"Family Dinner" at the Dudley Riggs Theatre

After the tragic closure of HUGE Theater this fall, only a year after opening their new space in Uptown, a bunch of improv shows needed to find new homes. Some of them organized as The Neighborhood, performing monthly at Jungle Theater just a few blocks away. Some of them moved to Strike Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, some of them found or created other spaces. Happily, my all-time favorite improv show Family Dinner has found a new home at Dudley Riggs Theatre where Brave New Workshop (the oldest comedy troupe in the country) performs, operated by Hennepin Arts. With just eight shows performed to sold out houses, hopefully Family Dinner will be back at its new home on Hennepin Avenue for years to come, so that we can experience this communal Family Dinner that's both absurd and grounded in reality, both laugh-out-loud funny and heart-warming, as we get to know a new and uniquely wacky family each time. There are two remaining performances this year, but if you want to go you should get your tickets now before they sell out (I have some friends who waited too long and missed out on the fun). For real, click this link and buy your tickets now, I'll wait here.

Blackout Presents: Juneteenth at the Ordway

This week I attended my first celebration of Juneteenth National Independance Day, a holiday long celebrated but only recently made a federal holiday, commemorating the end of slavery in the US. And I can think of no better way to celebrate than with Blackout Improv. Blackout has been performing at various venues around town since 2015, and was the first Black improv troupe in Minneapolis. There are more now, many of which perform at the annual Black and Funny Improv Festival which they started, bringing in BIPOC improv performers from all over the country (and Canada!) to perform at HUGE Theater. I've seen Blackout perform a number of times over the years, and they're always "funny, smart, relevant, and topical" (as I wrote one of the first times I saw them). This was the biggest venue in which I've ever seen them perform, the Ordway's gorgeous Concert Hall, and it was a thrill to see them in front of a large and supportive audience in what felt like a usual Blackout show, but also elevated and special.

Black and Funny Improv Festival at HUGE Theater

The 8th Annual Black and Funny Improv Festival is running this weekend only! I attended the first night and saw four improv groups perform. Not only was it a fun night of laughter (which is the norm at HUGE Theater), but it was a wonderful celebration of Black artists, Black comedy, and Black joy. The festival stresses that "Black people are centered, all are welcome," and it truly felt like that. As a White person, I felt not only welcome, but also privileged to experience and be part of this wonderful community. Laughter is healing and uniting, it builds community and companionship, it makes us forget any perceived differences we think exist between us and others. So head on down to HUGE Theater in Uptown to see some great improv by local, national, and international performers, and/or partake in comedy workshops. You can purchase tickets and find more information about the performers and workshops at the Black and Funny website. And to learn a little more about the festival, listen to our interview with festival co-directors John Gebretatose and Jada Pulley on the Twin Cities Theater Chat podcast.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2023: "Yes No Maybe (please explain)"

Day: 10

Show: 36

Title: Yes No Maybe (please explain)

Category: COMEDY / DRAMA / ORIGINAL MUSIC / PHYSICAL THEATER

By: Sandbox Theatre

Created by: Sandbox Theatre

Location: Rarig Thrust

Summary:  A now 41-year-old woman looks back on her high school years in the mid to late '90s through the many notes she received.

Highlights: Kristina Fjellman shares what I believe are her actual notes from high school, which she stuffed between the mattresses on her bed and were later found by her mother. It's done in a clever and meta way; she's brought on stage when the playful and enthusiastic ensemble (Chasya Hill, Charlie Henrikson, Jada Pulley, Megan Campbell Lagas, and Scobie Bathie) point a camcorder at her sitting in the front row. They proceed to ask her questions and throw letters at her (posing as the Ambers inside her head) until she reads from some, the camcorder giving us a close-up of the intracies of folding and doodles in the notes, hundreds of which are piled up on stage like a snowbank. She read letters from her friends as well as a boyfriend, referred to as M, who loved her a little more than she loved him. The use of music as underscoring, original songs sung by the ensemble (including a tribute to everything '90s), and the camcorder which is always on and displayed on the back wall, sometimes pointed at scenes acted out by tiny toy figures, is all very inventive and charming. It's a sweet, playful, nostalgic show.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.