Minnesota Fringe Festival 2018: "Eddie Poe"

Day: 2

Show: 7

Title: Eddie Poe

Category: Comedy / Drama / Horror

By: The Coldharts

Created by: Katie Hartman & Nick Ryan

Location: Ritz Theater Mainstage

Summary: An innovative retelling of young Edgar Allen Poe as he falls in love, goes off to University, and begins a life of drinking, gambling, and swindling (aka diddling).

Highlights: Everyone raved about The Coldharts Edgar Allen at past Fringe and TC Horror fests, so I decided to check them out. This is the second in an as yet unfinished trilogy and covers young Eddie's teen years (a quick look at Wikipedia confirms much of the facts). Nick Ryan plays Eddie as a somber emo teen, while Katie Hartman exhibits a frenetic energy as a number of other characters, a nice balance. They use music (banjo, ukulele, and voice) to help tell the story, with quirky and catchy songs. The rest of the audience found it funnier than I did; not to say I didn't enjoy it, but I found it to be more of a sweet, sad, and sometimes amusing play rather than a laugh out loud comedy. Perhaps it's the audience laughter that caused them to go over their allotted time, cutting them off before the ending (Fringe doesn't mess around with the schedule). Or maybe it was the playful banter with the audience, or moments that are held to great effect. The period costumes (by Marge Ryan) are great and help to establish character(s), and they do some cool things with lighting including a stunning shadow card-playing scene. They also make great use of the space at the Ritz, going out into the audience (I recommend sitting in the back section if you don't want to crane your head around to watch them). Eddie Poe casts a haunting spell, one that I was rudely awakened from. If you see it, please tell me how it ends.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha" by Four Humors at the Guthrie Theater

When the ingenious gentlemen of Four Humors apply their unique, clever, and hilarious storytelling style to a classic such as The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, it's a thing not to be missed. And even though I've experienced many such unique adaptations by Four Humors, as well as original work, last night's world premiere opening night still gave me something unexpected. As the play points out, everyone knows Don Quixote, even if you're never read the book or heard the name Miguel de Cervantes (as for myself, I've only seen the musical adaptation Man of La Mancha, natch). Four Humors tells the classic story about honor, chivalry, and madness in a unique way using puppetry projection (and thereby possibly inventing a new art form?) and by making Cervantes a character in the play, allowing the characters to step outside the story and comment on it. I believe this is Four Humors' debut at the Guthrie, which will no doubt expose a new audience to their often accomplished mission "to create art that celebrates the humor, stupidity, and beauty of our world by letting the artist connect with the audience in a vulnerable and honest way."

Fringe Festival 2015: "We Do Every Show in the Fringe"

Day: 2

Show: 8

Title: We Do Every Show in the Fringe

Category: Comedy

By: Fat Bottom Jones

Created by: The Performers of Fat Bottom Jones

Location: New Century Theatre

Summary: Local improv comedy experts choose one of the 174 Fringe shows at random and perform it based on the photo and description.

Highlights: Last year it was called Four Humors Does Every Show in the Fringe, but despite the name change, it's the same performers and concept, which is a combination made for hilarity. Last night the ball chosen was Really Spicy Opera's The Clever Artifice of Harriet and Margaret, described as "Opera by women, about women, featuring nothing but women! Harriet and Margaret meet for tea... or do they? Hidden agendas and secrets lurk behind the rivals' smiles, while their inner voices reveal the truth." This all-male cast riffed on the idea of inner voices and the phrase "or do they," under the leadership of "director" Jason Ballweber who would occasionally interject to steer the show in a new direction. Brant Miller was Harriet and guest performer Andy Kraft was Margaret (or vice versa, they kept getting the names confused), while Nick Ryan and Matt Spring were the inner voices, standing just behind them and voicing their inner monologues (which, let's face it, we all have running at all times). Ryan Lear filled in all the other roles. At one point even the inner monologue had an inner monologue, and that inner monologue had an inner monologue, and that inner monologue had an inner monologue, which perhaps says something profound about the inner psyche, or else it's just silliness. This being an opera, there wasn't as much singing as I (or keyboard accompanist/sound effects man Nic Delcambre) would like, but at least we got a big closing number "Inside Paul's Brain" - yes, they eventually broke down and introduced a male character in this story about women. If you go you will not see this show, but something just as surprising and clever and laugh out loud funny.

"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" at Children's Theatre Company

Children's Theatre Company's latest offering 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea isn't what we usually think of as theater. But it is the best game of make-believe ever, and what is theater if not an elaborate game of make-believe? CTC is an expert at playing to their target audience while still creating art that we grown-ups can enjoy as well. And kids are quite familiar with playing make-believe, acting out their favorite stories, TV shows, books, or movies. That's pretty much what this show is - fan fiction (created by the wonderfully inventive team of Ryan Underbakke and Nick Ryan) about Jules Verne's novel with a fantastic team of actors playing the characters and leading the audience, who are also playing characters, through the story. It's an exercise in the collective power of imagination, something that comes naturally to kids, but that's necessary for adults to take part in occasionally as well. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a super cool and totally unique experience.

I don't want to tell you too much about the experience, because the uncertainty and surprise is part of the fun. But you should know that you will be required to get physical, running, crouching, doing jumping jacks, as you are led through backrooms, staircases, and hallways of the theater (a great way to see some theater and get in a good workout at the same time!). The premise is that the 20 or so audience members on each "launch" (see website for times) are on a mission to capture Captain Nemo aboard her (yes, her) submarine Nautilus and rescue Professor Arronax (having never read the book, I found a quick perusal of the Wiki page to be helpful). You'll be in spaces large and small (claustrophobics beware), dark and bright, with cool electronic equipment that looks like something out of Star Trek, sometimes projecting scenes going on in other rooms. And there's one particularly detailed and homey looking Victorian designed room. The scenic and projection design (by Jorge Cousinea), lighting design (by Craig A. Gottschalk), sound design (by Sean Healey), and costume design (Annie Cady) all combine to create a completely immersive multi-media underwater experience so lifelike I almost wish I had taken Dramamine!

The cast and creative team merges CTC veterans with artists from the physical theater/comedy/improv world. The roles of the two mission guides are double cast (likely due to the frequent launch times), and I was happy to be guided by Isabel Nelson (whom I will gladly follow wherever she leads me, underwater or with her lovely and inventive company Transatlantic Love Affair) and Matt Spring (of the hilariously clever Four Humors). Both give performances so committed and real that even though my plan was to let the kids go first, I found myself rushing to the front to follow their commands. Watch for CTC company members Dean Holt as the good (?) professor and a completely transformed (as usual) Reed Sigmund in a scarily convincing performance. Jame Froiland's strong performance as Nemo makes the audience question just what side we're on. And in fact, we're asked to make a choice at the end, like a live action Choose Your Own Adventure book.

Immersive walk-through theater is a bit of a trend right now (see the recent Crime and Punishment, and NYC's Sleep No More), and CTC is doing an amazing job bringing it to children, perhaps its most susceptible audience (I heard parents whispering, "don't be scared, it's just pretend"). Part of the fun of the experience is watching the wide-eyed children as a totally in character actor gets down to their level and speaks directly to them (don't worry parents, you're not asked to respond or do anything, just follow along and obey commands). For kids and adults alike, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is the awesomenest game of make-believe you've ever experienced (the mission continues through August 23).

Captain Nemo and her crew (photo by Dan Norman)

This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.

Fringe Festival: "Four Humors Does Every Show in the Fringe"

Day: 8

Show: 31

Title: Four Humors Does Every Show in the Fringe

Category: Comedy

By: Four Humors

Created by: Four Humors

Location: New Century Theatre

Summary: Rather than creating an original piece as Fringe faves Four Humors usually do, they're improving a different show every night based on the title and description of another Fringe show chosen at random.

Highlights: I'd watch these guys do anything (these guys being Ryan Lear, Brant Miller, Nick Ryan, and Matt Spring). And when you go see this show, that's pretty much what you can expect - anything. A big show was made of the random drawing of the numbered ping pong balls (numbered shows listed in the program - no cheating), and the lucky winner was Fish Stories. Somehow guest performer Tim Hellendrung heard "the one that got away" and immediately thought - Katie Holmes. So these fish stories included a grocery store meet-cute, a wish-granting time-traveling poorly mimed fish, a fight scene between said fish and Tom Cruise, and an escape to post-apocalyptic Canada. In between shows Tim read some "audience reviews" of the show, which was a hilarious spoof on what these reviews sometimes are. This show is silly and fun and inventive, and it's a joy to watch these guys work. And I'm not alone in that opinion - this show is the best-selling show at New Century, with an encore performance tonight at 8:30.

Fringe Festival 2012: Candide

Day: 1

Show: 4

Title: Candide

By: Four Humors Theater

Written by: Nick Ryan

Location: Rarig Thrust

Summary: A fast-paced and farcical adaptation of the 18th Century novel Candide by Voltaire. The title of each scene is announced before it begins as quick changes occur during blackouts, and as the play progresses, the scenes get shorter, faster, and more absurd.

Highlights: I'm not familiar with the source material, and I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure what to make of this one at first. But once I realized that it's a farce, and let go of any attempts at logic or rationality, it grew on me and I quite enjoyed it. It's worth seeing this show for the cast alone; Anna Hickey, Matt Spring, Ryan Lear, and Christian Bardin create many wacky and memorable characters throughout the short play (I particularly loved Christian Bardin's silly, funny, and poignant little song as the old woman who's seen too much in her life). Brant Miller is the one constant as the affable title character. It's an absurd, funny, entertaining romp.

Read more of my fringe fest reflections...