"Log Kya Kahenge (what will people say?)" at Lyric Arts, a co-production with Exposed Brick Theatre and South Asian Arts and Theater House

There have been a lot of co-productions in #TCTheater lately (which is a great way to share resources and audiences, and support the work of other companies), but this might be the first co-co-production. Not one, not two, but three theater companies have joined forces to bring this engaging new play to life on Lyric Arts' stage. Exposed Brick Theatre supplied the playwright and director (co-Artistic Directors Aamera Siddiqui and Suzy Messerole), South Asian Arts and Theater House (SAATH) provided some of the cast members and the connection to the local South Asian community, with Lyric supplying production and design resources. And probably countless other ways that the three companies contributed and shared duties. Judging by the final product, it's a beautiful partnership. Log Kya Kahenga (which means "what will people say?" in Hindi or Urdu, two related languages of South Asia) tells the story of a family dealing with grief, loss, change, mental health challenges, and societal and parental pressure. It's a story specific to the South Asian community, but universal in these themes. The short run continues for two more weekends only at Lyric Arts in Anoka.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2020: "My Kahaani"

Location: Nightly Fringe (Aug. 1)

Length: 30 Minutes

Title: My Kahaani

By: SAATH

Summary: Storytelling by South Asian artists about immigration, home, childhood, and growing up.

Highlights: South Asian Arts and Theater House (SAATH), formerly known as the Bollywood Dance Scene, is a Minnesota Fringe success story. After doing their first Bollywood dance musical show in 2014, they became one of the most popular Fringe groups in history, formed a non-profit, and now support and produce South Asian arts all over town (including Bollywood dance workout videos on their YouTube channel which I'm totally going to check out). This live show was hosted by co-founder and Executive Director Divya Maiya and featured recordings of excerpts from two past Fringe shows. One was a story called "Crushed," about a young boy's love of cable TV, and eventually girls. The other was a story called "Home," about an immigrant missing his original home, and finding a sense of home where he is now (a story with extra poignancy once Divya reveals what happened after the performance). This is a great example of why we need Fringe, to help promote the voices of artists we often don't hear, and give them the tools to flourish on their own, as SAATH has done. I missed the live broadcast last night but was able to watch it this morning, using the link at the bottom of the Nightly Fringe page.

Read all of my Nightly Fringe mini-reviews here.

Read all of my Digital Hub mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2018: "BollyProv: NOT a Dance Drama!"

Day: 3

Show: 10

Title: BollyProv: NOT a Dance Drama!

Category: Comedy / Improv / Storytelling

By: Bollywood Dance Scene

Crated by: Bollywood Dance Scene

Location: Ritz Theater Mainstage

Summary: Fringe Fest Faves Bollywood Dance Scene returns with something different - storytelling and improv, and only a little dancing.

Highlights: I'll admit it, I was expecting the big joyous Bollywood dance numbers, and this show isn't that, although there are a few smaller dance numbers. Instead it combines a new story every night with an improvised Bollywood movie based on that story. The show I attended featured a story called "Crushed" told by Darshan Maiya, about his love of watching TV and teenage crushes. The story is charmingly (and silently) acted out by a small cast, and there are a couple of mini dance breaks. When the story ends, Madhu Bangalore and Kya Fischer take the stage to improvise a few scenes based on the story they just heard (for the first time, they tell us) and a suggestion from the audience. They do a surprisingly good job for people who are not experienced improvers (I'm assuming), and manage to construct a little story that's funny and sweet and sort of even makes sense! Everyone loves their big Bollywood shows, but it's also fun to see them stretch themselves and try something different, and the result is just as entertaining, if in a different way. And if you're still craving those big Bollywood dance numbers, you can see their new Bollywood dance drama The Land of Maaya at the upcoming MinneUtsav festival, the second annual South Asian Performing Arts Festival in Minnesota (click here for more info).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Five-Fifths of The Matrix" by Five Minnesota Fringe Festival Companies at ARIA

The first Minnesota Fringe Festival event of 2018 is here! The first one I attend anyway (the lottery happened a few months ago, choosing the lucky companies that get to perform in the festival). The annual "Five-Fifths" fundraiser is when they take an iconic movie, split it up into five parts, hand it over to five Fringe companies, then put the five parts back together again. To say that the end result bears little resemblance to the original goes without saying. But it's great fun, and really gives you a taste of what Fringe is - a display of a wide array of creativity. Mark your calendar for August 2-12, and in the meantime find out how you can get involved (by volunteering, donating, or attending other pre-festival events) at the Fringe website.

Fringe Festival 2016: "Bezubaan: The Voiceless"

Day: 2

Show: 5

Title: Bezubaan: The Voiceless

Category: Musical

By: Bollywood Dance Scene

Created by: Bollywood Dance Scene

Location: Rarig Center Thrust

Summary: A Bollywood-style story of an Indian man prejudiced against Muslims who learns acceptance through the power of love (and dance).

Highlights: The creators of the best-selling Fringe show of the past two years return again with another huge-cast high-energy musical. The story is a bit trite, the lesson a bit heavy-handed, but it's a wonderful message of acceptance and love winning out over hate and fear. And the cast vibrantly inhabits the characters, especially when dancing (highlights include Ranjan Dumra as the lovable curmudgeon Appu, Darshan Maiya as his identity-conflicted son Raju, Arun Velliangiri and Sophie Gori as the star-crossed lovers, and Erin McGregor as the American girl Raju falls for). Two narrators (Hetal Ascher and Madhu Bangalore) introduce the characters and scenes, commenting on the Bollywood form with clever fourth-wall-breaking charm (similar to how Jane the Virgin follows the tropes of the telenovela while also poking loving fun at it). And now for the best part - the dancing! There's something about Bollywood dance, and this company in particular, that's so joyous and free. This might be the most energetic show in the Fringe, deserving of the huge and enthiusastic crowds they draw. It's great to see that they're using their platform this year to promote cross-cultural awareness, support, and community. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the world's wars and conflicts could be solved through dance?!

Minnesota Fringe Festival: Five-Fifths of Dirty Dancing at Illusion Theater

The 2015 Minnesota Fringe Festival kicked off this week with their annual spring fundraiser entitled "Five-Fifths," in which a popular movie is divided into five parts and given to five Fringe companies for their interpretation. This year they chose Dirty Dancing, presumably because it's one of the best movies ever made (that's not sarcasm; a devotion to Dirty Dancing and Patrick Swayze is inherent in anyone who was a teenage girl in the '80s). I could not resist this beloved movie receiving the Fringe treatment by this group of creative and wacky geniuses, and was not disappointed by the result, which was as delightfully bizarre and diverse as the festival itself.

The Huge Founders opened the show, with Mike Fotis (a Fringe legend) in drag as Baby, doing the requisite narration as well as hilarious commentary into a microphone. The five-person cast took us through the introduction to Kellerman's.

Picking up at the famous "I carried a watermelon scene," in which Baby is first exposed to the dancing, was the dance troupe Guittar Productions. They did some pretty cool physical theater things in their part of the retelling.

The baton was then passed to the adorably awkward Carl and Wanda Finkles. Like in their Fringe show last year, the Finkles did their part in a "we're putting on a show!" kind of way. Except that the show they prepared for was that other '80s dance movie Footloose. So they winged it in their own hilarious and original way as we saw the training sequence and the big dance number (a reprise from their last show).

In Mainly Me Productions' segment of the show, it was raining Patrick Swayze (if only!). The "Hey Mickey/Hey Sylvia" crawling on the floor scene was crashed by Patrick Swayze from four of his other movies and the SNL Chippendales sketch, which then turned into a Chippendales dance-off, culminating in the To Wong Fu Patrick Swayze singing "It's Raining Men." The whole thing was hilarious!

Who better to take us into the final big dance number than Bollywood Dance Scene? The Kellerman's talent show was a Bollywood dance-off (on For the Loyal's small sloped hexagonal stage), Johnny declared "nobody puts baby in a corner," and they did the lift!! Then the 30+ dancers came out into the audience for a joyous dance worthy of the spirit of Dirty Dancing.

The 2015 Minnesota Fringe Festival runs from July 30 through August 9. Check out their website for a list of companies (tentatively) scheduled to perform and for further information about the fest.

Fringe Festival: "Hi! Hello! Namaste?"

Day: 9

Show: 37 (and final)

Title: Hi! Hello! Namaste

Category: Dance

By: Bollywood Dance Scene - Twin Cities

Created by: Bollywood Dance Scene - Twin Cities

Location: Rarig Center Proscenium

Summary: Raagini, a teenager from Minnesota, travels to India for her cousin's wedding, and discovers that she may take after her dancer mother more than her doctor father.

Highlights: One of the highest-selling shows of the Fringe, this is a fun feel-good show. The plot is cliche and predictable, but what matters is the dancing, and that is joyously Bollywood. There's a huge cast of dancers from young to old, and they're having a great time, as is the audience (as evidenced by the frequent cheers and calling out of names). Highlights include: Raagini's lovely and poignant soul-searching solo dance (danced beautifully by Jeeta Misra), Vikramjeet Singh as the comic relief Bunty, Himanshu Agrawal as Raagini's charming friend (both of whom can dance too!), and all of the group dance numbers. This is not the type of thing or people that I often see on a theater stage, so I very much appreciated the opportunity to experience it. And it was the perfect way to say Namaste to the Fringe fest and everyone involved. Until next year!