"High Fidelity" by Minneapolis Musical Theatre at Electric Fetus

High Fidelity, the Broadway flop musical adaptation of the 2000 film (it ran for 32 performances only), is the perfect choice for Minneapolis Musical Theatre, whose motto is "Rare musicals. Well done." They have a knack for bringing out the best in a show and staging it in a way that works. So they're staging High Fidelity, which mostly takes place in a record store, in an actual record store! And an iconic Minneapolis record store at that - Electric Fetus. Maybe this show didn't/wouldn't play well in a traditional theater space, but in this intimate site-specific space that makes you feel like you're part of the story, it's a unique theatrical thrill. With a fantastic and hard-working 14-person cast, a rockin' band, and great use of the space, it's a sure-fire hit. With only six more performances and limited space, act fast so as not to miss out on the fun! (Click here for more info and tickets here.)

Fringe Festival 2017: "The Buttslasher"

Day: 4

Show: 14

Title: The Buttslasher

Category: Comedy

By: New Endeavors

Written by: Andy Rakerd

Location: Ritz Theater Studio

Summary: A noir crime thriller set in modern day Stillwater in which the main mystery to solve is that of serial butt-slasher.

Highlights: With a feeling of Garrison Keillor's Guy Noir, The Buttslasher combines that noir film feeling with comedy and local flavor. It seems to be set in the current time but some of the characters are straight out of the '40s, particularly our reluctant hero Detective Heck Bills, perfectly portrayed by Glen L. Dawson as he delivers monologues filled with world-weariness and regrets, particularly those involving his former partner Heart (Varghese Alexander) and former love Jo (Dorothy Owen) proprietor of the local establishment. Heck is faced with his toughest case yet in the tough town of Stillwater when a masked man begins slashing people in the rear (leading to lots of funny and groan-worthy butt/ass/cheek puns). Chief Karen Bently (Joy Rakerd), who takes no crap from anyone, least of all Heck, assigns Heck a new partner - the young brash Eric Balls (David Wasserman). Heck's daughter (Stanzi Schalter) also gets involved with the investigation, and with Balls. With great performances by the entire cast and clever writing by Andy Rakerd, The Buttslasher is perfectly fringey and cheeky fun (sorry, I couldn't resist!).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Company" by Shoot the Glass Theater at New Century Theatre

"Company! Lots of company! Years of company! Love is company! Company!" So ends my favorite Stephen Sondheim musical, the 1970 multiple Tony winner Company. A new theater company in town called Shoot the Glass Theater has kindly chosen to do this, my favorite Sondheim, on this, my birthday weekend, as just their second show as a company. They're presenting a fairly simple staging and a fairly straight-forward and traditional production at the New Century Theatre, with a talented young cast, some new to me, some familiar. I was thrilled to begin my birthday celebration with Bobby and his crazy married friends. If you're a Sondheim fan, act fast, because they're only doing six shows (discount tickets available on Goldstar).

"The Drowsy Chaperone" by Mounds View Community Theater at Irondale High School

Despite premiering on Broadway only ten years ago, The Drowsy Chaperone feels like a classic old-fashioned Broadway musical, and is in fact a celebration of the classic old-fashioned musical and the people who love it. My local community theater, Mounds View Community Theater, has chosen it for their summer production this year, and that choice has paid off. It's a charming show with a show-within-a-show format that allows for fun silly numbers and also commentary on the musical form, which is a perfect choice for community theater. Because who loves musicals more than community theaters, a group of people who volunteer their time to put together a show for their community because it's something they love to do and share? That joy and enthusiasm comes through in this well-cast and well-designed show.