Medea + Jason: Rubicon Waltz presented by The Flower Shop Project

Did she or didn't she? As the recent Casey Anthony trial demonstrated, questions of filicide still capture our collective attention. In Medea + Jason: Rubicon Waltz, playing at the Bryant Lake Bowl, playwright Matthew A. Everett (aka the Twin Cities Daily Planet's Single White Fringe Geek) navigates Euripides' tale of Medea. Everett humorously explores this "messy, supernatural business" from the differing perspectives of each player. Unreliable narrators all, each character insists on their own point of view. "This is the story..." they insist.

Joy Dolo, regal in the title role, passionately states her case. She makes you believe in her version of the story. And Zachariah Delventhal as Jason convinces the audience that he is a callow young hero. Hera, Queen of the Gods, (Laura Wiebers) playfully reminds us at every point of time that she is indeed, Hera, Queen of the Gods. And the Oracle (Victoria Pyan), with the voice of Sesame Street's Prairie Dawn high on ethylene fumes, calls it as she sees it. These light character touches balance the carnage and the violence of the story.

The show often shifts to a video to explain the unseen adventures that propel the story forward. (It is a Greek tragedy after all. If all of the plot points were shown, it would be a six hour cycle). While this expository information is helpful, the shifts back and forth to the animated are often abrupt.

As the characters make intertwining choices the show feels like a witty adult dark Choose Your Own (Ancient Greek Tragedy) Adventure.

Fringe Encores: Super Spectacular!: To Opera with Love, 7 (x1) Samurai, You Only Live Forever Once and Yarrrh!

The 2011 Fringe has one day left. So much to see! The 8:30 Encore shows have been announced. Here are some suggestions:

Super Spectacular!: To Opera with Love at the Augsburg Mainstage. I didn't see this one-but Chris and Tommy caught yesterday's performance. I trust my sources, and they loved it. Great comedy, great singing. At home Tommy gave me a dramatic re-interpretation of the opera Salome, singing Coldplay while portraying the head of John the Baptist.

I did see 7 (x1) Samurai, and I am thrilled that it earned the Encore spot. Writer, director, and performer Daved Gaines has gifted us with his very entertaining interpretation of the Seven Samurai (with a lot of The Magnificent Seven thrown into the mix). It's unique and funny.

You Only Live Forever Once is the goofiest show I saw this year. I still catch myself singing the cheesy theme song throughout the day. The shadow puppets, cardboard props, and comic book acting combined to made the show a campy delight.

And finally, Yarrrh! The Lusty Busty Pirate Musical is playing twice today-1:00 and the 8:30 encore. I can confidently speak on behalf of writer and lyricist Dan Pinkerton and composer Chris Gennaula (my man) that they are thrilled to have the encore spot.

Scientist Turned Comedian at the 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival

I am not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV. But Scientist Turned Comedian's Tim Lee, is a scientist, and should play one on TV. The guy needs a sitcom. Syfy should ditch the wrestling and come up with a nerd comedy block.

Lee uses Power Point, usually a diagram or a chart to set up his jokes. He takes a scientific concept, for example dissolution, and converts it into a joke about athletes, wives, bimbos, and money. A handful of the jokes are dated (we all know Pamela Anderson has big breasts), but I do recommend this show.

Tommy's Picks Minnesota Fringe 2011 Part 2

Disney Dethroned - This show mashes up all the Disney princess movies to create a parody of them. After Princess Disney, who is pretty much all the Disney princesses in one, gets dumped by Prince Charming for Princess Pixar, she sets out on a quest to remain single until her next birthday. The humor is hilarious, and the songs are good. Overall, it's definitely worth seeing.

Scientist turned Comedian - This is a stand-up comedy show from scientist-turned-comedian (and YouTube sensation, with over 4 million views) Tim Lee. The science charts (and resulting pop-culture comparisons) are downright hilarious. The in-between jokes? They weren't as funny for me. Still, the show is funny enough to get a spot on this list.

You Only Live Forever Once - This is a show that parodies the James Bond formula with puppets, Mouse Trap board games, and a cat-like villain. The puppets are hilarious (especially an obnoxious one named Dudley) and the action scenes are very creative. Overall, if you've seen a James Bond movie (or two....or three....), you will really like this show.

Hamluke - This show combines Star Wars with Hamlet to hilarious results. While I don't know as much about Hamlet (never seen it) as I do Star Wars, I still loved the show. Hilarious jokes include the Jawas doing a play ('The Death of Darth Maul'), a scene which does the 'I am your father' scene word-for-word from Star Wars, and that freaky (but hilarious) Yoda puppet. Make sure you see Star Wars or Hamlet first, though - you'll have no idea what's going on otherwise. Still, it's an absolute must-see.

Macbeth: The Video-Game Remix - This is a show that hilariously combines Macbeth with World of Warcraft to good results. One good joke involves a 'free trial version' that strips down everything in the full game to an absolute minimum. Overall, even if you don't play video games or have never seen Macbeth, you'll still like the show.

Buckets and Tap Shoes - Favorite Pick of Fringe 2011 - Wow. That's the one word that describes this show. Wow. The show dazzles, visually and aurally, with so much relentless energy that it leaves you amazed long after the last note. The music is a joy to listen to, and the tap dances are absolutely amazing to watch. It's not everyone's cup of tea - it's REALLY LOUD, so you might want to bring earplugs - but I absolutely loved it, and it successfully joins the ranks of other genius Fringe shows from past years.

Now that we've gotten through the top ten, it's shameless plug-in time: a shout out to YARRH! The Lusty, Busty Pirate Musical, which my dad wrote the music for. While it would have been on the list, I felt that it wouldn't be fair to include my father's show on it.

Tommy's picks Minnesota Fringe Festival 2011 Part 1

Tommy has started his annual wrap up of the Fringe. Here is part one:

Hi, everyone! This is Tommy Gennaula here, giving you my picks for the ten best shows at the Fringe this year. Please note that, unlike previous years, I will not be ranking them from 10, 9, 8 all the way down to 1. Instead, I'm just going to select 10 of the best shows I saw at the Fringe this year and give you my pick for the best one(s). Also note that, since I am a teen now, I was able to see some shows that were rather adult and not suitable for children. So without further ado, my picks for this year's festival!

The Duties and Responsibilities of Being a Sidekick - This show is about a sidekick named Barrel Man, sidekick to Gentleman Li, a famous superhero who likes to use his fame to attract the women. Barrel Man is a great crime fighter, possibly even better than Gentleman Li himself, but he's kind of awkward when it comes to women. Like, really awkward. The show is very funny, the actors are great, and the action scenes are awesome, but I can't help but feel that the story is kind of predictable - they give one too many clues about a major plot twist, and it isn't anything that you haven't seen before. Still, it's charms far outweigh it's faults.

Damn You Auto Caress! - This is a show about (fictional) teenagers' lives being affected by Auto-Correct, that annoying pain-in-the-butt feature that seems to be on every cellphone these days (hence the auto-corrected title). The show's main focus is on a focus group talking to each other about how their lives have been ruined by Auto-Correct (to quote the preachy counselor, "I am powerless against the Auto-Correct"). The teens' stories feel bitter (the good kind, but still not my type), but the little bits that are in-between stories and a sequence involving an Auto-Corrected narrator are genius. Overall, it's worth seeing, even if you aren't a big fan of the bitter humor of the show.

The Smothers Brothers Grimm - From Joshua Scrimshaw and Levi Weinhagen, creators of the Fringe hit 'The Harty Boys' comes this wonderful comedic gem. On the eve of his grandfather's funeral, Milton's parents come to tell him some fairy tales, but he ends up telling the stories himself - Grandpa's way, which is old-school comedy such as Bob Newhart, Laurel and Hardy, and Buster Keaton. Even if I've never seen - only heard of - an episode of 'I Love Lucy', it was still immensely enjoyable. The 'Hansel and Gretel' sequence, the 'Bob Newhart being a 911 operator to the 3 little bears' scene and the lovable drunk uncle (just wait until you see the smart-ass alarm) are absolute genius. Overall, it's another great show from Scrimshaw and Weinhagen - just as good as 'The Harty Boys', if not more.

Brain Fighters - This show is the story of 3 people from a world that is similar to ours, except for the bad words in their world that are perfectly okay in ours (e.g. gelato, diorama, and the worst one of all, pants) and the fact that their citizens can use 'brain magic' - the ability to become something by imagining it. When the actors turn into something, the really become the object in question - whenever it's a T-rex, a rubber duck, and one of those inflatable balloon people that randomly blow around in the wind. All and all, it's a downright hilarious and very imaginative show that is absolutely worthy of your attention.

Cinderella's Fella at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Cinderella's Fella! by Top Hat is a mild recommendation. There is some really nice singing, and Samantha Feinberg and Evan Boyce as Cinderella and her Fella are charming. It is always fun for kids to see kids do theater. But after two years of successfully moving out of their comfort zone with the dramatic Dracula's Castle and the witty Robin Hood the Musical, this show returns to the school recital format of adding characters so everyone can have a part, even if it makes no sense. Why have two stepsisters when you can have three. Why have one prince when you can have four? How about a fairy godmother and a fairy godfather?

The musical throws in a storyline about duchess and a girl named Olive who got lost at a zoo in Virginia and somehow ended up in the story. It's an interesting idea, but it can't be developed in a 50 minute show.

It's so messy that anyone who isn't related to a cast member might miss what is really cool about Top Hat-these young people are learning to be joyful performers. They are developing a healthy Broadway style vocal technique and they sing in tune.

Kids' Fringe Final Weekend and Anansi, Br'er Rabbit and Other Wily Creatures,

It's Friday (Friday, gotta get down on Friday, everybody's lookin forward to the weekend, weekend.) You are welcome.

So much fringing left to do, so little time to do it. I have seen 21 shows so far, most of them were for kids and/or teens. It takes a village to raise a theater-goer, so do your civic duty and bring a kid to a show this weekend. You will be the coolest mom/dad/aunt/uncle/big sibling/neighbor ever.

My top picks for young kids are Buckets and Tap Shoes (see my blog entry here), Our Freaking Kids Show (here) and Anansi, Br'er Rabbit and Other Wily Creatures (and here is a link to the Black Storytellers Alliance home page). If you have never seen the the Black Storytellers Alliance make sure you get to this show, whether or not you bring along the children. An evening of signifyin' and testifyin', these master storytellers use wit, humor, an gentle audience participation to deliver a well-earned moral lesson. We went on Monday night. The teenagers in the audience were as captivated as the seniors. Don't miss it.

Buckets and Tap Shoes is playing tonight at 8:30 and tomorrow at 10:00 PM. Our Freaking Kids Show only has one show left-tonight at 8:30 PM. I would suggest going online to reserve tickets for this one. Anansi's final show is tonight at 7:00.

Three very good family shows I would also recommend are Smothers Brothers Grimm (read my review here), Brain Fighters (here) and The Duties and Responsibilities of Being a Sidekick (here). Sidekick has some sexual innuendo that may or may not fly over young kids' heads.

Deadline at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Deadline: A Choose Your Own Adventure Story is an improvised adventure for all ages. Just like the books, the audience chooses the direction of the story so every performance is different. It's oodles of fun. The Sunday afternoon audience chose teacher for the hero's occupation. The two actors, James Rone and Jake Scott, began with a music teacher and a gym teacher in a copy room and ended with Scott transforming into the missing link between apes and humans. The two actors have a great chemistry and really listen too each other. They were able to make teaching a more action packed occupation than being an astronaut.

Fletcher and Zenobia Save the Circus at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

With so much buzz surrounding Fletcher and Zenobia Save the Circus, I ventured over to the Mill City Museum train shed. I was also curious about the unique venue.

The actors were giving it their all-perhaps too much. The intent may have been whimsy but came off as forced charm. The sparse story felt stretched too thin. The venue was underutilized. The best sections were the few times the action moved vertically into the space.

I enjoyed the open air ambiance and the serenading accordion. However, this just wasn't my cup of tea.

Our Freaking Kid Show at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Well acted and well written, Our Freaking Kids Show is freaking funny. Kids who are actors and actors who act like kids join forces in a show within a show. Madcap shenanigans ensue. A small theater company is broke so they naively cook up a scheme to fill seats by writing a kids' show. They anchor their cast with an Ivey Award winning child actor (Tucker Garborg, who probably will bring one home some day) with the craziest stage Mom ever (Rita Tredal Black, who channels the crazy day-after-Thanksgiving Target lady). The other two youth actors are spunky Lexi (Lexi Johnson, perfectly spoofing the over the top Disney child star style) and adorable and dangerous moppet Sophie (Sophia Feller, the youngest cast member, who holds her own with the veteran cast).

Kendra, the troupe's playwright (Kendra Ryan) is at her wit's end because most of the adults are more childish than the kids. The cast is frustrated with Kendra because she changes the script constantly. And director Greg (Greg Eiden) feels no stress because everyone keeps him supplied with bottles of special "European" water. And Dan Hetzel as the bad guy Uncle Lonnie, king of local kiddie theater will do anything to foil his rivals.

The show is listed for ages 7+; I would recommend this to anyone, even if they don't bring a kid.

Disney Dethroned:Snowcahontas and the Tangled FrogBeast at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Tom Reed (Parry Hotter and the Half-Drunk Prince, Bite Me Twilight) is back with Disney Dethroned: Snowcahontas and the Tangled FrogBeast, another one man send up of a pop culture darling. Whether you see Disney as a juggernaut atrophying the imaginations of children everywhere or a as a lighthouse of happiness beaming joy to families everywhere, you will enjoy Reed's show. (FYI, I skew towards the latter. Lighten up! )

Reed gently skews the Disney princess canon of "Snowcahontaserella-asmine, Arielmulanpunzel, or Problematic Feminine Stereotype" by splitting the story into sections. Our heroine, Princess Disney, is heartbroken because Prince Charming left her for Princess Pixar (She's in 3D!) Each section is told in the style of the story of a different princess with quippy dialogue, puns and songs. Reed is an excellent musical theater singer. Michael Erickson on synthesizer was an equal and important partner in the storytelling. His original songs and incidental music captured the Disney sound. But I did not like some of the thicker orchestrations on the synthesizer in the Mixed Blood space.

The show is well suited for ages 9+. There is a little bit of innuendo.

Buckets and Tap Shoes at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Buckets and Tap Shoes is mesmerizing. We saw Buckets and Shoes way back in 2004. A joyful, kinetic explosion of sound, the show is better than ever, and and it's this year's best bet for the whole family. It's also a great opportunity to take your kids to see guys dance. Watch the video above and read dance wizard John Munger's review here.

Brain Fighters at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Brain Fighters presented by Joking Envelope is an original kids' show that uses a bare bones set and simple costumes to create an entirely new world. In this world, people can use their brains to transform into whatever they want. They have their own method of naming its occupants and even its own "bad" words-terrible words like gelato, pants, and diorama.

We were fortunate enough to sit in the balcony of the Rarig Thrust for the show, where the elegance of David Mann's direction was clear. Watching Mo Perry (Baggage), Randy Reyes (Cupcake), and Joseph Scrimshaw (Tool) use their bodies and voices to transform was fun.

A few of the sequences are a bit long. The second half bogs down with too many ideas packed together. Is the moral of the story about seeing others' perspectives, the desire to be a bold exciting hero, or to use the power of your brain for good? I'm not sure. But I'm nitpicking-because the kids in the audience loved this show.

Smothers Brothers Grimm at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

I would say Smothers Brothers Grimm was a smart comedy, but as I learned from this valentine to those who make us laugh, that would be condescending. As the play points out, no one ever says "that was a smart string quartet." (To which I say as a musician, of course not. They say "that was an interesting string quartet". But I digress.)

The Smothers Brothers Grimm visits young Milton (Andrew Moy) on the eve of his Grandpa's funeral. Milton is a kid who sleeps with a rubber chicken and spends a good deal of time trying to figure out the old slipping on a banana peel trick. His Grandpa loved comedy, and passed it on to Milton.

Milton's mom and Dad (Shanan Custer and Levi Weinhagen) are worried because Milton isn't grieving in a conventional manner. He is goofing around and reading fairy tales, Grandpa style. We get to see Hansel and Gretel in the style of Laurel and Hardy, the Three Little Bears phone call to 911 operator Bob Newhart, and Lucille Ball as Rapunzel (Happy 100th Birthday Lucy!) The kids enjoy all of the silliness, and the adults enjoy reliving the classic comedy bits we grew up watching on television.

I would say I learned something important about the love families share. But the deeper message is that banana jokes are funny.

Lot O' Shakespeare at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

Thursday night we zipped across town to see You Only Live Forever Once at 8:30 at the Bryant Lake Bowl. After one detour, four spins around the block to find parking, and 20 minutes waiting in line, the show was sold out. Lesson learned, we decided to stay put. We ventured a few doors down to Jackson's Coffee and drowned our sorrows in gelato.

We got in line early for Timothy Mooney's Lot O' Shakespeare. I wouldn't have chosen a show of consecutive Shakespeare monologues for a thirteen year old. Fears of a guy in tights spitting all over the audience ruining the Bard for Tommy creeped into my mind. But Tommy was up for the challenge, so we went on in.

I'm glad we did! Mooney was fantastic, animating each character with energy. It was exciting. You can't help but sit back and be dazzled.

The event was framed as a bingo game. The audience received an IAGO (BINGO) card when they stepped into the theater. Each monologue had a corresponding number. When Mooney pulled a number he would perform the listed speech. After the bingo game was complete, he took requests. Tommy requested Romeo and Juliet because he enjoyed seeing it at CTC a few years ago.

As far as Kids' Fringe-I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under thirteen.

Damn You Auto Caress at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

We never miss the Youth Performance Company's fringe shows. They are consistently some of the best offerings of theater for teens by teens. With some guidance, the youth create an entire musical from scratch-producing, writing, designing, etc. Sometimes these kind of productions feel like a pedagogical recital. Damn You Auto Caress rises above the genre of educational theater to make an engaging dark comedy with music that makes truthful observations about our technology driven world.

Damn You Auto Caress should really be called Damn You Steve Jobs, the title of the opening song. The large cast takes turns delivering funny lines similar to the site damnyouautocorrect.com. Skits about auto-correct mishaps ruining the characters' social lives get darker and funnier as the show goes on. Whether or not it is intentional, there is a bit of Godspell in this show. A dark, twisted Godspell with Jesus as a cell phone.

There is quite a bit of salty language and double entendre in the show, which the cast delivers with glee. The artists' page lists it as 16+; I would rate it PG13.

Audience members also receive a 50% off coupon for YPC's next production Mean in October.

The Duties and Responsibilities of Being a Sidekick at the Minnesota Fringe Festival

The Duties and Responsibilities of Being a Sidekick is the inaugural production of the Barkada Theater Project. It is fun family show that humorously depicts the life of Barrel Man and his fellow disgruntled sidekicks. However, the villain is telegraphed too early; I would have liked to have been surprised. But the show as a whole is a hoot.

The performance of Randy Reyes as Barrel Man anchors the show. Barrel Man is the sidekick of Gentlemen Li (Allen Malicsi) , a boss who does none of the work but gets all of the credit. Like many people these days, Barrel Man is grateful to have a secure job but would like a little respect, or at least a Superheroes ALIAS union card with health insurance coverage. And just like Peter Parker, he wishes he was smoother with the ladies.

The show is listed as "For ages 12+. Contains violence and strobe lights." But the violence is of the comic book zap-boom-bang style. There is also quite a bit of sexual innuendo. Again, it is of the cartoonish variety. I would feel comfortable bringing a nine or ten year old.

Fringe 2011:Today's the Day

We are gearing up for the Fringe. We are stocked up on sandwich supplies so we can get out of the house for 5:30 shows. I have a pocketful of coins for meters in case we don't snag on-street parking and some singles for the pesky parking ticket machine at Mixed Blood. That's about it for preparation-my guys are teenagers now; so the days of stage managing a family day at the Fringe are over.

Warning: shameless plug ahead! Yarrrh! The Lusty Busty Pirate Musical, created by Dan Pinkerton and Chris Gennaula (my husband) doesn't open until Sunday at 1:00 at the Gremlin (which, by the way, has luxurious amounts of free parking across the street at the US Bank.) Chris is the composer and music director. They are in rehearsal so we won't see much of him for the next few days. Yarrrh! is raunchy, bawdy, and saucy. It is definitely not for children (it's rated ARRRH!). We haven't decided whether or not we are bringing Tommy. We probably won't make up our minds until Sunday morning. It's one thing to watch a naughty musical; it's another to sit next to your Mom in the audience knowing your Dad wrote it.

The Fringe website www.fringefestival.org has added more bells and whistles for 2011. Many artists have contributed video trailers this year. Just click on videos and go. My favorite new feature is the user-friendly wish list. Many of the 3 minute Fringe-For-All performances are embedded on individual show pages.

Tommy and I will be fringing solo for the first three days. We haven't set our schedule in stone, but Tommy likes improv, sci-fi, and sword fighting. I gravitate towards musicals, opera, and spoken-word.

Here are some shows on our schedule:

Brain Fighters from Joking Envelope A family friendly show written by Joseph Scrimshaw, who wrote the brilliantly squirrely "An Inconvenient Squirrel" a few years ago.

Entwined written and performed by Rockstar Storyteller Amy Salloway. A work in progress at the 2010 Fringe, I am looking forward to seeing this show expand.

Callahan and Lingo: The Last Ditch More Rockstars-I think I'm officially a groupie. I had never heard grown-up storytelling until I started attending the Fringe. Days after finding out they received a last minute slot in the Fringe, Callahan and Lingo were fantastic at Fringe-for-All #1.

Rambler Family Ramblers Final Christmas Reunion Spectacular Best play description "They play, they sing, they hate each other's guts...They're family." Lion in Winter meets the Partridge Family?

Hamluke presented by the Nerdyard Shakespeare+Star Wars. Need I say more?

Balls Out! presented by Late Night Menu Starring the a cappella group Six Appeal. Out of the 60 shows represented at the 2 Fringe for All showcases this year these young men had the tightest....harmonies.