Sub-Total
2026 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Christopher DeVaan
Company: Mosaic Productions
Show: ANNA
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Powerfully blunt and unapologetic
The four performers are excellent! Full stop. The final triangle scene is so enchanting and gripping that you can't dare look away, no matter how uncomfortable it make you; no matter how much you think you "should" look away because you're afraid the main actress is going to have a wardrobe malfunction. The only drawback, besides a loose dress-top, is the first blackout transition. I understand it's a wardrobe change, but it's TOO long. As I said, all four actors are spectacular, but Caitlin Sparks in the title role is brash, blunt, unapologetic and unafraid as a young woman yearning for parental compassion, but determined to be independent and not defined by her adolescent trauma.
Company: Little Apple Theatre Company
Show: The Importance of Being Eternal
Venue: Open Eye Theatre
Earnest meets Twilight
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), I saw the first three "Twilight" movies, because I love all things vampire; so I got most of the references in this madcap vamp comedy! If I hadn't, I might be a little lost. The four ensemble are wonderful, and this is parody at it's finest that never takes itself too seriously! Well done!
Company: Black and Foxy Co
Show: Ember
Venue: Rarig Kilburn Theatre
Great variety and use of the hour!
Christy Johnson has found a wonderful niche in Fringe, with cabaret/variety-style shows that give performers to share some very deeply personal experiences. No notes. Thank you to the performers for sharing their vulnerabilities and song.
Company: Applause Community Theatre
Show: The Precious Scars
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
Harvey Milk, His Friend, and a Drag Queen
...walk into a bar, and hash out the pros and cons of "outing" gay people in the 80s. This show was overall very well done. I didn't really know what the point of liquor boxes and a dart board sitting on the bar top was, except to pay off passing references. The performances were very good, and the show clipped the best when it was dialogue, and then nearly ground to a halt at a too-long ending monologue.
Company: Jake Mierva
Show: I Will Become The Silver Surfer. I Will Protect You.
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
The Silver Medal
First off, let me extend my sympathies to the performer if his account of events in his childhood and young adulthood are, in fact, accurate and his alone. There is never a bad way to share your trauma as art, even if it entails a schizophrenic relationship to his favorite comic book characters. I think, perhaps, it could have been a little shorter. Some pauses could be eliminated, and that would help so it stays about him and his "quest" to save humanity, and not just leave the audience sitting there wondering "How much silver paint is this guy going to put on himself?
Company: The World Crime League
Show: M
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance
M-pressive
So, I have to admit that I don't know the movie, but I do know the company and a couple actors in the show. First of all, let me echo everyone else's marveling of the projector and use of shadow and light and those effects. A couple of the performances are fantastic; Mahmoud Hakima head and shoulders above everyone else. Everyone else is lackadaisical, which may very well have worked in the movie, but doesn't here. Of course, that might be due to my #1 pet peeve: short shows with FAR too many blackout transitions. Again, it might be right on par with the movie, but still doesn't work. Also, it seems blocked for a much smaller space than the space it was given. All the action takes place in front of the projector, which leaves a TON of empty space before actors get to the wings to transition props or costume pieces.
Company: Big Blue Theatre
Show: A Dark Gotham Knight's Dream
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Holy Bard Mash-up, Batman!
I auditioned for this show, and have been tracking it for awhile, so I was SUPER excited to finally see it! Now, I realize that content may have been cut to meet Fringe's strict 60-minute mark, but it was still a fun story and concept. Shakespeare AND Batman? Take my $$! Er, Artist's Pass. For the most part, I think the characters were very well done in gleeful parody fashion (or, straight up if you know the '60s TV show). Also, for the most part, I am pretty sure I know who their "A Midsummer Night's Dream" equivalents are. Because this is a newer company, I want to address what I might change. First off, I have NO idea what the actor playing Penguin was doing. CERTAINLY not Meredith, DeVito, Tom Kenny or Colin Farrell. It was like HE was playing Clayface and Clayface was playing Beeker from the Muppets. I thought the twist for Clayface's final "performance" was that they were going to actually talk. But since they didn't, there should have been a LOT more physicality to that monologue. As for Gordon, there's a super thin line between funny and aggravating for characters who only say one word or line, and, unfortunately, I think you ended up on the wrong side of it. Not sure why Alfred was front and center, announcing around everyone Batman's real identity. For the most part, it was VERY funny and VERY well-executed, and bravo to the actors for being able to concentrate on lines will all the paper balls flying around. I performed in similar circumstances once, so I know what a feat that is. As I said, as a faithful Bard and Batman fan, just a few tweaks I would make!
Company: Moral of the Story
Show: A Real Piece of Work
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Theater ABOUT theater?
Well, who DOESN'T love theater about the process of theater. So, I don't think I would ever get to the explosion part that the co-lead does, but I definitely feel the frustration of wanting shows to be excellent despite the potential of some of the surrounding characters. In fact, in one instance, the church basement and daily readings hit a little too close to home. But I loved and related to all the characters and I hope it's not too long a wait before Kevin T. Houle is back in the Director's chair!
Company: Snikt! Bamf! Thwip!
Show: Casa Bde-Maka-Ska
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Of all the parodies in all the gin joints...
Considering the playwrights, it's no wonder this show had everybody laughing, gasping and booing in all the right places. You don't even REALLY need to know "Casablanca" to enjoy it, but it makes some of the bits land better if you do. Kudos to the actor that plays ALL of the cafe parts, and to the cast and crew in general!
Company: New Endeavors
Show: Muskie
Venue: Mixed Blood
Cello-worthy
I really loved this show, and am so very glad that it turned out the way Andy Rakerd and New Endeavors imagined it. The characters and the actors that played them were so large and cut right out of rural MN lake life. The villainous puppet was as spectacular as advertised. The only thing I didn't feel that worked was a company member in a Tim Walz mask (spoiler alert) as opposed to an actor doing an impression of the Governor, which they maybe felt could not be done.
Company: 7 Stories Tall
Show: Stories From the Trauma Dump
Venue: Phoenix Theater
Brave and heartwarming
No notes. Well done by the brave storytellers, and I sympathize that Shanan Custer had to speed-tell her story to avoid the time being cut off.
Company: Beta Fish Productions
Show: The Lousiest Werewolves: Mania in the Moonlight
Venue: Phoenix Theater
Bait, howl and switch
I mean, technically the title isn't misleading. They ARE awful werewolves. I just had missed that all shows at the Phoenix were mental health-related, nor did I realize that this show would be 53 minutes of sharing about the performer's experiences with Bipolar disorder. But I am glad I went and got to hear some real truth from two friends (and their courageous third performer) about thier lives and what the people they love navigate with them.
Company: TROMPE L'OEIL
Show: Foshay! You Know The Tower - Now Hear The Story
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
Great music and fun show!
I don't know anything about Wilbur Foshay himself, so I have no idea how accurate this is, but a progressive, worker-friendly businessman being arrested sounds about right. The music is very fun and the story is smooth throughout. but when you have a cast of five, it's painfully easy to tell the three very strong and confident singers apart from the two that aren't. And I think more time should have been spent in Tech so that actors weren't blocked directly facing the balcony wall Stage Left, or the empty audience section Stage Right.
Company: The Winding Sheet Outfit
Show: A Confluence of Magical Arseholes
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
What? It's NOT Harry Potter?
Another success for Winding Sheet. I was a little confused because of the magical angle, and the lead poet kind of looking like Harry Potter, but I am 25% Irish, so I loved the story, even if convoluted. And I am not sure we needed Amber's narration the whole time as some kind of commentary on her own directing style. But the music was wonderful, and the performances were big and hilarious!
Company: Deft Pictures
Show: Not Bad for a Punk Band
Venue: Theatre in the Round
A banger!
A great ensemble piece! Could have used a note that the first transition was to eight years later, but it was easy to keep up with. In a longer version, I would like to know what Alex finds endearing about their fiance, because he just comes across and uptight bridezilla. But the story is very well done, and the singing is great! The lead male (Charlie) was a little soft in his projection overall, both speaking and singing, but not unbearably so.
Company: David Alan Berger
Show: A Woman's Place is in the House
Venue: Rarig Kilburn Theatre
Woman-derfully done!
I have now worked with the group behind this a couple times, and this was a treat. I have heard all throughout Facebook about actual Minnesota female and female-presenting legislators being asked to contribute! The concept of time-travel to bring 1920s morals, values and cooperation to 2026 is a little hokey, but I was too wrapped up in the wonderful acting by the five leads and the euphoria of it all. Why the Frog brigade for "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog"? Not 100% sold. And the two in the aisles should stand by the exits so as not to block viewlines.
Company: Button Productions
Show: Buckeroohaiku's Reverse Armando
Venue: The Southern Theater
Good to take a chance on
I hadn't expected to see a Friday night show, but this one was available. I believe I have seen this troupe before. Very entertaining storytelling. Not the smoothest Improv I've ever seen, but generally very good and cohesive!