Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: Wrap-Up and Favorites

The wonderful theatrical whirlwind that is the Minnesota Fringe Festival is over for another year, and I'm left with great memories of friends, fun, and theater, and also not a little exhaustion (I took an afternoon nap yesterday and then slept nine hours last night). I never cease to be amazed, impressed, and moved by the incredible talent in this festival, both local and touring artists. This year I saw 39 Fringe shows in 10 days, but technically I saw 42 shows within the 11 days of the festival, because I took the first day off to drive to Duluth and see Zeitgeist Theater's incredibly immersive and intimate production of my favorite musical RENT, and I took a few afternoons off to see a NEXT new works reading at Theater Latte Da and Artistry's fabulous production of the beloved classic Singin' in the Rain (continuing through August 31). But other than that, I saw a show in every timeslot that I could (not counting 10pm shows because #morningperson). And I did not see a bad show, in fact the majority of the shows I saw were excellent. Which makes narrowing my list of favorites down from 39 to something less than half of that a nearly impossible task. So here's a list of some (but not all) of the shows I loved at Minnesota Fringe this year. But Fringe is never really over; they continue activities and programming year-round, so be sure to follow them on social media and sign up for their email list (if you're not already). And most of the artists and companies in this festival do work all year round, so if you saw someone or something you really loved, check out what else they're doing this season. The 2025 Minnesota Fringe Festival is over, but #TCTheater never ends!

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Boxcutter Harmonica"

Day: 10

Show: 35

Title: Boxcutter Harmonica

Category: Mystery / Solo Show / Spoken Word / Storytelling

By: Paper Soul

Written by: J Merrill Motz

Location: Barker Center

Summary: A couple of historical detectives dig into mysteries surrounding artists in early 20th century New Orleans and Renaissance Italy.

Highlights: Since the Fringe is over, I'll spoil the joke that is at the crux of the show. This is not a two-hander starring #TCTheater artist J Merrill Motz and traveling fringe artist Martin Dockery. It's a solo show by Motz (rhymes with boats) in which he plays a version of himself playing a detective waiting for a version of Dockery who is supposed to play the other character in the show. But spoiler alert - he doesn't show. Motz, as Detective Black, continues on with the show, occasionally receiving texts and calls, and growing increasingly more frustrated. But the tale he's spinning, now on his own, is fascinating and more complex than I can relate here. Suffice it to say the detective tells stories about two pairs of artists, one in the shadow of the other. One part of each pair is tempted to make a deal with the devil in order to become a better and more famous artist, and their different decisions affect their lives. But by the end of the show we realize we're actually talking about three pairs of artists, as "Motz" has an existential artistic crisis of his own, and perhaps takes a third road. It's a very smartly written show, with a compelling performance by Motz and great use of props, including writing words on a large sketchpad and laying each sheet on the floor to form a literal crossroads. This show is an epic experience encompassing so many things, for which Motz received a staff pick Golden Lanyard Award for his unique use of tech and turning tropes on their head.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

"Three Sisters / No Sisters" by Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

I love seeing plays in rep, with a company of actors performing multiple plays in rotation over a period of time. It's especially satisfying when the plays are related (e.g., the Guthrie's epic History Plays last year). But Theatre Pro Rata is taking repertory theater one step further into something called simultaneous theater. Not only are they doing two shows in rep, they're being performed simultaneously! With the same cast! In the same building! On the stage of the Crane Theater, the funny and tragic and very human world of Chekhov's Three Sisters is playing out, while at the same time in the lobby of the theater, Aaron Posner's No Sisters is unfurling with the characters who are not on stage. After seeing the first one I reported that Theatre Pro Rata's Three Sisters as a stand-alone piece is an excellent production of a classic play that feels modern and relevant and relatable. A few days later I saw No Sisters and found it to be a delightful companion piece - similar in theme but very absurd and meta, giving us more insight into the minor characters. Note that the audience space in the lobby is limited, so if you want to see both plays you should get those tickets now (and yes you do have to go back on another day to see it), but if you can only see one, Three Sisters is an entirely satisfying experience on its own (although it may leave you wondering about the string of expletives coming from the lobby).

"Lincoln's Children" by Fortune's Fool Theatre at the Crane Theater Studio

'Tis the season for political plays. First, the inspiring story of Texas governor Ann Richards, reminding us that the government works for us and we need to hold them accountable. Next, Fortune's Fool Theatre's world premiere production of Lincoln's Children, historical fiction about arguably our greatest president (but not without flaws), reminding us that we need to be constantly vigilant in the ongoing fight for justice and equality that Lincoln (and countless others) gave his life for. It's a well-written play (that would be a great 90-minute-no-intermission show, if not for the intermission) that ties history to the present, well executed by Fortune's Fool in the intimate space of the Crane studio theater. They've only got a handful of performances left, so get your tickets soon (because "intimate space" means sellouts!).

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2023: "Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream"

Day: 9

Show: 31

Title: Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream

Category: CLOWNING / COMEDY / PHYSICAL THEATER / STORYTELLING / HISTORICAL CONTENT / LITERARY ADAPTATION / SHAKESPEARIAN ELEMENTS

By: Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre

Created by: Timothy Mooney

Location: Rarig Thrust

Summary: Just what it sounds like - 6 actors perform Shakespeare's most popular comedy in an hour or less.

Highlights: I've seen traveling Fringe artist Timothy Mooney a couple of times before, and typically he performs an entire Shakespeare play in an hour playing all of the characters himself. This time he's brought in 5 additional actors (Schmoo Cutlip, Cindy Sherden, and local artists Alison Anderson, Peter Buckholtz, and J Merrill Motz) to help with the feat of portraying some 20 characters in this normally 2-3 hour story. As usual, Timothy's adaptation gets right to the heart of the story, includes all of the well-known lines (e.g., "Lord ,what fools these mortals be"), and leaves me wondering what was cut out because the story seems so complete and thoroughly, if quickly, told (and makes me think Shakespeare should always be an hour long). The playful and energetic cast is all dressed in black (except for Cindy as Puck who missed the memo, and instead wears a cute Tinkerbell costume as the impish Puck), and dons a vest or crown or epaulettes to signify a character change. At times they're changing characters within a scene, quickly stepping behind one of the half dozen or so trees that make up the forest. Part of the fun is watching them scurry from one character to the next. If you need a traditional but quick Shakespeare fix at the Fringe, there's no better place to get it than Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Fringe Festival 2017: "Knifeslingin'"

Day: 9

Show: 37

Title: Knifeslingin'

Category: Comedy

By: The Theatre Cosmic

Written by: J. Merrill Motz

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: The creator of a series of videos and books about self-defense, Ted "Critter" Montana, is put on trial for inciting violence among his fans and followers.

Highlights: This wacky and funny show switches back and forth between the Critter videos, in which he instructs on the six rules of a proper knife fight, and the trial. The assistant district attorney (played by a rotating series of guest actors, Michael Terrell Brown the night I saw the show) questions Critter about his videos, life, and philosophy. Which in the end seems to be commenting on the "stand your ground" law. But the video excerpts are the highlight of the show; this is my first time seeing a J. Merrill Motz show and he's very consistent and detailed in his portrayal of the crazy ball of energy that is Critter. I particularly enjoyed the long lists of various knife grips or stances, and his repetitive redundancy (which elicited such laughter from the crowd that the show used up every last second of the 60 minutes of allotted time).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.