Sub-Total
2024 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Marie Cooney
Company: Kari Heistad
Show: Playing Dead
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Four generations of women with three actors.
Laura Carlson was brilliant as the younger daughter, her acting roles, and the embodiment of her grandmother. The desire for closeness and distance from her older sister was very realistic. And the mother stuck between caring about and for her mother, soon after her father had died was understandably very stressful and was handled quite differently by each daughter. This story of four generations of women, played by three talented actors, closes Sunday at 8:30. Add this to your final day if possible.
Company: Pretend Productions
Show: Daddy Issues
Venue: Phoenix Theater
Emotional Rollercoaster Ride of Love.
Allison Vincent is amazing! She weaves this very personal story with wit and charm blended with shock and horror, from highly steeped daddy issues to genuine love. The audience gets a glimpse into what it might be like to have Ms. Vincent as a favorite high school teacher. She is also the estranged daughter called upon to take care of her dying father. Transitions between characters and scenes are seamless. Music and other cues are brilliant. See this show on Saturday at 4 pm for the first and/or another time. Daddy Issues is a wonderful homage to those who are dying and those left to grieve. Stunning. Beautiful. Moving. Memorable.
Company: Emily Boyajian
Show: Transition: A Story of Two Trans People Becoming Themselves
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Journey: My Fringiest of the Fringe Pick!
The blending of various art forms is what makes this my "fringiest of the fringe" pick for 2024. The journey begins with a play about the friendship, love, and support shared between a trans woman and a trans man. The performers journey to microphones downstage as writer, composer, lyricist and conductor, Emily Boyajian journeys upstage to the orchestra of a dozen musicians, some playing multiple instrument. Then, the most beautiful and operatic voices fill the room. The music repeats the naming of people whose stories might have been excluded from LGBTQ+ history with a rippling effect. At another time, spoken word by one actor is brilliantly interspersed with music from a single bass clarinet. Songs more reminiscent of musical theater or a blend with bigger than life opera moves the journey along. Hopes, fears, disappointments and so many emotions are traversed throughout the performance with the audience jumping up and crashing the glass ceilings crushed by so many talented performers. Read the bios. See this show on Thursday or Saturday at Mixed Blood Theater. Then vote for you fringiest of fringe picks, whether this show or others. Thanks.
Company: Tennessee Playwrights Studio
Show: That Woman - The Monologue Show
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
A Glimpse into Some of Those Women
Each of "those women" who were involved with JFK, had uniquely told stories, histories, and experiences.Each woman is harshly judged with little care given to the actions of powerful men. A glimpse into the lives of these six women is but a tip of the iceberg. You will remember poignant moments of some stories long after the show, and you might or might not forget others as is too often the case. You have three more chances to see this show. Go!
Company: Paco Erhard | German Comedy International
Show: An Honest* History of Bullshit
Venue: HUGE Improv Theater
International Comic Relief is the Best Medicine.
Paco was so much fun last year, I returned to the new Huge venue with three friends on a rainy Monday! Laughter abounded throughout the show with digs at himself as a German and at Americans, Canadians, the British, Europeans and more. Wide range of humorous and dreadful topics that need comic relief. Thanks for including the MN Fringe in your national and international tours. See this show if possible.
Company: Dark Roast Arts
Show: They Still Make Film For That?
Venue: Strike Theater
So Sorry I Had to Leave (Seizure Warning)
I loved Kevin's props and descriptions of why various cameras and films were part of photography history and how old cameras could still be used today. I went to this show after seeing the preview and remembering how much I enjoyed taking black and white photos and attending a photography class in college in the early 80s. Oh what a delight, as he describe what he was doing in the portable dark room bag. Then he added chemicals to a portable canister for the film development. OMG! I should have read the show description! WARNING: I have a Traumatic Brain Injury and a Seizure Disorder, which sometimes causes severe sensitivity to lights, sounds, and chemical smells! Kevin, I'm sorry I had to leave your show, because I knew I was beginning to have a horrible reaction, which if I had not left could have lead to a greater interruption. Kudos to the MN Fringe staff who asked if I were alright. When I explained what happened, they asked if it would be good to post an Audience Warning. "Yes, please" I answered, "most people would not be affected. I should have known better, but I forgot about the smells. A warning would be appropriate for others with neurological disabilities and challenges." Congratulations to this First Time Producer and thank you to his sponsors.
Company: Rebecca Wickert
Show: Seance Sisters
Venue: Strike Theater
Trifecta Show at KC, MN, and INDY fringes!
What I loved best: the spooky makeup of the oldest sister, the changing relationships between the three Fox sisters, the wonderful wardrobe dresses of all, simple but delightful and used set and props, incorporation of sound cues, invitation for audience participation, the range of emotions felt by characters and audience, uncertainty of what was real and what was not, and the finale. What was missing: the historical contents of Spiritualism, which grew out of the end of the Civil War, when so many people were seeking contact with their deceased loved ones and women were filling that void. Spiritualism continues through today.
Company: Boiled Horse Productions
Show: Stroke of Genius: Pantomime Masturbation Throughout Performing Arts History
Venue: Strike Theater
A Lesbian Walks into a Masturbation Class....
Dr. Walter Winkworth-Pérez is a very serious professor teaching an unusual topic: the history of masturbation throughout centuries and various cultures. Granted the research is all about males, which happens too often in academia. However, class participation is an important part of students' grades, so feel free to add in polite and more vulgar references to the delightful topic of self pleasure through any point of view. The visual aids and scales are quite remarkable. His video assistant is also in the MN Fringe! Hooray to all who developed this course, which has been offered at Fringe Festivals across the USA! Students who complete this course, with or without embarrassment are rewarded with a certificate of completion. Please attend this class. Leave any Minnesota Nice and the door. And do participate!
Company: Fearless Comedy Productions
Show: A Murder on the Great Grimpen Mire Express
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Monster & Murder Mystery
It begins with the howl of a werewolf, the boarding of passengers upon the GE Express, followed by the train stopped in a bog. A murder hasn't happened - yet. Can the foreshadowed "who done it" be solved before it happens? This was a delightful and extremely funny comic drama. The acting was remarkable and I loved the costumes and quick change mini set changes. Highly recommended.
-2024-05-15-10-10-17.png?Action=thumbnail&Width=600&Height=400&algorithm=fill)
Company: Ken Takata
Show: Musical Settings for Shakespeare
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Shakespeare Re-imagined with Song and Music
I loved seeing this performance during last year's MN Fringe. It was equally enjoyable this year. The great thing is every performance is different. I attended keyboards and soloists. It was intriguing to hear different musical variations of the same text. I delight in the idea that Shakespeare used music, most of which was lost, in his plays and that Ken uses various musical styles to bring the stanzas to life as songs. I especially appreciate that homage was played to women. Watch the preview video to see a glimpse of rehearsal with a three piece band. I hope to see that orchestration on
 (1)-2024-07-15-17-42-36.jpg?Action=thumbnail&Width=600&Height=400&algorithm=fill)
Company: Michael Rogers
Show: As Above, So Below
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance
Diving Deep into Dark Waters
Michael Rogers was brilliant in performing this personal story filled with drama and angst. The journey of a middle child trying to survive a recent break up and the fall out of his youth kept me engaged from the beginning to end and every single breath between. Nothing will prepare you for the jarring ending.
Company: Light Bringer Productions
Show: The Light Bringer
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
Collision of Cultures & Collisions of Children
This is a brilliant, heart warming, hysterically funny, and heart wrenching personal story about a young girl immigrating to America from Pakistan with her family. As she grows older, the American Dream is torn apart by family drama, teenage angst, frightening nightmares, and difficult choices. The sound cues were exceptional and light provided nice transitions between scenes. I suspect this show might sell out, so reserve tickets if you want to guarantee a seat to this amazing personal journey. I look forward to a sequel to this story whenever possible!
Company: W.A.S. Productions
Show: A Number
Venue: Phoenix Theater
Best of the Fringe - Must See!
Wow! A fully polished performance of Carol Churchill's play "A Number", was added days before the MN Fringe opened! Limited cash? See this play my a renowned British playwright, if nothing else, as performed by two AEA actors. A came because it was a previously unseen play by the brilliant Carol Churchill. The best review is I intend to return to see this off the charts and amazing performance. When Dawn and Amber tell producers on the waiting lists and audience members that ANYTHING can happen before and during the Fringe, believe them. "A Number" is proof that you need to read daily newsletters to keep up with EVERYTHING! Consider this play among the Best of the Best, which will be remembered and talked about for years to come.
Company: TENACIOUS TARTS
Show: EVERYTHING MATTERS!!!
Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl
Kudos to First Time Producers!
A mixture of reporting from a deceased loved one's journal filled with possible personal and world predictions of the past to youthful memories and current day realities, this play is the story of two childhood friends returning to Ireland as adults, after the death of a kind and mysterious neighbor who befriended them. The current day performances seemed stronger than the reading of the journals. It became best to simply accepting the journals as a means to the end of learning and going through historical moments most likely remembered by adults, which I believe is the best intended audience. Children might enjoy the costumes, acting and childhood friendship. Audience participation was an unnecessary distraction. I came because I know Sioban and I was interested in the topic of the unknown predicted. I believe it is also important to support first time producers, and see how the new performers grow through their first and future Fringe Festivals. Congratulations to these and other first time producers.
Company: Communal Beverage
Show: Open Tab
Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl
Welcome from Chicago!
Fringe the unexpected! Months after applying, half the cast is available for opening night? Don't worry. They dive in head first with the people available, and then they will add more actors as the Fringe continues. This group of traveling artists dove into their own and other cast members skits with grace and ease. I suspect it will get better and better. Make the choice to support traveling acts you won't see otherwise.
Company: Alex Stokes / Sky Blue Productions
Show: Hugo and Maeve Join A Cult!
Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl
Horror and Comedy in the Mall of America
Like Handsel and Gretel finding themselves lost in the forest and under the control of an evil witch, Hugo and Maeve follow a trail of chocolates into the bowels of the Mall of America and become slaves of heinous cult. The whip lash between fear and laughter, makes this show fly. Sometimes, a show is chosen based on knowledge of the casts or their bios so read them. We came because Theatre Elision is one of our favorite companies and we have seen Glensheen at the History Theater. Both of these local actors rock in these Fringe roles and beyond. See this show!
Company: Abby Bland
Show: Godzilla's Not A Dinosaur
Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl
Educational & Fun Delight
Dropping off cards at BLB, this was a delightful and unexpected late night slot filler. I had no idea about the origins of Godzilla and the history, symbolism, and metaphor of these monster movies and how they changed depending on Japanese vs. USA production. Brilliantly told and mixed with poetry, the performer was amazing. No previous experience needed. I laugh along with those who were obviously familiar with various versions of Godzilla movies! Not originally on my must see list of shows, because I'm not a horror movie or monster fan, please put this on your list of must see shows!