Fringe Festival 2017: "Subpar Heroes"

Day: 7

Show: 28

Title: Subpar Heroes

Category: Comedy

By: Renegade Theater Company

Created by: Renegade Theater Company

Location: Southern Theater

Summary: A small town donut factory and its employees are forever changed when an evil woman buys it and fires them, and then a comet passes overhead, giving everyone sort of special powers.

Highlights: It's super fun to see my favorite Duluth theater peeps in Minneapolis in this super fun show! It's pretty standard fringe fare, but performed with flair by the terrific cast. Shortly after our gang (Andy Frye, Angie Martin, Carolyn Trapskin, Katy Helbacka, Zachary Stofer) is laid off from the donut factory, a comet passes over giving them all superpowers that are less than super, like levitating small objects, or seeing two seconds into the future, or making people sing and dance (which is actually a pretty awesome superpower). At the same time, the new owner of the factory (a gleefully maniacal Mary Fox) also gains a superpower, and for some reason decides to sprinkle ecstasy into the donut batter, making the town go crazy. The subpar heroes plot and plan to pool their limited resources to overthrow her, but can't quite make it happen. Still, they can sing about it (with delightfully fun original music by Andy Frye). Next time you're in Duluth visit Renegade Theater (they're doing the rarely produced Pasek and Paul musical Dogfight right now!), and listen to the Take It With You (live radio theater from Duluth!) to hear more silliness and music like this.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Assassins" by Renegade Theater Company at Teatro Zuccone

On Sunday morning of Labor Day weekend, I sat with a view of gorgeous Lake Superior (the closest thing Minnesota has to an ocean) on a perfect late summer day and started working on this blog post. Like most of the good things in my life, I have theater to thank for this view. Duluth's Renegade Theatre Company just opened their production of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins, and since I love Sondheim (what musical theater nerd doesn't), have never seen Assassins, and no Twin Cities theater company has done it in my recent memory, I decided it was  the perfect excuse to go to Duluth for the holiday weekend. Accompanied by my fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers Gina from The Room Where It Happens and Julie and Carol from Minnesota Theater Love, we hopped in my VW bug convertible (top down) for a beautiful drive that not even construction traffic could spoil. Staying at the lovely B&B Solglimt (just on the other side of the lift bridge, so within sight and walking distance of Canal Park but away from the craziness), seeing an excellent production of a Sondheim musical, having Brunch with Blake Thomas (one of my favorite Minnesota musicians), chatting about theater with friends, and eating lots of good food turned out to be a nearly perfect Labor Day weekend (almost as good as the five Labor Day weekends I spent at the best little music fest in Minnesota). Moral of the story: sometimes it's good to get out of the city and see more of our fair state, but you can also see some pretty great theater while you're there.

"Take It With You" at The Underground

There's something cool going on in Duluth. I mean, there are lots of cool things going on in Duluth; it's one of Minnesota's top tourist destinations, with the lake and the big ships and all. But specifically on the music-theater front, which is what brings joy to my heart, there is something new and cool going on. It's called Take It With You and it's live radio theater, recorded monthly at The Underground in Duluth's historic Depot, and available for free online listening. This scripted serial radio program hearkens back to the days when people used to gather around their radios to listen to music and stories about their favorite characters. Now we can gather around our computers to listen, or plug into a podcast, as we follow this quirky cast of characters on their monthly adventures. It's described as "Cheers meets A Prairie Home Companion meets Austin City Limits," but I encourage you to give it a listen and see for yourself just how charming and funny and silly and musically delicious it is.

In the first 60-minute episode of Take It With You, we meet Blake (voiced by one of my favorite musicians Blake Thomas, check out his gorgeous and heartbreaking albums on iTunes), the owner of a bar and music club in Duluth, eager new employee and aspiring musician Andy (Frye, of Yellow Tree Theatre fame), disgruntled actress-turned-waitress Mary (Fox, another fave from Yellow Tree and other local stages), and oddball regulars Rick (the hilarious mutli-voiced Ryan Nelson), Bill (Robert Lee), and Zach (Stofer), with other wacky characters played by Katy Helbacka and Andy Bennett. Whether it's a bachelorette party or a stint in the local jail, these loveably kooky characters work their way through some situation each episode, while hanging out, chatting, promoting local businesses, getting advice from too cool for school "Steve and Jamie" and theoretical physicist "Ask Brooks," and of course, playing music.

Each episode features a half dozen or so of Blake's original songs, covers, or standards. Friends, I would drive 300 miles to listen to Blake sing one of his original songs. OK maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but I'm telling you, he's the real deal. He writes clever, whimsical, poetic, simple yet profound lyrics, accompanied by haunting or driving melodies, and sings in an authentic country voice. Add to that Mary's lovely harmonies and the whole group joining in on such standards as "Sitting on Top of the World," and you have some of the best music I would ever want to listen to.

But don't take my word for it; you can listen to episodes 1 and 2 online right now, just an hour each so it's not even a huge time commitment. I had the great privilege of watching the live recording of episode 5 this week, and as much fun as it is to listen to this show, it's even more fun to watch it in person with a sold-out crowd, and see the love and energy and joy that the cast brings to this unique creation that's both modern and charmingly traditional. Listen to the podcasts, like their Facebook page, and if you happen to be in Duluth the third Tuesday of the month, go see it in person!

the Take It With You gang at The Underground