2025 Audience Reviews

Company: Jason Schommer
Show: 50: A Totally Rad Comedy About the Gnarly Reckoning of a Gen Xer!
Venue: Strike Theater

The Facts of Life at 50

I'm still guffawing. Bravo, Jason, on yet another wild ride back in time. Bravo also to JC Lippold for huggable renditions of TV-show theme songs and The Indigo Girls. As someone who has retrained my brain to only have ONE space after the period in a sentence, I find Jason's stories nostalgic, relatable, and sitcom-level funny. The packed theatre was roaring as Jason wove in Blanche, Blair, and earworm ditties from the past. All the 80s goodness is awesomely wrapped with heartwarming and pee-your-pants stories from Jason's childhood to the present day. Proving 50 is fabulous, and so is this show.

Company: Third Space Theater
Show: Breach
Venue: Theatre in the Round

Third Space Theater Just Schooled Fringe

I had planned to see BREACH from the get-go for one reason: Alex Church. I've been following Alex's rock-star level work for years. But holy crabcakes, people, buckle your seatbelt. I'm still trying to catch my breath after seeing... no, experiencing BREACH. Finding myself sucked in, propelled, twisted, turned, and splashed back down. I'm obsessed with this show and all the lightning-bolt moments, razor-sharp acting, brilliantly executed interactions, and everyday items transformed into unquestionable reality. There is a crab puppet that got audible gasps from the packed crowd at 10 PM on Friday. Heartpounding sound design from the endlessly talented Sam Faye King plummeted us into the depths of the darkest waters. I swear I still taste the salt water on my lips. A show like this, that fires on all cylinders, that is genius at every turn, should not have its swan dance on Sunday night. People need to see this show! I would 1000% go back for this professional theatrical victory again. Bravo to all involved. Ya got my Gold Lanyard vote hands down.

Company: Literally Entertainment
Show: The Lasso Way: A Musical
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre

Barbecue Sauce

Fantastic show with all the bells and whistles. Lasso-isms, but still it's own show. The creators KNOW what they're doing, and this could easily be a full-length musical.

Company: Alisa Rosenthal
Show: Big Honor Student Energy
Venue: Open Eye Theatre

Even Chris P is Impressed

This is a professional-level show and soooo very relatable. Be prepared for big energy and some very real humor. My over-planning, nerdy, Tom Petty-loving brain adores Alisa Rosenthal.

Company: Sufian Zhemukhov
Show: An Immigrant's Guide to America
Venue: Open Eye Theatre

Eye Opening Stories

Sufian Zhemukhov is a brilliant storyteller. He takes his audience back in time when he was navigating America as a Russian/Muslim Immigrant. His delivery is as if he is talking directly to you. Imagine Mr. Rogers in a coffee shop - even the house lights at Open Eye are dimmed to set the tone. This show is billed as political, but from the night I went, it was all about humans trying to connect. Mr. Zhemukhov's stories are as delightful as they are powerful. He has so much to say, and you should hear it.