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2026 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Zachary Benson
Company: Narate Keys
Show: An Earth Goddess (Preah Mae Thorani)
Venue: The Southern Theater
I know other people didn't like it but I...
Full disclosure: I acted in Apsara the Musical in 2025 (last year), playing Hanuman. So, I do have personal experience with the playwright and her way of doing things. I certainly think it's fair to say that the play needed to be fleshed out and worked on more. Also, my neurospicy brain did kinda emotionally connect with what it was trying to do. I did see into the whiplash of being Khmer in Minnesota, with the script's attempts to connect Cambodian bodies of water with Minnesota bodies of water. Not perfectly executed, but I felt it. And the kid's games part brought back memories of me learning Korean games at a Korean culture camp as a Korean adoptee. To me, it felt relatable because of how I wish I had deeper connections to being Korean and also a wistful memory for my days in Korean culture camp. The part of the Buddha felt like an immigrant's search for meaning in the confusing state of Minnesota. I related to that as well. I know some people didn't like the vocals. Certainly there were some parts where the singing in the track was not in tune (and not in a way which was clearly the use of a non-Western scale with microtonalities), and this was a tad rough. But also, there were actually times when I think it somehow added to the performace. With the antagonist of the show, it created an effect of multi-voice villain. That felt cool and interesting. Yes, I think this show could have been worked on for next year. Quite a few things DID work for me, contrary to what other reviewers say.
Company: PhysicalLies
Show: How to Escape Hell
Venue: Rarig Nolte Xperimental Theatre
Not perfectly executed, but very deep.
This show barely had an audience when I went to it. The performers did some incredible, moving experimental art. I don't know how to describe it, but I really think this show is quite underrated. The music choices really did underscore the unsettling nature of the dynamics of gendered relations. It wasn't perfect because it wasn't immediately clear how the audience participation would change the direction of the show, but it was definitely a subversive piece of work.
Company: Hey Rube!
Show: So Bright, the Night
Venue: The Southern Theater
Compelling story from oppressed community's POV
I really appreciated the way they depicted nuanced characters. I especially appreciated how they had a character who was a collaborator with oppressers while himself belonging to an oppressed group. This is the kind of nuance I really want to see more of in general. Most of all, I enjoyed how this story entirely focused on the thought-processes, fears, struggles, and coping mechanisms the Mexican characters went through. Too many "ICE shows" at Fringe this year seemed to focus on how white people feel about it. As a non-white artist, this does bother me. So this show was refreshing to see. The emotions of it were simply immediately compelling and deeply affecting in a way that makes you feel the enormity of the current slave-catcher machine today.
Company: Black and Foxy Co
Show: Ember
Venue: Rarig Kilburn Theatre
Systemic cruelty & trying to outshine it
Whether it's an artist trying to get their next big break or just a person trying to be seen & valued as a person in the context of a cruel system, too often, systemic cruelty makes people feel like they must be smaller, less vocal, less themselves. I enjoyed seeing each person share deeply personal experiences in their own commanding way. The most-commanding presence was still very vulnerable. I especially appreciated how many non-white people performed, because many Fringe shows def need more diversity IMHO. Each was emotionally resonant in unique ways. As I watched consecutive storytelling, I noticed the theme of how society, systems, norms, & powerful people with unexamined biases keep stifling, dehumanizing, & oppressing incredible people. Each person's very personal story reminded me of the sheer number of friends & former coworkers in my life who stumble through society in systems absolutely not designed for them at all. Each part feels very personal, and I think it will help you develop curiosity about the multitudes that exist within family, friends, strangers, & the people you see yet ignore. It reminds me of a quote from my faith tradition: "Abundant food is in the uncultivated ground of the poor, but it is swept away by injustice." (Proverbs 13:23) How many amazing, multifaceted people in your life stay stuck due to our society's design?
Company: CuerpoxCuerpo
Show: LATIN PAPI
Venue: Rarig Nolte Xperimental Theatre
Worth more than the ticket price
Full disclosure: I'm a boringly straight dude. And as a non-white audience member, I often do feel discomfort about how white people interact with brown people doing sexual performances. However, these performers did FAR more than what the adverts leaned into. They did experimental artistic stuff which had so much conceptual, subtle things (even elements of horror), and it worked incredibly well. My only criticism would be that the audio track was a tad hard to hear, but even this could be a tech issue. So, I do give this a full 5 kitties, cuz it was very compelling, thought-provoking, and unique, in a way that I'm still processing now days later. It's difficult to explain how well they did this with words. You should just go see it.
Company: Three Second Memory
Show: Who We Are: Stories from the Surge
Venue: Open Eye Theatre
As a POC, I have some nuanced thoughts
How much should we focus on how white people felt about Surge? I appreciated how they did choose lots of different stories from communities directly impacted by Operation Metro Surge and read them verbatim. I liked how the readers of these verbatim stories were a diverse group of people from multiple backgrounds. At the same time, as me & my non-white friends discussed afterwards, it did cross into white saviorist territory. One part of the play that bothered us was the line which stated "I saw...white people standing up for us" or something to that effect. While I get that this is a verbatim quote from a non-white person's actual feelings & thoughts, I think that for white liberals, this line will make them feel like congratulating themselves. As my friend put it: "I hope the white audience members realize that the REAL meaning is 'I'm kinda shocked that white people give a dam at all'..." The default mode of whiteness, due to privilege, is being "apolitical" and not standing up for your neighbor (and even for those who DO try to resist, the default mode is to be shocked that the feds are being this mean or overtly evil, MINUS a deeper interrogation of the USA's history of enslavement, indigenous genocide, etc. etc. etc.). One thing that bothered me about both of the 2 main "ICE plays" (other being "Witness Loudly") was the way white audiences seemed to love a white grandma who uses "cuss" slang. I mean, at a surface level, I get it, given how white women are socially expected to be. But non-white girls, women, femmes, & even grandmas have needed to be assertive for centuries in the face of empire, in the face of a racist system, etc. etc. etc. And like, a lot of slang that exists in the English vernacular...does kinda originate from the black community and other marginalized groups. So like, should the white grandma who cusses be a darling of white liberal audiences? I do like how they showed white liberals beginning to understand the concept of mutual aid. This kind of thing is something that frankly people of many political persuasions can be convinced to be a part of, not just those of us with radical politics. Overall, I would say that while I appreciate how it quoted people's feelings & thoughts verbatim (and other positive thoughts I have probably are already stated by other reviewers), I question the curation of those feelings & thoughts. Certainly, as an artistic form of historical documentation it works, partly because people will revisit the perceptions of people in our time and wonder "why did they do/think/feel this good thing, but fail to interrogate assumption _____ deeper?" Picture how we today look at the American Colonization Society, which wanted to free the enslaved people, but immediately ship them back to Africa instead of demanding equal rights here in the USA. Point being: there's some real cracks in the courts of public perception of that time, even with the ostensible resistance. And, in the same way, people will look back in frustration at the way white people acted shocked that ICE could happen in a society like ours (given our history), as well as their reticence to abolish immigration restrictions & hold Democrats accountable for being collaborators, even though it's ALSO true that they appreciated how even the libs took action beyond voting, which is usually how it goes. ICE is still in MN, and I worry that libs have already gotten complacent in favor of the mid-terms. There's a shortage of ICE patrols now. Why is that? Will a robust collective of mutual aid truly develop or will it fizzle due to liberal default mode?
Company: Deft Pictures
Show: Not Bad for a Punk Band
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Was hoping for more
I did think they did an OK job of fleshing out the characters' motivations. Just that the center of the plot (what's the appeal of being in a band?) could have been shown more and talked about less. Perhaps they could have played more songs from their days as a band. Or perhaps they could've talked more about their band's political convictions, because even though the type of "punk" the band does is def towards pop-punk, they alluded to wanting to take meaningful action in these unjust times. (They did have an amazingly-timed pun about ice, however.) The way the story was written felt similar to a 2000's "will the band get back together?" film, which is both a nostalgic and perhaps played-out premise. I do think it can work a crowd-pleaser stage play, which seems to be where it starts & stops. If it wanted to make deeper points about political stuff, it needs some more fleshing out.
Company: Budding Heads
Show: Scab for Hire
Venue: The Southern Theater
Entertaining, interesting, some tonal awkwardness.
The show was trying to make a serious point about scabs and the social phenomenon which cause them. Yet, the slapstick & absurdity felt like it went into too much comical ness for me. Now, to be clear, I say this as someone who believes I have done exactly the same in my drawing out of a character I acted in, in a play. I played 3 different villain type characters in a theater play ("Muyehpen") and during different specific performances, in hindsight, I made these (actually seriously horrible) villains perhaps too comical. The reason for this concern came from how I recalled the audience laughing at parts of the story which maybe "shouldn't" have been appropriate to laugh during (FTR, I get that some people laugh during socially inappropriate times for a wide range of reasons). Maybe that's my own insecurity talking, to be clear. But back to "Scab for Hire": I felt like the tonal awkwardness took away from the message. And making friends with a mouse, while interesting in multiple ways, also could have been fleshed out more. Meanwhile, the after the fact podcast part: it had potential. I do like the range of the actors to do something completely different and embody completely different characters. I also liked its commentary of the sophistry that exists in the podcast & video essay space, cuz that is a frustration of mine, too. The pacing did feel a tad slow though. Overall, I still enjoyed this show. I think it has potential, with improvements.
Company: Local 574
Show: HELL ON WHEELS: The Winter Strike of 1934
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance
History I didn't know, timely.
I barely got in! There's a LOT I don't know about union history, and I never learned about this history before. I enjoyed how this show had live music with classic union songs (many of which I'm unfamiliar with cuz I'm new to all this). I also enjoyed their realistic exploration of class dynamics, gender dynamics in working-class movements, in-union collaborators with bosses, mutual aid, religion as a pacifying force, etc. I also liked how the Swedish character had a Swedish accent. Additionally, I enjoyed the sound effects made by the cast, though some were more effective than others. There were a few times when music parts were a tad mistimed, but one could argue it added to the realism of how "breaking into song" works IRL. Also, the part low-key roasting Hamm's beer was pretty funny. My main criticisms: 1) the rhythm & transitions in the plot (some parts were a tad awkward), and 2) the main protagonist could have been given more space to feel uncertainty & fear of retribution, poverty, etc. without being so easily convinced to join the cause. The thing I appreciated the most was the groundedness, including local references, as well as the imperfection of the demands that were met. Certainly, this play is worth the hype.