"Fruit Flies Like a Banana" by the Fourth Wall Ensemble at the Southern Theater

Oh happy day - my favorite traveling fringe show is in town, and it's not even fringe season! With all fringe festivals cancelled (or virtual) in 2020, and limited in 2021, the Boston-based Fourth Wall Ensemble is embarking on a mini-tour of their own. And since they love Minnesota (or that's what they tell us, and we believe them), the Southern Theater in Minnesota is one of their stops. But hurry, they're only here for one more show - tonight! If you've never seen them before, now is your chance to see multi-disciplinary artists do what I have literally never seen anyone else do. This trio of classically trained instrumentalists performs short pieces of music combined with storytelling, theater, dance, movement, acrobatics, and just generally wildly creative silliness. It's a guaranteed hour (or so) of pure joy and wonder. And who doesn't need that right now?! Click here to purchase tickets for tonight's 6:30pm show (great for kids and morning people struggling with the recent time change).

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Fruit Flies & Friends"

Day: 1

Show: 1

Title: Fruit Flies & Friends

By: The Fourth Wall Ensemble

Performance Type: Virtual

Location: Streaming Anytime

Length: 60 minutes

Summary: The team behind the national Fringe hit Fruit Flies Like a Banana collaborates with their equally talented friends to create a collection of short pieces combining classical music, movement, and theater.

Highlights: I never miss a chance to see the Massachusetts-based company The Fourth Wall Ensemble, even if it's a virtual show a year and a half into the virtual theater world that's growing a bit tedious. This ensemble of flute (Hilary Abigana), trombone (C. Neil Parsons), and percussion (Greg Jukes) mixes classical music, acrobatics, theater, poetry, boomwhackers, and other unexpected things in such an innovative way that it's irresistible. While they have recently returned to live performance, this format allows them to safely create and collaborate with each other and with friends and colleagues from the Fringe scene, many of whom will be familiar to Minnesota Fringe audiences. This show is a collection of short pieces, mostly in the now familiar zoom box style, featuring all instrumentals or with vocals, sometimes accompanied by dance or movement, or spoken word, or imagery. It's a wonderfully eclectic mix with that familiar Fruit Flies magic but incorporating some new energy too. 

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2020: "Fruit Flies Like a Banana: Virtual Style"

Location: Nightly Fringe (Aug. 8)

Length: 60 minutes

Title: Fruit Flies Like a Banana: Virtual Style

By:  The Fourth Wall

Summary: A zoom version of the Fringe hit (and one of my all-time faves).

Highlights: Boston-based music/movement/theater trio The Fourth Wall has been a regular at the Minnesota Fringe Festival (and others) for the last several years. I see them any chance I can (see also the recording of their delightful new show Fallen from the Toy Box in the Digital Hub), because I've never seen anyone do what they do - play instruments beautifully while doing all sorts of crazy stuff. This live zoom show was a bit different, but still lots of fun. The zoom audience chose the order of the pieces (as live audiences often do), some recorded from past performances, some newly recorded, some solo live pieces (they're quarantining in different places). And as always, they featured other Fringe artists in some of the pieces. This is another example of artists making the best of the less than ideal situation we find ourselves in, and I can't wait to see them live in person again!

Read all of my Nightly Fringe mini-reviews here.

Read all of my Digital Hub mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2020: "Fallen from the Toy Box"

Location: Digital Hub (available anytime)

Length: 60 minutes

Title: Fallen from the Toy Box

By: The Fourth Wall

Summary: Three classically trained musicians perform songs on their instruments, combined with movement and stories of childhood.

Highlights: Boston-based The Fourth Wall is one of my all-time Fringe favorites. I saw a variation of their show Fruit Flies Like a Banana four years in a row, and I will watch them perform anywhere and any way I can. Even a streaming video on my tablet. Truth be told, I often have a hard time staying engaged watching streaming or recorded theater, but that is not a problem here. Fallen from the Toy Box (recorded last year at IndyFringe) is a thoroughly engaging 60 minutes that fly by. This show is the same general concept as Fruit Flies - classical or modern compositions performed by that classic trio of flute (Hilary Abigana), trombone (C. Neil Parsons), and various percussive instruments (Greg Jukes), all while performing movement/dance/acrobatics. But this show has a theme of childhood, invoking a feeling of nostalgia. The three performers take turns telling sweet, funny, poignant stories from their childhood to tie the pieces together. Some of the pieces I've seen before in previous shows, some were new to me, and all are creative, innovative, surprising, and delightful. Highlights include the performers recreating drawings from children, Hilary playing the flute while dancing on pointe, and the always thrilling boomwhacker piece. Fallen from the Toy Box is a must-see of the Virtual Fringe, and also mark your calendar for their live show on August 8. I have no idea how they're going to do what they do live and virtual during a pandemic, but I can't wait to find out.

Read all of my Nightly Fringe mini-reviews here.

Read all of my Digital Hub mini-reviews here.

Minneosta Fringe Festival 2018 - Family Fringe: "Fruit Flies Like a Banana"

Day: 9

Show: 31

Title: Fruit Flies Like a Banana

Category: Comedy / Dance / Original Music

By: The Fourth Wall

Written by: The Fourth Wall

Location: Celtic Junction

Summary: Three classically trained musicians (flute, trombone, and percussion) perform a series of short pieces accompanied by movement, dance, acrobatics, theater, and poetry.

Highlights: This is the fourth year in a row that I've seen The Fourth Wall perform at the Fringe, and I never tire of watching their unique and delightful music/theater/dance/comedy/acrobatic performance! This year they're part of Family Fringe, a curated festival of six shows held at Celtic Junction in St. Paul, so the show is slightly tweaked for the younger set, but it's fun for all ages. C. Neil Parsons on bass trombone, Greg Jukes on percussion (mostly vibraphone), and Hilary Abigana on flute combine their talents both musical and otherwise to create a show that is unlike anything I've seen before. They perform short pieces both classical and contemporary, some composed specifically for them. But they don't just play the music. They play the music while on hover-boards, or dancing the tango, or chasing each other around, or hanging upside down. Their creativity and innovation are as amazing as their musicianship, and they really engage the kids by letting them pick the order of the shows and occasionally inviting them up on stage to help out. They have just one performance left - today at 1:30. Whether you're fringing or not it's more than worth a visit to St. Paul's Midway neighborhood and the $10 ticket. Time flies like an arrow, and fruit flies like a banana!


Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Fringe Festival 2017: "Fruit Flies Like a Banana: WORLD TOUR"

Day: 6

Show: 23

Title: Fruit Flies Like a Banana: WORLD TOUR

Category: Something Different

By: The Fourth Wall

Created by: The Fourth Wall

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: Three classically trained musicians perform short pieces of classical music combined with unique movement, dance, and acrobatics.

Highlights: The Fourth Wall Ensemble, aka C. Neil Parsons (trombone), Greg Jukes (vibraphone and other percussion), and Hilary Abigana (flute), is back at the Minnesota Fringe Festival for the third year in a row. Every year it's the same basic premise - a series of short songs performed with inventive movement. This year the performances are structured around a "world tour" theme, with 14 pieces inspired by various places around the world or written by residents of these places. This trio is so creative (and they use the in-the-round space really well), I have literally never seen anyone do what they do, and that alone is reason to see them and why we need fringe festivals. But it's also an extremely fun and entertaining show that flies by (proving their theme - "time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana"), while also educating and exposing the audience to various composers and music styles past and present. The pieces are arranged in random order chosen by the audience, and the Antarctica piece was the perfect finale when I saw the show; it's truly beautiful and haunting with some awesome movement on curved boat-like structures. Indescribable. I played the clarinet in high school and let's face it - the band kids are the nerds in the strict social structure that is high school. But these cats make playing instruments cool. My favorite fringe moments are those "how do they even think of doing that?!" kind of moments, and this show is chock full of them. Whether you've never seen Fruit Flies Like a Banana, or seen it dozens of times, this show is always a must see!

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Fringe Festival 2016: "Fruit Flies Like a Banana: Alphabetical Disorder"

Day: 11

Show: 52

Title: Fruit Flies Like a Banana: Alphabetical Disorder

Category: Something Different

By: The Fourth Wall

Created by: The Fourth Wall

Location: U of M Rarig Center Thrust

Summary: Three classically trained musicians perform short pieces corresponding to the letters of the alphabet, incorporating dance and movement. 

Highlights: The Fringe festival is a great place to see something you've never seen before. And I've never seen anyone do what Boston's Hilary Abigana, C. Neil Parsons, and Greg Jukes, aka The Fourth Wall, do. Other than last year, when I first saw their show Fruit Flies Like a Banana. They're back this year with some new pieces and a new order - audience members randomly shout out letters corresponding to the different pieces. But no matter how many times I see them do what they do, I'm still amazed and delighted by it and wonder - how did they ever think of doing this? Not only do they play classical and popular music selections on flute, bass trombone, and percussion (a unique combination of instruments), but they also incorporate movement (and other weird instruments like a toy piano and boomwhackers). Hanging upside down, twirling around, lifting each other up in the air, or pulling each other around on chairs or the wheeled vibraphone, they entertain the crowd young and old with their unique antics. This trio is fun and playful with the crowd, and as traveling artists it's wonderful to see them be so involved in and supportive of other artists, encouraging every artist in the audience to plug their show as one of the acts in the show, not just tacked on at the end. If they're back next year (and I hope they are) go see people do something you've never seen anyone do before.

Fringe Festival 2015: "Fruit Flies Like a Banana"

Day: 7

Show: 30

Title: Fruit Flies Like a Banana

Category: Something Different

By: The Fourth Wall

Created by: The Fourth Wall

Location: Minneapolis Theatre Garage

Summary: Three classically trained musicians perform 22 pieces that involve music, comedy, and movement, in random order.

Highlights: Have you ever watched three people tango while playing instruments? Or heard Mozart performed with plastic tubes? I have (and you can too if you can get tickets to their final show tonight). Out-of-towners Hilary Abigana (flute), C. Neil Parsons (Trobone), and Greg Jukes (vibraphone and other percussive instruments) are so clever and innovative in addition to being musically talented. As if performing 22 short pieces in an hour (with time visibly ticking down) isn't hard enough, they let the audience choose the order by picking cards with names like "Toy Piano Man," "How Not to Bow," and "Ginger Minus Fred." Most pieces feature music by classical composers arranged for new instruments and performed with some sort of movement. Most impressive is Hilary, with the core strength and breath control that allows her to play the flute while flying like superman, jumping rope, and hanging upside down. This show is so playful, fast, and fun, you might not realize you're also getting an education about classical composers. In this totally unique Fringe experience, time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. Look what people can do!