michael Rogers

A reflection on solitude and silence. As Above, So Below is a solo show that plunges into the soul's dark waters, the truth we find within its depths, and the light that we hope waits above the surface.

From Michael Rogers, Minnesota Fringe Golden Lanyard winner and helmer of Developers (MN Fringe 2022), Chorus (MN Fringe 2019), and Now We See It (MN Fringe 2018) comes a deep dive into the soul's dark waters and his first-ever solo show.

Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance
Tagged For: Drama, Physical Theater, Solo Show, Storytelling
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Abuse/Physical Violence, Drug Content, Loud Noises, Mental Illness, Suicidal Ideation/Self-Harm
Ages 18 and up only

There’s very little to go on with the solo show “As Above, So Below” - other than it’s the first solo show from Michael Rogers, but that alone makes it worth watching.

His bio there includes the line, “On stage, he plays through a smile and veers into the abstract, the sincere, and the absurd” - which is as precise a summary of his style as anything I could come up with.

In any given year, the Fringe is lousy with solo shows, many of which can turn out to be lousy.  I feel fairly safe in betting that this will be one of the good ones, so I’m looking forward to seeing it.

As for “The Life Robotic,” that lives that the complete opposite end of Michael Rogers’ performance spectrum as the solo show - it’s improv, it’s comedy, and his face is covered in silver makeup because he’s a robot.  They have, however, been perfecting this improv concept in performances since at least 2019, as far as I can tell.  It’s a tricky construct but they’ve clearly learned how to make it work.

They showed as much in the Fringe preview where creator/director John Hilsen held up the phone number they use and talked the audience through the suggestion by text process.  Hilsen guided the preview crowd by offering up categories of situations, like work, a singles bar, the rollercoaster of ups and downs in love - and the crowd offered dialogue that led us from a job at the bread factory to a romantic plea to some geese by the end.  Rogers as the robot could only speak things if the audience texted him material.

This is a variation on things I’ve seen before. During the pandemic, we got an online version of #txtshow offered to us in the virtual Fringe in Minnesota, but that was originally a stage show with a live in-person audience texting the performer what he would say next. I marveled at it then, I marvel at it here.

Rogers isn’t solo in “The Life Robotic,” however, he’s got backup from other improvisors who I’m assuming are not bound by the text limitation for their dialogue, though I’m sure they, too, are riffing off that material.  The cast includes Laura Berger (also in One Tree HELL, from another returning favorite, Wet Splat Productions) and Rita Boersma (also in the previously mentioned show "The Camp Out" from returning favorite Mike Fotis), along with several others.

There’s a character named Dr. Tinkler, which proves that in some sense, I still have the mind of a child, because I find that funny without knowing anything else about it.

While the audience isn’t required to text, the website for this show concept does make a strong case for this making improv more accessible to the full audience - not just the person being the loudest a**hole shouting random directions over the more soft-spoken among us (which is a pretty standard situation at improv shows).  I appreciate the attempt to allow anyone with good texting fingers to be able to change the direction of the show, and to encourage less screaming and chaos.

I saw it work for three minutes with no other human backup for Rogers as the robot.  The full cast very likely helps this random concept work even better.  They've got a clip of the group attacking the format on the Life Robotic website:

Either way you go with Michael Rogers, you’ll get a good show.  Which is why I’m going to try and fit both onto my schedule.

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 2024 - Returning Favorite - Denzel Belin Presents

First weird Fringe thing, I've been asked to do a cameo.  Well, more of an interview, I guess.

My friend Denzel Belin asked me to sit in as a guest for the final performance of Minnesota Tonight at this year's Fringe on Sunday, August 11th at 1pm - so that's how I'll be starting my last day of Fringing this year. (Normally I figure out my first day of Fringing and don't start scheduling the end until sometime in the middle of the festival, but we're switching things up this year.)

Minnesota Tonight, for Fringe purposes, is being titled as a countdown "5 Episodes of Minnesota Tonight; 4 Minnesota Fring3, it’s Minnesota 2Night’s 1st Time at Minnesota Fringe."  So you'll find it at the front of the show listings because it's got a number at the front of the title.

Minnesota Tonight brings music, comedy, sketch, interviews, games and more to the table! Highlighting and celebrating Minnesota and the talent and excellence that is here, there are five unique shows to see!

Venue: Mixed Blood
Tagged For: Comedy, Improv, Audience Participation, LGBTQIA+ Content
Content Warnings: Adult Language, Crude Humor (oh good, I can swear)

In Denzel's request for me to be a guest he described the show as follows:

“I had a fantastic and successful time reviving the show on my birthday, April 1st, and I am incredibly excited to bring five unique episodes to the Fringe Festival. I would describe Minnesota Tonight as a late night style show that brings stand up, sketch comedy, interviews, music and more to audiences all under the umbrella of highlighting and celebrating Minnesota and the people and things it has to offer…

In the style of a late night show, I will be doing interviews with special guests. Because this will be a part of the Fringe Festival, I will be curating my interview slot as “Fringe Favorites”. This is where you come in. I would love to interview you during this slot. There will be no “gotcha” questions and there will be a chance to promote your own projects or projects you are passionate about. During the interview, our comedy friends from SmartMouth Comedy may chime in or I may ask them hypothetical questions based on the interview. These are to add joy and fun for the interview overall and in no shape or form geared to attack the guest… It would be roughly a 10 minute segment.”

Since my goddaughter Ursula’s 15th birthday was also April 1st, I missed out on seeing Denzel’s relaunch of Minnesota Tonight.  I was out in Montana visiting her and the family instead.  This seems like a handy way to catch up on what I missed.

And I’m going to try and see it opening day of the Fringe at 10pm as well (when it’s actually Minnesota Tonight and not Minnesota This Afternoon, when I’ll be guesting on it :) just so I have a better idea of the format and what I’m getting myself into.  SmartMouth Comedy also has a show of their own in the Fringe: In Our Sketch Era - in case I want to do some additional homework (still figuring out the schedule, as I always am this time of year).

So, that’ll be a different way to kick off my last day of Fringing for the season.  Come see me then, or just see Minnesota Tonight anytime during the festival that fits your schedule.  Denzel always puts on a good show.

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 - Mason Tyer (Six Elements Theatre)

Kill B: The Epilogue

"Kill B: The Epilogue,” a satirical sequel to Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" duology, focuses on generational trauma, the manipulation of men, and the desire to be known and loved.

Venue: Augsburg MainStage
Tagged for: Drama, Physical Theater, LGBTQIA+ Content
Content Warnings: Adult language, Abuse/Physical Violence, Loud Noises, Gun/Weapon Usage, Mental Illness, Violence

Don’t ask me how, squeamish as I normally am, I managed to sit through both parts of the original “Kill Bill” epic.  So much violence, so much blood, so much killing.  But it also had a weird sense of style and sense of humor so I guess that’s what dragged me through the whole thing.  Also, I was younger.  We won’t dwell on how much younger, it’s on IMDB, you can look it up.

Given that there’s an LGBTQIA+ Content tag on this one, I’m assuming this means that playwright Merit Burgett’s take on the material will engage me in ways I wouldn’t normally expect a "Kill Bill" homage to do.

Mostly I’m interested because Mason Tyer and Six Elements Theater are involved.  Mason and the other theater he works with, Red Dice Collective) were on the pre-Fringe Top 20 list here in 2018 for their show Cyrano On The Moon, which was so enchanting I saw it twice (which I rarely do with Fringe shows). Mason was back doing fight choreography for a show in last year’s Fringe as well.  

Back in my theater reviewing days with the Twin Cities Daily Planet, I saw and enjoyed a couple of Six Elements Theatre productions, including a Shakespeare and a low (as in phillip andrew bennett low of Maximum Verbosity, who’s also back again this year, more on him shortly).

One of Six Elements’ annual offerings pre-pandemic was Human Combat Chess.  Stage combat has always been a bit part of their artistic mission, so "Kill B" in their hands promises to be quite an entertaining Fringe show.

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 - Avi Aharoni (Chucklesworth Productions)

Pearl and Eugene: One Last Shtick

Once, Pearl and Eugene were a dynamic musical duo. They had big-time stage careers and throngs of fans. Now, they live in a Jewish retirement home and have no one to visit them. When a developer threatens to take their home away, they decide to perform one more time to raise money and save it. Can they overcome the drama that split up their old act? Will old secrets be revealed? Will the actors get tired of eating tapioca pudding? Find out!

Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Tagged for: Comedy, Drama, Musical Theater, Original Music
Content Warnings: Adult language

Once again, a very different kind of show from familiar names teaming up.  Robert Dorfman directed Avi Aharoni’s 2019 Fringe solo show “Operation Immigration” (which went on to be remounted at Six Points Theater (formerly Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company). Now this time Dorfman is on stage opposite Nancy Marvy, and they and local playwright/actor Robb Krueger contributed to the story crafted into a final script written by Aharoni and Donald C. Hart. And, like any good vaudeville act, it’s got musical numbers, with original music from Kruegger, who also contributed the lyrics alongside Aharoni.  Phew.

This time it’s a fictional rather than an autobiographical tale, plus the song and dance.

Will I find lonely, washed up, elderly stage actors trying to save their endangered nursing home from being torn down depressing? I might.  I guess we’ll see how good the songs and jokes are.

Given the talents of the people involved, though, I’m feeling pretty good about it.  Only one way to know for sure, and that’s to go.

I was sorry that Avi’s potential 2022 Fringe show didn’t end up materializing.  I was very much looking forward to seeing what came next from him.  Now it looks like we’re about to find out. 

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 - Goof Goof

101 Goofin’ Things

Liv and Phil of Goof Goof perform 101 goofin' tasks, randomized for your pleasure. A show where even the performers aren't sure what's going to happen next. It's egg-xactly what you're looking for.

Venue: Theatre In The Round
Tagged for: Comedy, Physical Theater, Audience Participation
Content Warnings: Loud Noises

Rounding out this first cluster of related Fringe shows with favorite artists from years past returning again for 2023’s Fringe is Goof Goof.  This pre-Fringe Top 10 returnee is of a more recent vintage (#7 in 2018).  Denzel Belin, who this year is involved with The Resilient Child and Fortune’s Fool Theatre, back in 2018 was teamed up with Goof Goof for their show that year.  Liv Augusta Amrami was in a completely different short play of mine back in 2014 and she’s great at comedy, so I’m always on the lookout for whatever she might be up to at Fringe time.  If you need a laugh, put this one your list.

UPDATE 8/3: Goof Goof did a Fringe preview (complete with mad scientists) on Fringe Eve, the night before the festival began:

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 - Mason Tyer and Andrew Rosdail

Peace Retreat – New Endeavors - Andy Rakerd

Marital woes + armed assassins = a lousy vacation. Secrets are revealed and tension builds to a violent conclusion in this dark comedy from the producers of The Buttslasher, and Love and Persuasion.

Neil Gaiman’s “The Wedding Present” - Lampstand of the Covenant Productions - Brian Farrey-Latz

Newlyweds Gordon and Bryce receive a mysterious wedding gift: a written description of their married lives that tells the story of a different Gordon and Bryce, living parallel and tragic lives...

Here’s a good example of why it’s helpful to post a listing of the cast and crew of your Fringe show, even if it’s just a list of names and you don’t have anything fancy like character names or bios to go with them.  I’m more likely to put something on my schedule if I know someone involved with the show.  If I don’t know a friend is doing a Fringe show, that extra incentive isn’t there.  For instance, back in 2018, two actors named Andrew Rosdail and Mason Tyer workshopped a scene from a script of mine for a new play showcase.  Thereafter Mason was the driver behind a weird but charming little Fringe show that same year called “Cyrano On The Moon” - it was on my pre-Fringe Top 20 list and I liked it so much I went to see it twice.  This year Andrew Rosdail is in the cast of Neil Gaiman’s “The Wedding Present” and directed a second Fringe show, Peace Retreat.  And the fight choreographer for Peace Retreat is… Mason Tyer.  See how that works?  Small world.

I was already leaning in the direction of The Wedding Present because it was in the LGBTQ+ content group of shows for this year’s Fringe.  Though I like the idea of a gay twist on a story that was originally written as straight, I was a little concerned about whether or not the writer/director had permission to do such a thing.  But their preview cleared that up:




And if I was in the mood for a hostage situation, the preview for Peace Retreat definitely filled that quota for the evening at Fringe previews:

 

(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 - Michael Rogers

Developers - Michael Rogers

Creature Comfort Games, the renowned video game studio led by icon "Elvis" Trask, is disgraced upon the release of its latest game, "Raw Rob". Gutted, three developers go rogue to craft their first indie game. 

Not a lot of information other than that description and a cast list for this year’s show, but it’s Michael Rogers, so I’m in.  There’s a reason he was #1 on my pre-Fringe Top 10 list back in 2018.  I admired his great work with Sheep Theater, and figured if he was striking out on his own to create more work, it was bound to be good, too.  And I wasn’t disappointed.  The clever and inventive staging of the 5-star "Now You See It" (2018) had a demon pursuing a man into his own past to help his teenage self find a way to face the actual horror of childhood trauma.  2019’s Chorus was a non-musical full of music, trying to strike a balance between dialogue and song in the ensemble story of a touring vocal group.  This year it’s a story of video game programmers?  Sure, why not?  If Michael Rogers and company are back on stage with Developers, I’m back in the audience.

Addendum: they recently had a Fringe preview:

 

 

(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 - Avi Aharoni

A Play On Words – Wandering Jew Productions (Avi Aharoni)

A one-man show exploring the art of expressive spoken word.

Avi Aharoni was one half of a two-person play Mom and I really loved back in 2018, “Summers In Prague” (which was on my pre-Fringe Top 20 that year and delivered beyond all expectations).  Then in 2019, Avi wrote and performed his own popular solo show about his late father, “Operation: Immigration.”  At the time I described it as “fascinating personal work from a ridiculously charismatic actor” - if only we all could be ridiculously charismatic, but it would probably be exhausting.  And now that the Fringe is back on live stages again, Avi is, too.  Precious little detail on what exactly the show is about, other than the description above, but I’m super curious.  Also, Avi did a wonderful job on a reading of my play “Spellbound” for Threshold Theater last summer, so I want to support his writing in return.  Side note: there’s an understudy, and it’s Neal Skoy (a pre-Fringe Top 5 entry from back in 2016 for his painfully hilarious show The Disillusionist), so regardless of scheduling conflicts or new strains of COVID-19, they’re making sure the show goes on.

 

(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 - Denzel Belin

He-Man Is The Devil & Other Satanic Panic Tales - created and performed by Kyle B. Dekker, directed by Denzel Belin

Evangelical Christians and the general public were afraid of and went to war with a ton of things in the 1980s. What happens if you are a kid and some of those things are the books, games, and movies you love?

Kyle B. Dekker is back for this third Fringe go-round, specializing in his “high concept - low brow” brand of entertainment.  It’s his first solo show, and he’s enlisted the directing talents of my pal (and pre-Fringe Top 10 artist from 2018) Denzel Belin.  Denzel’s directed plays of mine before, and we’re currently collaborating on developing new work from LGBTQ+ playwrights at Threshold Theater company.  So of course I’m seeing what he’s up to in the Fringe as well.

 

(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.)