Minnesota Fringe Festival 2025: "Our Zombie Town"

Day: 6

Show: 21

Title: Our Zombie Town

Category: Comedy / Horror / Literary adaptation / Political content / Shakespearian elements

By: Pat O'Brien

Created by: Richard Chin, Pat O'Brien, Larry Ripp and cast

Location: Mixed Blood Theatre

Summary: One of the most classic works of the American stage, Thornton Wilder's Our Town, but with zombies (also an American classic).

Highlights: The show is very cleverly written (by Richard Chin) in the familiar conversational fourth-wall breaking style of Our Town, with Kurt Schulz as our narrator in a Fringe artist lanyard. The story begins with the surviving citizens of Grover's Corners (including the Webb and Gibbs families) living in an abandoned Walmart, fending off zombies (a familiar situation to fans of The Walking Dead). The daily sweet mundane daily life continues, including the Emily/George romance, as more and more people become (still semi conscious) zombies (an unfamiliar situation to TWD fans). When a cure becomes available, Emily has to make a decision to go back to the old busy life where everyone is preoccupied on their phones, or spend one last day with her love in a world that's all about eating brains together. Our Zombie Town is a mashup of a theater classic and a horror B-movie, complete with some fun cheesy effects and an impressive wood chipper, a clever idea well-executed by the team.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2023: "Starved": The Astonishing True Story of the University of Minnesota Starvation Experiment

Day: 7

Show: 26

Title: "Starved": The Astonishing True Story of the University of Minnesota Starvation Experiment

Category: DRAMA / STORYTELLING / HISTORICAL CONTENT / POLITICAL CONTENT

By: Pat O'Brien

Written by: Richard Chin

Location: Augsburg Mainstage

Summary: A dramatization of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment that studied the effects of starvation on WWII conscientious objector volunteers.

Highlights: The History Theatre did a reading of this play as part of their 2018 "Raw Stages" new works festival. That was the first time I had heard of the 1944 experiment at the U of M, in which 36 conscientious objectors volunteered to partake as their wartime service. As someone whose day job is in clinical trials, I find the issues of informed consent and the ethics of science to be fascinating. In this 60-minute (or less) version of the play, we get two know two scientists (Pat O'Brien and John Gottskalkson) and three subjects (Samuel Ahern, Elliot Drolet, and Coleson Eldredge). The conscientious objectors were often belittled and seen as cowards, so they were eager to do something worthwhile - providing data that would help rehabilitate the thousands of starving people in Europe. The scientists conducting the experiment believe in the worthiness of it, but begin to doubt the morality of it as the men grow increasingly thin, depressed, and even psychotic. Even though these men agreed to participate knowing the expected effects, and were free to drop out at any time, things become murky when the effects of the experiment begin to inhibit their ability to think clearly. The three subjects are distinct characters, jokingly referred to as the preacher's son, the New York intellectual, and the wiseass. Throughout the course of the play their energy decreases as they become solely focused on food. It's a bleak and insightful play, well acted by the ensemble (also including Mickaylee Shaughnessy and Vickijoan Keck as various nurses and waitresses - this was the 1940s after all), that doesn't give us any clear answers about the ethics of this experiment, but leaves us to decide for ourselves.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "Compromised"

Day: 4

Show: 10

Performance Type: In Person

Location: Phoenix Theater (indoors, masks required)

Length: 50 minutes

Title: Compromised

By: Reservoir Frogs 

Summary: A long-form improv show based on audience prompts.

Highlights: The show description is "An improvised tale of greed, lust, hubris, and failure. A dark comedy of people letting their ambitions get them in over their heads." Using the suggestions "ice cream," "post office," and "lawyer/client," this team of improvisors (Adam Boutz, Jenny Benusa, Rob Ward, Amy Zajack, Andy Christian, Heather Jo Raiter, Mickaylee Shaughnessy, and Mike Deneen) created just that, in a world centered around a small town post office that was being shut down, sending all of its employees scurrying. There were bees and bee-keepers, junk mail scams, real estate, a hit man, and arson. But who knows what you'll see when you go see the show, that's the fun of improv.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2020: "Waiting for Hugs"

Location: Nightly Fringe (Aug. 2)

Length: 34 minutes

Title: Waiting for Hugs

By: Highlander Kitty

Summary: Three actors are waiting in zoom to perform a children's play for a church, which never quite happens.

Highlights: Due to some technical difficulties on my end (as is going to happen occasionally in a Virtual Fringe), I watched the last half of this show first, and then went back and watched the first half. But it was still a lot of fun. This parody of the zoom box theater we've all become so familiar with pokes fun at the format while using it well. The three performers are there for different reasons with different expectations - one just wants to do the job (Rob Ward), one is drinking wine and waiting for her friends to come over to "play board games" (Jenna Papke), one believes in the craft of acting and wants to make it big (Mickaylee Shaughnessy). While waiting for their call, they rehearse, they argue, they pick on each other. But the call never comes, and they're just left with each other. Waiting for Hugs is a cute, clever, funny little show that makes good use of the virtual theater format.

Read all of my Nightly Fringe mini-reviews here.

Read all of my Digital Hub mini-reviews here.

"The Madwoman of Minneapolis" by The BAND Group at Calvary Baptist Church

The little theater in the basement of Calvary Baptist Church is becoming one of my favorite theater venues, because it's intimate and versatile. The latest example is The BAND Group's adaptation of the mid 20th Century French satire The Madwoman of Chaillot, which they're calling The Madwoman of Minneapolis. They've turned the space into a cafe, complete with food and drinks, which makes for an immersive and intimate (but not interactive, thankfully) experience of this charming little story, with a message of environmentalism and community over consumerism that couldn't be more timely.

"Into the Darkness" by Collective Unconscious Performance at Shakespearean Youth Theatre

Collective Unconscious Performance's latest original work Into the Darkness is an adaptation of two fairy tales, "The Dark Princess" and "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." The bad news is they're only doing eight performances in a small space that's selling out; the only remaining seats are for this Sunday. The good news is this inventive adaptation of these little known stories, using music and puppetry, is really lovely. I've never seen Collective Unconsious' work before, and I'm happy to make their acquaintance with this piece. If you can't get tickets to this show, follow them on Facebook and make plans to see their next original work, Maiden Voyage, next spring.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Director's Cut: Survivor"

Day: 9

Show: 28

Title: Director's Cut: Survivor

Category: COMEDY / IMPROV

By: Smartmouth Comedy

Written by: Kendra Yarke, Bailey Murphy, Christine Pietz, and Kelliann Kary,

Location: Rarig Center Arena

Summary: A partially scripted and partially improvised spoof of Survivor.

Highlights: This was my first time seeing a "Director's Cut" by Smartmouth Comedy, a female-driven comedy troupe. They do these shows throughout the year at the Phoenix, in which they act out a classic TV script, but with the director (Kelliann Kary) calling pause and asking for an improved scene. For Fringe, they wrote not one but five original scripts of Survivor: Boundary Waters, that began with eight contestants in the first show and ended with one winner in the last (which I attended). There are really two elements here - the Survivor spoof, which was great fun for fans of the show (as I am) - and the improvised scenes, well played by the cast (Jacob Fate as host Jeff with Adam Boutz, Bailey Murphy, Drue Knutson, Edd Jones, Kendra Yarke, Kerri O'Halloran, Mickaylee Shaughnessy, and Mitchell Tilges as the survivors). They have a lot of fun paying homage to and gently mocking a venerable TV franchise, which is fun for the audience too. I enjoyed the show so much I wish I could have seen the build-up over all five episodes, I mean performances. And I hope to catch a "Director's Cut" sometime (if they do any that aren't past my bedtime). Follow their Facebook page for info on future performances.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Velvet Swing" by the Umbrella Collective at Bryant Lake Bowl

Now it's the
Crime of the century
Crime of the century
Giving the world a thrill

Harry's in trouble
And Stanny's in heaven
And Evelyn is in Vaudeville

So go the lyrics of the song "Crime of the Century" in the musical Ragtime, based on the E.L. Doctorow novel about life in early 20th Century America. But of course, there's more to the story of Evelyn Nesbit than that. Who lives, who dies, who tells your story? In the new play Velvet Swing by the Umbrella Collective, Evelyn tells her own story, as brought to life by five actors. This 100+ year old story rings eerily true today - a young woman taken advantage of by older men she trusted and who helped her in her career, a fascination with celebrity, a true crime story that was the talk of the town. Umbrella Collective sheds a new and modern light on this all too familiar story.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2018: "Deep in The 100 Acre Woods: A "Pooh"-dunnit?"

Day: 3

Show: 9

Title: Deep in The 100 Acre Woods: A "Pooh"-dunnit?

Category: Comedy / Drama / Mystery

By: Fearless Comedy Productions

Directed by: Becci Schmidt

Location: Minnsky Theatre

Summary: A noir murder mystery featuring the characters from Winnie the Pooh as people, and Pooh as the victim.

Highlights: In this version of the story, the silly old bear is a gangster, womanizer, and club owner who doesn't treat his employees very well (played by James Fairbairn). When he's found dead on the stairs of his club The Honey Pot, Detective Christopher Robin (Joseph Facente) comes in to interrogate all Pooh's employees and figure out Pooh-dunnit. It's a very clever promise and so fun to see these beloved characters as people, retaining their characteristics, and the cast does a great job of bringing out character specificities. We have club singer and Pooh's girlfriend Eeyore (Lana Rosario), her piano accompanist Owl (Ian Welch), Tigger (Mike Hanson) - the bounce-er, bartender Rabbit (Gregory Parks), nervous stuttering Piglet (Mickaylee Shaughnessy), and mama Kanga (Lauren Haven) and her young adult son Roo (Nathan Kelly) who wants to know who his father is. Det. Robin questions each one in turn, with flashback scenes filling in the story. It seems everyone had a reason to hate Pooh (hate Winnie the Pooh, can you imagine?!), so when we eventually find out the culprit it really doesn't matter. The fun comes in watching these familiar childhood characters juxtaposed against this familiar noir mystery storytelling style where they really don't belong. Very fringey indeed.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus" by Green T Productions at the Historic Mounds Theatre

Finding myself with a free Saturday night due to the rescheduling of Leslie Odom, Jr.'s concert at Orchestra Hall, I decided to check out Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus. I'd never seen a show by Green T Productions, never been to the Historic Mounds Theatre, and the show is 90 minutes no intermission (my favorite thing) - perfect for a spontaneous Saturday night trip to the theater! Mounds Theatre is a perfect venue for this creepy tale (my friend told me it's haunted), and Green T has created an ambitious and innovative new telling of this 200-year old tale. While I didn't always get everything that was going on, it certainly held my interest and created some memorable moments.

Fringe Festival 2017: "Code: L-O-V-E"

Day: 4

Show: 15

Title: Code: L-O-V-E

Category: Comedy

By: Highlander Kitty

Written by: Jenna Papke

Location: Crane Theater

Summary: A retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac set amongst WWII code-breakers, with the genders flipped.

Highlights: In this charming version of the classic story of unrequited love, experienced code-breaker and field agent Cynthia (Cyrano) and new agent Christine (Christian) are in love with the handsome Robin (Roxanne). The story plays out as in the original, with all of the letter-wooing, death, and too late confession of love. The WWII espionage adds a level of intrigue, and the gender-swap shows the old story in a new light. Compelling and heartfelt performances by the three members of the love triangle (Megan Rene Guidry, Meredith Kind, and Ethan Bjelland) make the journey through this familiar tale worthwhile, even though you know it ends in heartbreak. A sweet and entertaining re-imagining of a classic love story.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.