"Goodbye Cruel World" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

Theatre Pro Rata's Goodbye Cruel World closes today so if you haven't seen it already, I'm afraid you're out of luck. (Sorry about that, blame NYC.) But for the record, it's a fun and wacky ride ably driven by six actors playing multiple characters, often in the same scene. A modern adaptation of Russian playwright Nikolai Erdman's The Suicide, which was banned by the government and not produced until after his death, it's a farcical look at a man down on his luck who offhandedly wonders if he would be better off dead, only to be taken seriously by his wife, neighbors, and eventually the whole town. Everyone from the church to the intelligentsia, a post man to an artist, wants Semyon to promote their cause in his suicide note. His neighbor decides to turn it into a lottery, but in the end Semyon realizes he doesn't want to die, much to everyone's disappointment. Read on for some highlights of the show.

Fringe Festival 2016: "Circus McGurkus"

Day: 7

Show: 32

Title: Circus McGurkus

Category: Dance

By: Mike's Brass

Choreographed by: Erinn Liebhard

Location: U of M Barker Center for Dance

Summary: Dr. Seuss' If I Ran the Circus, told through music, clowning, acrobatics, and dance.

Highlights: Circus McGurkus is a delight for children of all ages, even us grown-up children. Andrew Chambers reads excepts from the book about a fantastical circus, while the dancers and musicians interpret the words through movement and music. The brass quintet Mike's Brass plays a variety of circus-sounding songs (with a little Lady Gaga thrown in as an encore). Dancers Lori Ledoux, Derek Meyer, Rachael Schlee, and Sydney Swanson perform playful and charming dances with wonder and joy (choreographed by Erinn Liebhard), and acrobats Michelle de Joya and Brandon Wharton perform some thrilling Circque du Soleil-style acrobatics. It's great fun to watch Dr. Seuss' silly words and creations come to life before your eyes in such imaginative and joyful ways.