Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Clown Funeral"

Day: 9

Show: 28

Title: Clown Funeral

Category: Clowning / Comedy / Improv / Original Music / Physical Theater / Audience participation

By: Octoberdandy Productions

Created by: Jen Scott, Levi Weinhagen, Chris Rodriguez, Mark Benzel

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: Like the title says, it's a funeral for a clown.

Highlights: You've never attended a funeral this fun. These four clowns - Jen Scott as pastor clown Mads, Levi Weinhagen as lawyer clown Affa David, Chris Rodriguez as silent clown Pablo, and Mark Benzel as sweet clown Mo - lead us through the funeral for their friend Bongo J. Sprinkles, and it's a delight. We're given a program, with parts to sing, and the structure includes the usual funereal things like reading of the will, sharing of memories, songs, and readings. There's even a coffin (built before our eyes) and a body. But it's all super silly, very playful, and somewhat improvised. The cast is very playful with each other and with the audience (in a non-threatening way), with lots of (old) pop culture references and double entendres. And if you need your Reverend Matt fix at this year's Fringe, this is the place to get it, as the good Reverend (aka Matthew Kessen) makes a brief appearance in a banana costume to talk about the funeral practices of ancient civilizations. After a lot of goofing around, when sweet sensitive Mo finally gets to pay tribute to his friend with a lovely little song, it's surprisingly poignant. This is a very funny show about a very serious thing - death - that somehow makes it less scary.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

"Red and the Mother Wild" by Transatlantic Love Affair and Illusion Theater at Center for the Performing Arts

This spring, Transatlantic Love Affair is back at Illusion Theater, the artistic partner of this Minnesota Fringe-born physical theater company for a decade and a half. TLA typically debuts new original pieces at Fringe, and then in the next year or two continues to develop and expand the show into a 75-ish minute piece produced by and staged at Illusion. This year, they're remounting/revisiting their 2011 Fringe hit Red Resurrected, which I first saw in 2013 in the expanded Illusion Theater version. Retitled Red and the Mother Wild and with some additional content/themes added, it's still an exquisitely lovely and achingly beautiful piece, as all of TLA's work is. It's essentially a coming of age story of a young orphan girl who finds her purpose in the supposedly dangerous woods, told without any props or set pieces (or shoes), but simply using the voices, bodies, and souls of the talented seven-person cast. Experience the magic that is TLA at Center for the Performing Arts in Uptown through April 12.

"Afterlife: The Experience" by Sparkle Theatricals at the Wabasha Street Caves

I know Sparkle Theatricals for their dance and movement-based shows, but they also produce more immersive, experiential work. My first experience with the latter is their current production, Afterlife: The Experience, running for one more night only at the Wabasha Street Caves. I'll admit, part of the draw was to see the Caves, built into the sandstone bluffs on the Mississippi River across from St. Paul originally as storage, and later turned into a speakeasy during Prohibition with rumored visits from some of the era's most notorious gangsters. Now it's an event center, and a very cool theater venue. The conceit of Afterlife is that we're all (recently) dead, and our souls have arrived at the Caves on our way to somewhere else. A number of previously departed souls are there to guide us on our way. I found it to be overall a unique, interesting, and fun experience, although parts of it were a little too interactive and participatory for this introvert (I don't want to be part of the storytelling, I want to be a witness to it). A mix of theater, storytelling, party games, food and drinks, and dance, you have one more chance to enter the Afterlife on October 25.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "5x5"

Day: 8

Show: 25

Title: 5x5

Category: Physical / Theater / Historical content / Literary adaptation / Non-verbal

By: Transatlantic Love Affair

Created by: The Ensemble

Location: Open Eye Theatre

Summary: A tréteau style performance, in which five actors tell five stories within the space of a five-foot by five-foot square.

Highlights: What is tréteau? I still don't really know, but judging by this show it's incredible. TLA began at MN Fringe some 14 years ago, and I've loved them since my first transformative experience with them at the 2012 Fringe. Their shows are always gorgeous and moving, as they create the entire world of the show with just their bodies, voices, and souls. But they've given themselves an extra challenge this year - performing inside a 5x5 square taped out on the floor of the Open Eye's already tiny stage. This limitation has only made the work better and more creative. Directed by Amber Bjork (who always makes everything better), the five performers (Mark Benzel, Christina Castro, Peyton McCandless, Derek Lee Miller, and Allison Vincent) tell five stories, each performer somewhat taking the lead but all participating in the storytelling. And it very much feels like storytelling. Between stories they banter with each other in a fun and playful way, calling each other by their names, commenting on what just happened or is about to happen. The five short stories are mostly familiar, and each more delightful than the last, encompassing humor, adventure, tragedy, and romance. We are treated to the Arthurian story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Shakespeare's classic tale of unchecked ambition Macbeth, Nosferatu done as a silent movie, a whirlwind version of the dinosaur movie Jurassic Park, and the lovely and tragic legend of Popo and Izta from Mexico. The five actors work together so well, just seamlessly and beautifully telling these stories in barely enough space to breathe much less move freely. It reminded me very much of Live Action Set (with whom Mark has frequently performed), my first physical theater love, who often did things like this (watch their LOTR in 8 minutes). I'm not sure what else to say other than this is unsurprisingly my favorite show of the Fringe this year - a clever and unique concept perfectly executed with so much heart, charm, and humor. Their final performance is on Saturday. Online sales are sold out, but if you want to see it, get there super early to snag one of the 25% of seats held for walk-up sales.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

"Houdini" by Sandbox Theatre's Swingset

Sandbox Theatre is known for their ensemble-created original plays. Judging by their inaugural production, their new offshoot The Swingset does the same thing, only with aerial work. Like all of Sandbox's work, Houdini is a thoughtful and playful exploration of a subject (in this case the famed escape artist) that uses physical theater. But in this case the physical theater extends into the air on aerial silks hung from a contraption that does indeed look like a very large swingset. Performed outdoors in a couple of locations (I saw it at Pioneer Park in Roseville, where it continues tonight), it's a fun and magical experience.

"Up: the Man in the Flying Chair" by Theatre Pro Rata at Park Square Theatre

For their third show in partnership with Park Square Theatre, Theatre Pro Rata is presenting the sweet, funny, and heart-warming Up: The Man in the Flying Chair in the intimate thrust stage in the basement of the theater. It's one of those shows that just makes me happy. The seemingly diverse elements of a fascinating real person, a family dramedy, a perky pregnant teen and her con artist aunt, and the magical appearance of tightrope walker Philippe Petit all combine for a unique and engaging play. Brought to life by this wonderful cast, it made me feel all the feels.

"The Little Pilot" by Sandbox Theatre at the Southern Theater

Even though this is only my 4th Sandbox Theatre show (a company that is celebrating their 10th anniversary), I know enough about them to expect the unexpected. Their work is highly inventive and unusual, combining many different artforms to tell a story in a unique way. Their newest work, an exploration of the life of famed French author and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (I'd never heard of him either), is no exception. Part adventure, part romance, part coming-of-age, part war experience, The Little Pilot tells this story in a non-linear way through theater, music, movement, aerial work, and video projections to create a strikingly lovely picture of a life.

As with most of their work, this piece was created by the ensemble, along with director Theo Langason and Project Leads Evelyn Digirolamo (aerial artist) and Kristina Fjellman (visual artist). Evelyn is joined in the ensemble by five other artists (Christian Bardin, Mark Benzel, Jonathon Dull, Katie Kaufmann, and Patrick Webster), each of whom play Antoine at some point in the play. Antoine's story is not told in a straight-forward way, rather we see snippets or memories of important moments in his life. His mother telling him a story, falling in love, flying in WWII. The actors playing him share several repeated hand gestures that tie their performances together. And they all take turns on the three aerial silks that are the only set pieces in the cavernous Southern Theater space.

Stirring video projections of the earth and the cosmos are displayed on the aerial silks and the beautiful brick backdrop at the Southern. This is a highly physical performance, not just on the silks but also on the ground, as the ensemble creates some stunning images. The combined athleticism and grace of the aerial work is so thrilling to watch, and a perfectly fitting way to convey the life of a man who spent much of his life flying through the air.

It's difficult to describe Sandbox's work in general, and this piece in particular. If you're looking for theater that's out of the ordinary, that combines several different artforms, that pushes the boundaries, you'll definitely want to check out The Little Pilot, presented as part of the Southern's ArtShare program. Five more performances remain at the end of this month and early October, so get it on your calendar, and maybe check out what else is playing at the Southern (I also recommend the clever and hilarious Four Humor's Lolita: A Three Man Show).

"The Big Show" by Theatre Forever at the Southern Theater

I grew up on game shows. Shows like The 10,000 Dollar Pyramid, Hollywood Squares, The Joker's Wild, and my favorite, Family Feud. Theatre Forever's The Big Show hearkens back to those good old days, and it's great fun. But it also digs a little deeper as popular host Jackie Cartwright takes the opportunity of his final show to look back on his life and the sacrifices he made to get where he is. In addition to being funny and entertaining, The Big Show is also sad and poignant at times, with some really beautiful images created in the gorgeous space that is the Southern Theater. Unfortunately the show is closing tonight, so let me get right down to it:

• Brant Miller as Jackie Cartwright is, as always, so funny and inventive and totally committed to his character. Jackie is a combination of every game show host from the 70s, with more than a little Richard Dawson and his penchant for kissing the ladies and the catch phrase "survey says!" But there's a desperation just underneath the big personality, as he contemplates what his life will be like now that the show is ending after he pushed everything aside for it.
• This wonderful ensemble (who also helped to create the piece along with director Jon Ferguson, Dominic Orlando, and Brant Miller) includes Joanna Harmon and Tony Sarnicki as game show contestants, as well as Jackie's wife and son; Katelyn Skelley and Leslie O'Neil as the game show assistants/dancers with their perfect 70s hair; and Mark Benzel and Robert Haarman as a couple of stagehands that help to set the scenes both in the game show and in Jackie's life.
• The trippy 70s vibe is fantastic, and the women's costumes are especially fab, from the flowy pastel dresses of Jackie's assistants, made for twirling, to Joanna's super cool floral jumpsuit.
• The lighting (designed by Per Olson) helps to create the mood of reflection, with some really lovely effects created by the hanging light bulbs and light bulbs on sticks wielded by the cast. Various props are also put into effect, my favorite being the single feather that softly and elegantly falls from the ceiling. Jackie has an obsession with the night sky, which comes into play in the beautiful ending. 

A note in the program summarizes the impetus for the show as such: "Brant wanted to make a game show, Jon wanted to make a piece about afterlife, and Dominic wanted to make a piece about a nervous breakdown on television." Mission accomplished on all fronts. Fresh and original, with a touch of nostalgia, tons of humor, and some really lovely moments such as the one below.

"The 7-Shot Symphony" by Live Action Set at Loring Theater

I first heard of Live Action Set at the Ivey Awards last year when they performed the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy in nine minutes (scroll to the bottom of this post to watch the video).  It was hilarious and brilliant, and I've had it in the back of my mind to check them out ever since.  So when I received an email from Artistic Director Noah Bremer telling me about their new show The 7-Shot Symphony, I decided it was a good time to finally check them out.  Live Action Set performs what they call "physical theater."  They don't have much in the way of props or set pieces; they act out everything with their bodies, from guns to trees to canyons to swinging saloon doors.  It almost reminded me of old silent films, except that there was of course sound (provided by the actors and members of local band Tree Party).  A note in the playbill says, "The creativity of non-literal depiction is what awakens the imagination.  And, this is what our theater does best - awaken the imagination."  They definitely succeeded in that with this piece!

The 7-Shot Symphony, an original piece written by Matt Spring and Ryan Underbakke (who also directs), is a re-imagining of several classic myths as a Western.  It's performed in seven "movements," like a piece of music, and each part tells a different story.  From the Epic of Gilgamesh (which was also the subject of a play I saw last fall called The Oldest Story in the World), to the Norse god Odin, to the Greek myth about Orpheus and Eurydice (which I was vaguely familiar with through Anias Mitchell's folk opera Hadestown), they all fit together in the end to complete the puzzle that is Deus county.  The seven actors take turns narrating the movements and playing the different parts, often changing characters in a matter of seconds with only a hat or a skirt or an accent or the carriage of their body to aid in the transformation.  It's really amazing how they create such specific characters; for the first half of the show I didn't realize that the actor playing Hades (Matt Riggs) was the same actor playing a few other roles, and it wasn't just the coat and top hat, it was the whole physicality of the character.  And that's just one example of the magic they create.

My favorite story was Orpheus and Eurydice.  In this incarnation, Orpheus is a frontiersman who borrows money from the evil Hades, owner of the Underworld saloon, to bring Eurydice to America from the "Old Country" to be his wife (similar to the plot of one of my favorite Minnesota-made movies, Sweet Land).  Eurydice can speak no English, so Orpheus (Joey Ford, a member of the band Tree Party) wins her heart by singing to her with the saddest and most beautiful yodeling I've ever heard.  It's a yodel that will break your heart.  Hades kidnaps Eurydice as payment on the loan, so Orpheus travels across the desert to find her.  When the lovers are reunited, Orpheus sings his song for her, and Jenna Wyse (also a member of Tree Party) as Eurydice adds her lovely voice to his.  It's a moment so beautiful that even evil Hades is moved.  He lets her go, but with a condition that tragically is not met.

There's not a weak link in this ensemble, which also includes Mark Benzel, Damian Johnson, Emily King, and Dustin Suggs.  They work and play together very well, and are all experts at creating not just characters but the whole environment in which the story takes place.  The Tree Party band provided a really cool country/rockabilly sound that makes me want to hear more from them.

I've seen several new (to me) theater companies in the last few weeks, and have been impressed with all of them.  The more theater I see, the more blown away I am by the talent in this town.  It's a beautiful thing.

And now, if you're a LOTR fan like me, enjoy this interpretation of the epic tale: