"Yarrrh! The Lusty, Busty Pirate Musical" and "Have Yarrrhself a Lusty, Busty Xmas!" by Fortune's Fool Theatre at The Hive Collaborative

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Fortune's Fool Theater is giving back by offering two shows completely free to their audiences! Father/daughter co-Artistic Director team Daniel and Ariel Pinkerton decided to not only remount their smash hit 2009 Minnesota Fringe show Yarrrh! The Lusty, Busty Pirate Musical, but to also create a brand new holiday* sequel Have Yarrrhself a Lusty, Busty Xmas!, both written by Daniel and starring Ariel. My first year attending the Fringe was 2011, so I did not see the original Yarrrh! The Lusty, Busty Pirate Musical, but that's the title of a Fringe hit if I've ever heard one! I found both shows to be really fun, clever, tongue in cheek, and chock full of pirate cliches and double entendres. They've got one weekend left of their three-weekend run, with both shows playing on Saturday, and the new show only playing Friday and Sunday. Head to The Hive Collaborative for some free pirate fun! (And check out all the other festive offerings at The Hive.)

"Analog and Vinyl" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at the Phoenix Theater

Minneapolis Musical Theatre's latest "rare musical, well done" is a sweet and quirky little piece called Analog and Vinyl, billed as a "hipster rom-com spin on Faust." It's a smaller musical than their 2022 offerings (Hands on a Hardbody staged in a car dealership, and the not-really-a-holiday-show Striking 12). Here the band (four) outnumbers the cast (three), and it's well-staged in the intimate space at the Phoenix Theater. In addition to the classic Faustian sell-your-soul-to-the-devil dilemma, the musical also delves deep into music history and obscure references (most of which this theater nerd probably did not catch). Chalk this one up as another rarely done musical that MMT dug up brought to life in a fun, earnest, entertaining way.