Last Thursday was the start of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, an 11-day mega-event featuring over 100 one-hour-long theater productions on stages including the Rarig Center, Open Eye, Mixed Blood, and Strike Theater.
It’s physically impossible to see every show, but I was determined to take in as many as possible before exhaustion set in. My method: Each day I selected a theater and plunked down for a few hours, taking notes, drinking water between shows, and making theater friends along the way. I am cultured now, and I have reviews of 14 shows to share.
Anyway, the following is a handy guide to what I saw. Hopefully it will help you find a few of the fest’s many gems. Happy fringing!
Day 1: Thursday at Theatre in the Round and Southern Theater
By: Big Blue Theater
Elevator Pitch: Shakespeare! But, also: Batman.
A Midsummer’s Night Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most accessible plays; ‘60s-era Batman is one of the easiest shows to spoof (it’s mostly there already). What happens when you combine the two? You get something like A Dark Gotham’s Knight Dream. As DC baddies plot to win the $1 million prize at Gotham’s talent show, the Scarecrow and Poison Ivy prefer to create mayhem by drugging Robin and Batgirl.
Does hilarity ensue? Not quite, though bits here are certainly smile-worthy. The script borrows heavily from the Bard’s language without quite matching the wit and wackiness of the original (an admittedly high bar). Before the show, Commissioner Gordon will gift you with two wadded-up paper balls—aka “super fun balls”—that you are directed to throw at the cast whenever the mood should strike you. That’s a smart move, as they definitely served as boredom breakers for the kids in the audience at the show I attended, and it was cute to watch the actors react to and play off of them.
There’s a charming, homemade feel here. Batman and Catwoman rock cosplay-on-a-budget pleather getups while the Penguin dons a tuxedo coat with Nike shorts. Clayface is just a guy in an orange morph suit.
Verdict: If you’re into Batman or Shakespeare or throwing stuff at strangers, you’ll probably dig this fine.
By: Octoberdandy Productions
Elevator Pitch: A 50-something woman drinks a pot of coffee and tells us about her zany, woeful, joyful life.
OK, I can’t say for sure whether Jen Scott downed any coffee before the show, but she definitely has a caffeinated vibe. So much so that I was a little worried during the first few minutes of her one-woman show. But once things settle down a bit we get a bunch of really sweet stuff. Scott revisits a life well-lived—her own—regaling us with rapid-fire tales of world travel, falling for a deaf French guy, and motherhood, which she describes as leaving her “moist, like in Alien.” There are stories of squirrels, ornery monkeys, and a cow who loves being scratched on its back end like a golden retriever. There are also some tragedies, but whose life isn’t without ‘em? All of this is accented with folksy song breaks via Scott and her ukulele. “Ukuleles annoy fascists!” she exclaims at one point. “And probably everyone else.”
Verdict: A cute, feel-good show. Go see it.
By: Twin Cities Trapeze
Elevator Pitch: Let’s tap-dance the shit out of the Southern!
That’s right: While trapeze is in the title, this is much more of a dance and tumbling joint—nothing wrong with that. We have teens dressed as rodents frantically tapping to “How Much Wood Can a Wood Chuck Chuck?,” grownups gently practicing ballet, and simple-but-effective dances using bean bags and scarves. And there’s an adorable cowgirl who balances on a three-legged chair all while making flirty eyes with the audience.
And yes, there is trapeze, with the whole gang assembling to set up the rig while dancing, tumbling, and tapping away. Then 12-year-old artist Malia L finally takes to the contraption, climbing, twisting, and posing with skill; soon she’s joined by Trapeze Center founder Katie Kimball. If I had tried any of those moves I’d have ended up dead in less than five minutes.
Verdict: This show has big dance recital vibes (complimentary) with the audience hootin’ and hollering throughout. It’s gonna hit for the dance folks out there.
Day 2: Friday at the Rarig Center
By: The Other Productions
Elevator Pitch: A group of trans/nonbinary/gender-fluid drag queens prep for a show that will end in tragedy.
At the beginning of Bangs!, a queen gives us a primer on drag etiquette as well as a heads up that there will be a death by shooting, letting us know that the “bang” of the show title will be blessedly replaced with a rooster’s cock-a-doodle-dooing. Then another queen comes out in a thong suit and gets to twerking.
But wait a second, we’ve got a plot! This show follows five gals, gays, and, possibly, some theys prepping in the dressing room of a drag bar before a show. One queen is leaving town soon, another is entering a new king era, and another has to scramble for boobs because she left her breastplate at home. All the queens are sweet and sassy (and maybe mildly sour), and play off each other well, though on opening night there were dialogue stumbles. A little more practice rattling off lines would help things feel a more natural and conversational. (I did love all the Mayor Frey shit-talking—just speak up a little!)
The show really comes alive when the actors enter familiar territory, performing sets to Patti LaBelle or Boyz II Men. And when the Other Jeannie Retelle takes the stage for a creepy, slowed down rendition of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang,” it’s truly a haunting moment.
But Bangs! feels rushed after the nightclub shooting. We get a brief debate on whether or not to leave the dressing room, a queen confirms their friend is dead, and then we get a time jump where people are back to cracking wise again. At the end of the production, Retelle, who authored the play, explains that she wanted to keep things focused on how humor heals trauma and celebrating queer resiliency. That’s awesome, but it feels abrupt—and maybe even a little bit callous—to see the queens barely register that their friend was publicly murdered.
Verdict: This play could greatly benefit from a little more polish and a second hour that allows the queens to react to and process what happened—and humor can be a part of that.
By: an alleged Theatre Company
Elevator Pitch: A college prof tries to make Death of a Salesman appeal to the TikTok gen.
Dr. Duke Didier (Jeremy Motz), a pretentious college professor who looks and sounds a lot like Orson Welles, employs his students (plus a carny from Baltimore) to help him adapt Death of a Salesman in a manner that will speak to his tween nephew, Braedyn.
It does not go well. But that’s part of the fun. Each of his students gives it a go at attempting to capture the attention of Braedyn, who sits in the audience on his iPhone for the entire show. The actor playing Willy Loman (J. McIntyre Godwin) tries to merge his character with Superman. Standup wannabe Biff Loman (Laura Berger) turns the play into a roast. Linda Loman (Sarah Halverson) just throws a bunch of TikToks and live feeds on the walls while talking in slang. Happy (Steph Callaghan), a fast-talking Baltimore car slinger turned carny, is just glad to be here.
You don’t have to know a thing about Death of a Salesman to enjoy this play. Heck, you don’t even have to like Death of a Salesman to enjoy this play. This is pure sketch comedy through and through.
Verdict: See! This is a delightful romp.
the statue of liberty is nora in a doll's house by henrik ibsen
By: SUPERMOON
Elevator Pitch: I mean, it’s right there in the title.
I was delighted, stressed, and, at times, straight-up terrified watching Mads Plonski play Ibsen’s Nora. At first, she talks like an airhead influencer, playing with dolls like a child. Eventually she’s pulled back to reality over the consequences of committing bank fraud to save her husband, Torvald. Somehow this production manages to effortlessly shift from comedy to drama to horror to body horror as Nora goes from complacent housewife to a terrified, freedom-seeking statue.
This is a physically demanding part from start to finish. As the theater doors open, Plonski stands on an illuminated platform posed as the Statue of Liberty for a good 20 minutes while folks take their seats. She dances with sprightly charm, she sings a Lana Del Rey song, she develops rigor mortis. The set design and lighting add to the eeriness; the stage remains dark save for Liberty’s torch (here a stage lamp), blinding lights from a door frame, and onscreen projections. It’s a strangely beautiful work, haunting in its uncanniness and slightly out of step familiarity.
Verdict: See! See! See! When I saw this show on Friday night the audience rose for a standing ovation—the only one I saw at the fest. What a weirdly wonderful production.
Magical Athlete: Stadium Showdown
By: Sugar Throw Theatre
Elevator Pitch: A live-action, interactive board game narrated like a sports match.
The shenanigans of Magical Athlete begin the second you enter the Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre, as the four competitors are angling for the tickets you were handed at the door. You get to bet on who you think will win the most races at the end of the hour. Should they draw your ticket at the end of the night, you win the board game that this show is based on. Neato!
The stage is a boardgame, and four color-coded players attempt to race from start to finish while picking up points and using special character perks determined by cards selected by audience members at the start of the game. One impressively energetic clown onstage tosses giant dice to determine each move while the other strums an acoustic guitar and reminds us that we’re gonna "race three times and whoever gets the most points wins." There’s an ump to reign in the pandemonium while two dudes provide Sunday Night Football-style color commentary.
No, you didn’t forget to take your Adderall, this is the show. Is it ultimately an ad for a product you can buy on Amazon? Yeah, definitely. But I grew up in the ‘80s, a time when everything in life was somehow an ad for a plastic toy, so I didn’t mind. Especially since it’s a 22-year-old board game that people clearly enjoy.
Verdict: Hell yeah, this is a goofy good time.
Day 3: Saturday at Strike Theater
By: Mike Fotis Productions
Elevator Pitch: Watch the cast and crew of a (mildly) messy Fringe play prep for the show.
Holy wow, this show was super sold out on Saturday. But if you gotta spend an hour packed in like sardines, at least you’ll be entertained.
Tech is a semi-improvised show following the rehearsal for a hilariously cheesy romcom of a play. Along the way there are technical mishaps from Sergio, a friendly Russian who overuses the “breaking glass” sound. There are crushes developing behind the scenes, actors who want to add ridiculous elements to their characters, and a director who seems more amused than stressed when things go off the rails (hey, that’s showbiz!).
Everyone here has a great rapport and they bounce jokes off each other with ease—a few people I spoke with after the show said they had no idea so much of the piece was ad-libbed, which is quite a feat. In the end, this is a really sweet piece about the ridiculous mess of pulling a show together, but at least everyone is having a great time.
Verdict: A must-see!
By: Maximum Verbosity
Elevator Pitch: An historian’s account of 18th century America is solemnly read aloud, supplemented by cursed AI art projections.
In this one-man show, playwright, slam poet, trained mime, and libertarian activist phillip andrew bennett low reads aloud the writings of 18th century historian David Ramsay, a physician who witnessed and recounted many of the major events surrounding the American Revolution. On the show I attended on Saturday, low read aloud letters and writings concerning pre-rebellion incidents, including bloody run-ins with the British army and the Boston Tea Party. (Each program features a different collection of Ramsay’s writings.)
Unfortunately, this is not a case of history coming alive onstage. Writings are read, verbatim, while AI-generated images play in the background. This makes for a really dry presentation of a really interesting moment in time—we’ve got civil unrest, public hangings, and horribly racist accounts of slave life—but it’s really hard to engage with the material when it feels less like a performance and more like text-to-speech.
Verdict: Skip.
Improvised Love Is Blind–Minnesota Fringe Edition
By: DallaDanna Productions
Elevator Pitch: A group of improv performers speed-run a season of Love Is Blind.
I’m a big hater of the Minnesota season of Love Is Blind. Such a big hater, in fact, that I miserably recapped the entire season. So I felt like this show was mandatory viewing for me.
For the uninitiated: Love Is Blind is a reality show where cast members go on dates in rooms where they talk through a wall but can’t see each other. In order to get out of these literal blind dates, you must propose marriage. Once you find your match, you then get to go on a vacation together before returning home with your betrothed, where friends, families, and the realities of life tear whatever trauma-bond connection was made in isolation to shreds. Still, most contestants don't end things until they walk down the aisle on their wedding day. Romance!
So yeah, as you can probably imagine this shit works really well as a framework for an improv show. Each night is a little different, but just like the series the sad possibilities and bad combinations are endless.
Verdict: Do you like improv? Are you improv-curious? Then this is going to be a good time.
By: Jason Schommer
Elevator Pitch: A Gen Xer shares funny moments growing up in small-town Minnesota.
The ’80s were such a gross, ugly decade. People were drinking Tab, yuppies were “cool,” and everyone was trying to render their hair immovable with hairspray. Comedian Jason Schommer was there, and here he tells a series of tales about growing up in Little Falls in a chaotic family that had (and still has) a lotta love.
Along the way we meet his mom, a divorcée trying to keep her three kids in line, even though she herself sometimes strayed from the path, including a midnight trip to the Dells that ended in rehab. There’s his father, whose temper became comically explosive while trying to give up smoking on a road trip. And his hairspray-loving younger sister and kid brother, whom he describes as “an agent of chaos.”
Ultimately this is a sweet story that manages to avoid saccharine artificiality. Unlike Tab.
Verdict: A good time, but it might be best for ’70s and ’80s kids.
Day 4: Sunday Back at Rarig
Foshay! You Know The Tower - Now Hear The Story
By: Trompe l’Oeil
Elevator Pitch: Learn the tale of Wilbur Foshay via musical theater!
Meet Wilbur Foshay, a utilities magnate who lost it all when the stock market crash exposed his dubious business dealings. This is a man who wanted to build a structure—a 100% union-made skyscraper!—that was basically “the Washington Monument, but with windows.” And he did, to much fanfare, only to default on his loans and end up in jail for misleading mailers that overinflated the worth of his companies. Hmm, sounds familiar!
But this is not a tragedy. Foshay! recounts the true story as a scrappy musical full of sunny potential, featuring the excellent Landon Hudson and Elisheva Scheuer as Wilbur and his wife, Leota Hutchinson Fox. We’ve got songs poking fun at American industry, the blind optimism of fast-talking rich people, and a funny bit about the seriousness of mail fraud. This is a high-energy, compact tale of an American who dreamed big and fell hard.
Verdict: See!
I Will Become The Silver Surfer. I Will Protect You.
By: Jake Mierva
Elevator Pitch: An hour-long psychotic episode.
This show starts off running, literally, as Mierva sprints down the aisle, takes the stage, and proclaims that he’s going to save us from the evil space demon Galactus by becoming the Silver Surfer. He does this by stripping down to a silver Speedo and telling the audience his life story while applying silver body paint. While much of the audience laughed early on, some of us seemed to immediately recognise that this is a play about a manic episode, a panicked psychosis fueled by both low self-esteem and delusions of grandeur.
It’s intense stuff. Along the way he shares memories of neglectful parents, of death, and getting dumped, all while attempting to make sense of it all by blaming a Marvel villain who he believes is testing him. Mental breaks are terrifying, and while this one hints that it could end in suicide, instead we get a bit of redemption, even if it’s all in our heads.
Verdict: This is a well acted, well written piece, and I found it engaging. But it’s also going to be super triggering for some people. Proceed with caution.
A Confluence of Magical Arseholes
By: The Winding Sheet Outfit
Elevator Pitch:
“You may be wondering what the fuck is going on,” narrator/director Amber Bjork interjects midway through an occult ceremony that involves singing, sword-waving, and dancing. We sure were! But we also didn’t need any answers, because this work is hilarious. It tells the story of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society funded by a wealthy dilettante. Its members included Irish poet W. B. Yeats (a fantastic Mark Benzel) and noted occultist Aleister Crowley (an amazing Michael Rogers).
This short play is more about Monty Python vibes and less about history (though you may learn something along the way, too). Instead we get A+ one-liners (“Secrets make us safe!”), lots of actors “Irishing it up,” and tons of super raunchy language (“‘Cunt’ hits different here in the States, guys!” Bjork warns the cast at one point).
Rogers is hilarious as Crowley, a cape and AC/DC-shirt wearing asshole who occasionally shows up to do magic, dick-punch people, and then run from the stage, Naruto-style. But this is an ensemble cast, and everyone is excellent. There are songs, there are wizard fights, and you’ll even get a taste of Crowley’s real poetry, crude stuff about dicks and shit that literally sounds like something Beavis and Butthead would come up with.
Verdict: Damn, that was fecking awesome.
