"God of Carnage" by Dark and Stormy Productions at Gremlin Theatre

For their 10th anniversary season, Dark and Stormy Productions is trying something new - performing in an actual theater, rather than the Northeast Minneapolis studio space that was their home for five years pre-pandemic, or a number of other found spaces (most recently - in a jacuzzi in Stillwater). But what hasn't changed is their tradition of doing one-act, small-cast, darkly funny plays, and God of Carnage is one of the best of that sort. The 2009 Tony-winning best play was first seen in #TCTheater at the Guthrie, when I called it "a tightly wound, intense, darkly hilarious four-person play about what happens when our baser natures come to the surface." Lyric Arts did it several years later, and now it's a perfect fit for Dark and Stormy. Since the theater space they chose is the Gremlin Theatre, it still has that intimate up-close-and-personal feel (if you're in the front row you may want to duck at a few moments). The sharply written four-person play is perfectly cast with some of #TCTheater's best actors, which makes for a very entertaining evening. Pair it with libations from Lake Monster Brewing next door and food from their rotating schedule of food trucks, enjoyed on their outdoor patio, and you have a practically perfect late summer night out (continuing through September 11).

"Pickup Truck Opera Volume 2: The Magic Flute" by Mixed Precipitation at Dodge Nature Center

Mixed Precipitation's "Picnic Operetta" has been a staple of summer outdoor #TCTheater since 2009, combining classic opera, pop music, and passed bites of delicious food. In 2020, rather than letting a global pandemic shut them down entirely, they transitioned to the "Pickup Truck Opera" format, a similar opera/pop music mash-up performed out of a 2011 Ford Pickup that they drove around to local parks. They expanded on this idea in 2021, and return with Volume 2 this year, performed at parks and gardens not just in the Twin Cities but around the state. This year's mash-up features Mozart's The Magic Flute and "groovy beats from the 90s discotheque." As expected from this troupe of traveling artists, this Pickup Truck Opera is a super fun, silly, sweet, and accessible experience of music, theater, and community. You can see it at various locations in the Twin Cities Metro Area, plus Hastings, through September 11 (click here for dates, locations, details, and free reservations).

"Groupthink" at Six Points Theater

The 2022-2023 #TCTheater season officially begins after Labor Day, but Six Points Theater is bringing us a juicy appetizer prior to the start of the regular season. The world premiere new play Groupthink is a darkly funny and so-real-it's-scary look at the world of PR and social media. A group of coworkers at a PR firm plot and plan to make their horrible clients look better to the public, and the scary part is - it works. In what would be a tight 90-minute-no-intermission play, if not for the intermission, the talented cast and crisp design bring us right into this world that doesn't seem so far from our own.

Storyhill Fest 2022

 

After seeing 23 shows in 7 days at the Minnesota Fringe Festival, I headed Up North to see 10 concerts in 2 days at Storyhill Fest, the best little folk music festival in Minnesota. I attended Storyhill Fest every year from 2010-2014 (I think I just missed one in 2009), after which it went on hiatus for a few years. Storyhill Fest was scheduled to come back in 2020, but we know how that story goes. Finally, in 2021, I returned to Clearwater Forest Camp in the Brainerd Lakes area for two glorious days of music, and it was like the past 7 years slipped away. It was such a welcome return to a favorite place and event, especially after the many long months without any performing arts in 2020-2021. This year was the second year of this second incarnation of the Minnesota Storyhill Fest (similar fests have also been held in Storyhill's native Montana in the past), and once again it was a joyous celebration of music and community. There was vague mention of "next time" without any firm details, but follow Storyhill on Facebook or sign up for their newsletter for the latest information about the next Fest, and other upcoming Storyhill concerts. Read on for photos and info about the 8 additional artists who performed, all beautifully unique variations of the folk singer/songwriter genre, and click on their names to be taken to their website where you can listen to and/or buy their music, and find out about upcoming performances. Several of them are Minnesota-based, and if not, they'll come around again soon.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: Wrap-Up and Favorites

It's the closing weekend of the first fully live and in-person Minnesota Fringe Festival in nearly three years, but my fringing time is done, at least until next year. I've moved on from my favorite theater festival to my favorite music festival (Storyhill Fest in Deerwood). Sitting in a coffee shop in Crosby, reflecting on the eperience of the last seven days, in which I saw 23 short pieces of theater / music / storytelling / dance / spoken word / any combination thereof, the overwhelming feeling is gratitude. Gratitude that despite a global pandemic, financial issues, and cancelled performances, adventerous audiences (of which I consider myself a part) were able to gather to experience adventurous art (of which I consider myself an admirer). After two years of (mostly) virtual festivals, I didn't realize how much I missed this until I was back. To be immersed in a life in which the only goal is to see as much theater as you can, to eat, sleep, and breathe theater, is a theater blogger's dream. But the best part of Minnesota Fringe is the community feeling it engenders. Walking down the street, particularly in the Cedar-Riverside hub, and seeing so many theater-goers and theater-makers there for the same purpose, and chatting about theater with artists, friends, and strangers, is something that only happens at Fringe. Though I only saw 23 of the 100+ shows, and I know I missed some great shows (follow my friends at Lettered in Theatre and The Stages of MN, as well as the OG Fringe blogger Single White Fringe Geek, for continuing coverage), that tiny feeling of regret and FOMO is overwhelmed by feelings of satisfaction and happiness that Minnesota Fringe is back! Read on for my favorite shows of this year's fest, and visit the Fringe website (sometimes slow but very informative) for today's schedule. There's still time to get out there and #seethefringe, #bethefringe, #supportthefringe!

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "Michael Bay's Bridgerton VII: Revenge of the Forlorn"

Day: 7

Show: 23

Title: Michael Bay's Bridgerton VII: Revenge of the Forlorn

Category: COMEDY / PHYSICAL THEATER / SCI-FI

By: Snikt! Bamf! Thwip! 

Created by: Tim Wick & Jami Newstrom

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: A spoof of Netflix's smash hit series Bridgerton, with some Michael Bay transformers elements thrown in.

Highlights: Confession: I had to google Michael Bay to see what movies he was involved in, so I was definitely there for the Bridgerton of it all. And I was very satisfied in that regard. The story revolves around our favorite BFFs - Penelope Featherington (Angela Fox) and Eloise Bridgerton (Alison Anderson). There's a dashing suitor known as Viscount Studleywright (Michael Bloom), a meddling mother (Breanna Cecile), and even a voiceover by Whisledown (Dawn Krosnowski). But here our heroines also have to deal with the evil Lord Montjoy (Edwin Strout) and his inept accomplice (Samuel Poppen) trying to sabotage the Bridgerton ball and therefore the entire family's reputation. There's a running comentary about how the men simply do not hear the women (funny because it's true), and the benefit of guilds (i.e., unions). About halfway through the show, it turns from Bridgerton to Michael Bay, with our characters losing their charming British accents and instead speaking and acting like crass Americans. There are explosions, and fights, and transformers! But in the end, the two friends come back together and vow to take their lives, and their stories, into their own hands. The Fringe isn't the Fringe without a trendy pop culture spoof, and this show fills that spot nicely.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "Cowboy Cat: the musical!"

Day: 7

Show: 22

Title: Cowboy Cat: the musical!

Category: COMEDY / MUSICAL THEATER / HISTORICAL CONTENT / KID FRIENDLY

By: Foxhill Studios

Created by: JL Charrier

Location: Mixed Blood Theatre

Summary: A musical western set in a cat-loving town in a land known as Wyomesota.

Highlights: This was actually my least favorite show in the festival (something has to be!). A clever concept (a cat ranch in the old west) and a valiant effort, but it didn't quite come together. There were too many plot threads dropped - the show opens with a cat burglary and the audience finds out who the cat burglar is (which doesn't really make sense) but the characters don't nor do they seem to care, someone possibly killed their first husband but it's never resolved, and something about a long lost child that came out of nowhere. They tried to shove too many things into the show - cat puns, Minnesota and pop culture references, anachronisms - and it felt a little unfocused. But the cast (JL Charrier, Tabitha Kerr, Christopher J. Devaan, Bob Alberti, and Mikayla Bode) is game for the ride and fun to watch; the songs are also fun, with new lyrics set to the tune of old timey country western songs and accompanied by a live guitar player dressed in black (Andrew Christophe); and who doesn't love a catty singalong.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "The Man From Earth"

Day: 7

Show: 21

Title: The Man From Earth

Category: CLOWNING / COMEDY / ORIGINAL MUSIC / SCI-FI / STORYTELLING

By: Kyle Munshower and Company

Created by: Spiral Theater

Location: Rarig Center Xperimental

Summary: The story of a cave man living in modern times who decides to tell his friends, colleagues, and associates who he really is.

Highlights: "Elliptically Clever and So Dumb." Spiral Theater's tagline pretty much sums up this show. The cave man now known as John Oldman's millenia long story is clever and dumb and very funny. Directed by Kevin Duong, the four-person cast (Noah Branch, Liv Stewart, Lydia Moran, and playwright Kyle Munshower as Oldman) perform in a very consistent serious and overly dramatic tone. There's so much fun word play (ten years vs. tenure, quarters vs. quarters) and references to obscure and well-known events throughout history. A little like Forest Gump, Oldman was present at many important events, from Jesus Christ's crucifixion to Lincoln's assassination. Inspired by the 2007 film of the same name (which I haven't seen but now want to), but taking on a clever, funny, and silly life of its own.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "Black Wall Street: Dreamland Theatre"

Day: 6

Show: 20

Title: Black Wall Street: Dreamland Theatre

Category: DRAMA / PHYSICAL THEATER / AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION / HISTORICAL CONTENT

By: Doc Woods & Friends

Created by: Doc Woods & Friends

Location: Augsburg Studio

Summary: A reenactment of what happened inside the Dreamland Theatre during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Highlights: Like most White Americans, I only heard about this gross injustice in recent years (specifically through the HBO series Watchmen). This show doesn't try to tell you what happened on that tragic day, rather it makes you feel what happened. From the moment the show starts, the audience is immersed in the thriving Black community, gathered for a night out at the movies with friends and family. We see people entering and greeting each other, and then settling in beside us to watch the previews (cast includes Charla Marie Bailey, Dante Pirtle, Quintin Brown, Camrin King, B.E. Kerian, Kari Elizabeth Godfrey, Mike Galvan, and Emmanuel L. Woods). Clips from historical Black films from the early 20th Century (another thing I didn't know about) are played on the big screen, while the cast reacts to them and chats with each other. Even though I knew what was coming, I almost forgot about it as I enjoyed the show. Which made the eventual interruption with news of a probable lynching and ensuing violence even more shocking. The sounds of the massacre overwhelm the space, as a video reenactment of the events happening just outside the theater where we were virtually sitting plays on the screen. The visceral experience gets into your heart and gut in a way that a documentary or narrative drama could not. This show gives the audience a tiny glimpse into what the victims of that night felt, which can only spur one on to learn more about what happened, and do what we can to prevent racial violence and make reparations to its many victims all over this country.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "The Hysterical Woman"

Day: 6

Show: 19

Title: The Hysterical Woman

Category: COMEDY / DRAMA / HISTORICAL CONTENT / LGBTQIA+ CONTENT / POLITICAL CONTENT

By: Fortune's Fool Theatre

Created by: Ariel Pinkerton

Location: Rarig Center Xperimental

Summary: A collection of new and classic stories, news pieces, and poems around the idea of the historical and continuing diagnosis/accusation of "hysteria" in women.

Highlights: This powerful and moving collection includes pieces written by cast members, female writers like Mary Oliver and Emily Dickenson, and moments in history. Performed by a five-person ensemble (Ariel Pinkerton, Linda Sue Anderson, Rachel Flynn, Destiny Davison, and Andrew Troth), each piece is a little story unto itself, some funny, some tragic, all relatable. Stories about women at the doctor's office, or a conversation with her partner, or with a coworker. And when the interaction goes well and the woman is listened to and heard, the cast interrupts with "this never happens" and provides informative background about gaslighting, sexual harassment, or medical misdiagnoses. Which is funny because it's true, and we begin to expect it. Particularly impactful is the reading of Anita Hill's testimony at the 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and a mash up of the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" with Britney Spears's recent testimony to end her conservatorship. The staging (direction by Nicole Wilder) makes good use of the Xperimental space, and the individual pieces flow smoothly from one to the next, comprising a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This piece illustrates the fact that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We still call women "hysterical" when we don't like what they're saying or doing, if not in so many words. 

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "Swords & Sorcery: The Improvised Fantasy Campaign"

Day: 5

Show: 18

Title: Swords & Sorcery: The Improvised Fantasy Campaign

Category: COMEDY / IMPROV / AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

By: The Bearded Company

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: A completely improvised fantasy tale using elements of Dungeons and Dragons (familiarity not required).

Highlights: I don't know anything about D&D, but I love what this crew does with it (I suspect that any real game wouldn't be as fun as this). I first saw this show back in the 2017 Fringe, and then again in 2018. In the last few years the Bearded Company has come out with a podcast with a similar concept, called Break the Dice, which is entertaining to listen to, but I forgot how much fun it is to watch them do their thing in person. The physicality of the improvised story adds a whole new element, as they twist their bodies to embody various creatures, and enact slow-mo fight scenes. The premise is fairly simple: guided by game master Allen Voigt, a rotating cast of improvisors (Maria Bartholdi, Laura Berger, MJ Marsh, Tyler Michaels King, Tyler Mills, Joe Rapp, Chris Rodriguez, and Lucas Vonasek) tell a story of druids, elves, dwarves, and other magical creatures. They explore and fight, occasionally asking Allen to roll the dice to determine the success of a move they want to make, whether it's persuade someone, or slash at them with a dagger. Musician Jack Barrett provides a score and soundscape so seamless and appropriate it's hard to believe it's improvised, while Ryan Klima provides sound and lighting effects to add to the story. After many years of experience, this team has become experts at this unique form of storytelling, seeming to read each other's minds as they create a story on the fly. The only bad thing about the show is that it's one continuing story, so we're left with a cliffhanger at the end of the show, which makes me want to go back and see it again!

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "Finger Lickin' Good"

Day: 5

Show: 17

Title: Finger Lickin' Good

Category: COMEDY / HORROR / ORIGINAL MUSIC / AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION / HISTORICAL CONTENT

By: Special When Lit

Written by: Heather Meyer & Nissa Nordland Morgan

Location: Rarig Center Thrust

Summary: A sort of true biography of Colonel Harland David Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, that turns into a wild tale of sex, greed, and chicken.

Highlights: I don't know what kind of genius and/or warped minds think of an idea like this, but it's cluckin' brilliant (I can't resist the chicken puns any more than this team can). And it's also completely ridiculous, in the best way. Sam Landman is the perfect Colonel, with the swagger, the accent, the iconic white suit (when he's wearing anything at all), and the magnetism of the man who started the world's second largest restaurant chain. We traverse more or less chronologically through Harland's life, from his unhappy childhood, to his marriage and many affairs, to starting the KFC franchise, and eventually selling it (which, in this retelling, he regretted). The ensemble (the playwrights along with Rita Boersma, Jonathan Feld, and Duck Washington, all playing multiple roles, and chickens) are hilariously over the top as they tell this story, using lots of clever chicken props. All of the above would make for a great show, but the cherry on top is Shanan Custer as the frazzled fact checker, standing just outside the story, providing sound effects and checking in her big book of facts. Watching her watch the show, and react to the shenanigans, makes it even funnier. The show also includes a couple of original songs (by Nicholas Nelson) with some funky chicken choreography (by Laura Mahler). There aren't really any horror elements in this piece, except for one delicious final moment that maybe isn't necessary, but makes my vegetarian heart glad. Audiences may come for the salacious show image (the best one in the fest this year), but they'll be rewarded by a wholly original and wildly creative story about an iconic figure whom we thought we knew, but it turns out we didn't know him at all.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.