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2026 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Marie Cooney
Company: Lethan Candlish
Show: Who Am I, Again?
Venue: Mixed Blood
Again... Again... And Again, Again...
Self disclosure: I am also a previously very able bodied and able minded person who survived a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Thanks for inviting the audience to self identify as someone with this somewhat visible but too often invisible disability. I enjoyed Lethan's story, found the inclusion of other survivor's' stories difficult, yet appreciated the stories of his family and friends. I know that other survivors become part of our stories, but it was too much for me to take in, especially late at night. One thing that really hit home was the title of the show: Who Am I, Now? which can be asked again and again and again, because every brain injury is different as is every recovery, which is never ending. Thank you for showing us who you were and became throughout your recovery processes.
Company: Kind Fool Theater
Show: Witness Loudly
Venue: Strike Theater
Ginger Mountain, This is Neighbor Saying Thank You
I could not be on the front lines during Metro Serge for medical reasons, and I had to find other ways to be a Good Neighbor. Kyle, a brilliant storyteller and historian, invites the audience to ride shotgun with nothing more than a voice, a radio, some training expanded upon from the George Floyd times, and a sense of a huge community against thugs with high power rifles , nor morals, and no accountability. Thank you for making these experiences real, very real, for those who actually lived through these experiences, those who had to flee, those who were kidnapped and taken, those left behind, and the named and unnamed who were killed on the streets or in detention centers. See Kyle's show for the storytelling, the history, and preparedness should you need to make a similar choice when we are targeted again. I also want to that the other performers who re-created the dispatched car scenes in order to keep the identities of other witnesses protected. Ginger Mountain, I also want to thank you for owning the trauma perpetrated upon you as someone helping others. PTSD is very real. I surround you in love. Your Neighbor.
Company: Jex Arzayus
Show: Soap Prov: Show of 10,000 Secrets
Venue: Rarig Nolte Xperimental Theatre
A Cruise Ship in the Mall...
Name a place was yelled out to the audience. "Cruise ship!" yelled one voice. "The Mall," shouted out another. I jokingly laughed, "A cruise ship in the mall!" And SoapProv ran with it! OMG! Multiple characters emerged; sub plots were created, twisted, and tied together. A full and cohesive play was born without script on its feet! Run! Run to see this troupe and all their fun!
Company: Tyler West
Show: Small Minded
Venue: The Southern Theater
Welcome Back Tyler! See this show!
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep'" - Prospero in The Tempest. Tyler becomes what he dreamed of as a child, but not without endless challenges by those with small and closed minds. His show cracks open the minds and hearts of audience members with clowning, song and dance, story, personal experiences, and more. Tyler's journey between parts offered, those turned down, those chosen and embraced is an epic journey. Come to his final shows and share your experiences including choice and accomplishments made by other Little People with great dreams for themselves too.
Company: The Miller Conspiracy
Show: Bay Creek
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance
Twice as Nice with Greater Fright
I first saw Derrick perform "Bay Creek" at the Elgin Fringe Festival and then again here in Minnesota. Twice is nicer with greater fright. Knowing the story doesn't spoil. It increases the thrill and eeriness of the journey. In this brilliant solo performance, Derrick embodies how a horrific force to be wrecked with haunts generations in his family. Gone is gone, but not necessarily dead. I loved sitting front and center right up to the end!
Company: The World Crime League
Show: M
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance
Trigger Warnings: Bright Lights and Loud Noises
I was not the only person in the audience with a disability and I wish trigger warnings had been included that would have allowed me to protect myself or choose another show. While it is true the the shadow projections were very creative, for me they became extremely painful, even with the protective amber glasses and dark visor I am known to wear. Projectors are not ment to be used as a lighting instrument and especially not designed to be shot into an audience where a migraine or a seizure might be triggered in a member of the audience, bringing a fun show to a halting stop due to a medical emergency. While the fast pace and acton was a lot of fun, the over the top noise of screaming and yelling felt like it was far more than necessary. And blowing a whistle straight into the audience's assaulting abuse for some audience members. I and another audience member doubled over in pain. I wish the whistle was directed upstage and away from the audience. Warnings beyond content would have enable me to wear protective hearing or choose another show. I am very happy the the MN Fringe encourages trigger warnings and I hope more producers will realize there are ways to make shows more welcoming to people with disabilities that might not be apparent to those without disabilities. I was previously a very able bodied person who now has multiple seemingly invisible disabilities. I pride myself in helping others to expand their understanding because ASL, AD, mobility and more to include both children and adults with neurological challenges. Thank you.
Company: True Men Productions
Show: Castrati: A Tale of Two
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance
Beyond Snip-Snip to Serious Topics
Although the preview and many reviews might reinforce that which is comedic, crude and too often cruel, I believe much of this play was very serious. So many questions from centuries ago to the current day: Is it different when someone chooses to alter their body to better match their self identity vs having someone else alter your body for their vision of the artist you might become, or not, and who gets to choose as what risks? Familial acceptance: who are those who reject a family member because that person cannot fulfill the hopes and dreams that will never be and who are those who will help you accept the altered self than expected regardless of how change has or has not happens? How does one find one's tribe, the people with whom they become their best selves? Once a person has made a life on their now true or alter self, can one go back to anyone who has been cruel, dismissive and opportunistic? Where is love found and share? For me, there was so much more to this play than the comic. I loved the lost child who found their own purpose. I love the supportive band, which also played the parts of narrator. I loved Nona, the devoted grandmother and elements of other worldliness. I hope this play grows into a greater production. But see it now, here, in it's current version.
Company: Moral of the Story
Show: A Real Piece of Work
Venue: Theatre in the Round
In The Beginning...
In the beginning there were stories... school plays... church plays.... community theater plays.... professional theaters filled with professional actors, directors, stage managers, designers, stagehands, wardrobe, living and long dead playwright. If you love theater in any format and are looking for something playful and fun, but also serious, see this show and laugh, laugh, laugh, and maybe gasp because plays by their very nature can be oh so dramatic, and then some!
Company: American School of Storytelling
Show: More Better Stories
Venue: American School of Storytelling
Post Fringe Opportunities Await
Vianna Isbister's weaving of the grim story of Red Ridding Hood with her own experiences from childhood through adult life was amazing. No spoiler alerts. If you missed this show, worry not. Get on the mailing list or Facebook page of American School of Storytelling. Vianna is returning to tell this story again after the MN Fringe. Come hear it for the first time or again. The best review is stating I will see this show again if at all possible. Learn why the title "LEAKING (THE WOLVES ARE EVERYWHERE)" is the perfect title for the fairytale and true stories of too many girls and women. The garments get patched over and over, and yet the warnings cannot go out enough about the wolves in tales and everywhere, including where least expected. Thanks for the courage to create and present such truths and warnings.
Company: Ben San Del Presents
Show: Apologies for the Late Reply
Venue: American School of Storytelling
TWICE IS NOT NICE: aka Person in the Dark Glasses
I am very grateful for the American School of Storytelling for all that Loren and Christine do for local and visiting Spoken Word artists. I came with an open mind to hear engaging comedy in tough times. Unfortunately, that open door was slammed shut. Don't get me wrong. there were parts that were funny, some not so funny but true, and audience engagement. I laughed hysterically about the music truck because my nieces came home during one family vacation with ice cream melting down their faces proclaiming, "Aunt Marie, did you know the music truck is also an ice cream truck?!!!" They had not been duped by their parents. They were equally delighted by both aspects.... But then. The comic points out the woman standing in the back of the room wearing dark glasses and invites me to move forward. I decline, leaving the last remaining seat for a potential late comer with a reservation. But the comic could not let it go. As his show continued, he pointed me out again, making me the butt of his joke. The weird thing is that he started his show about the times in which we are living. By his mockery, I was reminded of Trumps's rally when he made an ass of himself by mocking a man in a wheelchair. So at the end of the show, I waited. I walked up to Ben. "This isn't the first Fringe I have been pointed out as the person wearing dark glasses inside and made a joke. Before you do something like that again, you might not want to come across like Trump who mocked a man at his rally because he was in a wheelchair. That man had a visible disability. Mine is an invisible disability. Then I walked away. My name is Marie Cooney. I sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury twenty years ago. I am fortunate enough to be a storyteller who has spoken many times from this stage. I have an invisible disability and I protect myself by wearing dark glasses. Comics, tread carefully when making an audience member the butt or your joke. Ironically, Ben became no better than the person he mocked at the top of the show. I wanted to enjoy this show, but he opened the door for me to mentally leave, TWICE.
Company: Applause Community Theatre
Show: The Precious Scars
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
Who Gets to Decide?
A politician... a marine... and a drag queen... walk into a gay bar! Who gets to decide to what extent any one person is out? There is a price to be paid by being in the closet. But there is also a huge price to pay for being outed by someone else, someone who is supposed to be a part of your safe community, until they are not. This is not just a historical play about way back when. It is also about today and the crazy world we live in now. It theory, it has been easier to come out as LGBTQ+ these past decades. But now? Who get's to decide the price someone else pays for the good of the current and future generations? Is it okay to deep your foot into the gay pool at your own pace? Is it okay to push someone else off the high board head first? This play presents important questions without easy answers. Come to this play and explore what you think is and is not okay.
Company: Theatre Engine
Show: Chum!
Venue: Rarig Kilburn Theatre
Props are Tops!
From the Chewy boxes that make the boats to noodle torpedos, shark bait, stormy silks and more, every single thing in this production has a place and a purpose. Filled with humor, horror, and song, it's a musical Jaws, not a sea shanty. Beautiful voices sing about icky things like body parts. What is really more important: safety in a New England beach town or cashing in on the tourist season. Come to this show and decide for yourself!
Company: CuerpoxCuerpo
Show: LATIN PAPI
Venue: Rarig Nolte Xperimental Theatre
Te amo Papi. Te amo Papi.
Te amo Papi. Te amo Papi. From the second Gabriel and Armani enter the theater, they are equal opportunity flirts: with themselves, with each other, with members of the audience. It does not matter if you are gay or straight, male or female, or along a continuum, you will fall in love with them and the most sensuous dance that has come to the MN Fringe ever! Strong and beautiful. Soft and intimate. Even the costume changes are beautifully choreographed. Do not miss Gabriel's return to the MN Fringe, this time with his amazing dance partner, Armani. Hot, hot, hot!