Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "Show Me Your Wings"

Day: 1

Show: 2

Title: Show Me Your Wings

Category: Drama / Musical Theater / Original Music / Physical Theater / Puppetry / Storytelling / Audience participation

By: MaMa Faerie Productions

Created by: Rhiannon Fiskradatz

Location: Squirrel Haus Arts

Summary: A multi-media intimate interactive experience about wings, love, identity, and self-expression.

Highlights: In this very personal piece, singer/songwriter/artist Rhiannon Fiskradatz shares her story of becoming herself. She wrote a collection of songs during the pandemic inspired by the idea of wings, which is her personal inspiration in life. She shares several of these songs, along with stories of growing up and becoming the truly unique artist that she is today. Guided by conductor Shanan Custer, The experience starts in lobby of Squirrel Haus Arts (just a quick 10-minute drive from the Cedar-Riverside hub), which is filled with wings-inspired art. Then we follow her into the main performance space in small groups, each one with a short activity (mine was to pick up a book and find an inspirational quote). Then we all gather together for the performance, backed by a fabulous band and four-person ensemble (Marc Berg, Thalia Kostman, Lindsey Oetken, Josh Vogen). The audience sits on mismatched chairs or pillows on the floor, while an artist creates a painting live, and Rhiannon and the ensemble perform little vignettes, each one a story in itself (like the fierce Medusa song), with some really cool physical theater/movement/dance elements (choreography by Thalia Kostman). Rhainnon was given the name MaMa Faerie and it suits her - magical, earthy, airy, maternal, feminist, and eccentric (in the best way). This is a show unlike any other you will see at the Fringe - it's not just a show, it's an experience. On the way out you can take in the exhibits and sensory activities, or add your comments to questions on the wall. It's a lovely and magical community experience that should not be missed.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"The (Almost) Complete and (Mostly) Accurate History of Alcohol" at Bryant Lake Bowl

Favorite local funny man Josh Carson and friends have put together a sketch comedy show about that great elixir and social lubricant - alcohol. Ironically, I saw the show about four weeks into a six-week break from alcohol (and caffeine), which I started as part of my marathon training. And even though an injury got me off of the marathon track, I stuck with the alcohol break just to see if I could do it (and I am still in training, if only for the much less physically demanding half marathon). It's an interesting experiment and has made me more aware of how prevalent alcohol is in our society and our social lives. It hasn't really been that hard for me, but there have certainly been days where I wanted a drink to smooth out the edges of a rough day, or just to taste a delicious concoction on a night out. This group of very funny writers and performers have taken all of these ideas, as well as stories of alcohol throughout history, and created about a dozen silly, funny, relatable sketches. You can see it at Bryant Lake Bowl (with dinner and yes, drink service before and during the show) through September 30 only (click here for info and tickets).

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "The Buttslasher: And Then There Were Buns"

Day: 6

Show: 20

Title: The Buttslasher: And Then There Were Buns

Category: COMEDY / MYSTERY / HISTORICAL CONTENT

By: New Endeavors

Written by: Andy Rakerd

Location: Rarig Center Thrust

Summary: A sequel to the 2017/2018 Fringe hit Buttslasher, about the infamous criminal of Stillwater and the detective who hunts them.

Highlights: If you saw the original, you're in for more of the same cheeky fun here (pun intended). But don't worry if you didn't see the first one, this is a "stand-alone sequel," in which our hero Detective Heck Bills (once again perfectly portrayed by Glen L. Dawson) is invited to a dinner party at which the guests keep dropping - slashed in the butt. Even though Heck solved the crime in the last show, it seems our serial Buttslasher has returned to the dangerous town of Stillwater, or maybe has turned into something even worse - an ass-vampire (which is the set-up for the best/worst pun in the show, "hot cross buns"). The plot is a little convoluted (including deceased wealthy urinal cake tycoon Harry Backside and a senator jailed for slug fighting), but the puns come fast and furious, and the cast (Al Fiene, Cayla Marie Wolpers, Harry Lantto, Joy Rakerd, Thalia Kostman, and Varghese Alexander,) is great fun as they portray these noir-ish characters (and Thalia's mime is, as they say in the show, a delight). I could watch a new episode of Det. Heck and the Buttslasher every year, they really go all in with the theme of mocking yet paying homage to the noir genre, with as many silly puns as possible.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Elephant and Piggie's 'We Are In a Play!'" at Lakeshore Players Theatre

Lakeshore Players Theatre just opened their shiny new theater space in White Bear Lake this spring, and now they're starting a new "Kids and Family Series." To be honest, this isn't something I'd normally be interested in; I don't have children and haven't worked with children in over 20 years. But the cast of their first production, Elephant and Piggie's "We Are In a Play!", is one I couldn't pass up. My super talented cousin is making her #TCTheater debut, so of course I had to see it! In addition to her fantastic performance, I found the one-hour musical to be delightfully clever, and the kids in the audience were completely enraptured. It's never too early to introduce the little people in your life to theater, and this show is a great start. But note there are only a handful more performances and seating is limited in the intimate black box space, so make your plans soon (click here for info and tickets).