"Brittle Things" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

I saw Brittle Things, written by Eli-Effinger-Weintraub, last weekend.  I adored this little show, despite not being a fan of romantic comedies in general.  Fellow blogger Matthew Everett reviewed it first for TCDP, so I dropped it down on my priority list, focusing on shows that haven't received coverage.  (You can read his review here.)

A character-driven script that gave the audience a complete story within the Fringe's fifty minute time limit, "Brittle Things" is a romantic comedy with enough surprises to keep the audience engaged.  The dialogue is snappy but never smug.   Amelia Mohn plays Ronnie, a former child star who shattered into pieces when her career tanked after she came out.  She won't leave her apartment, and her sister/agent hires Alison (Danielle Krivinchuk) to trick Ronnie into returning to acting.  It's complicated.  But when Ronnie (Amelia Mohn),  meets Alison (Danielle Krivinchuk), sparks fly.  The actors have great chemistry.

There are awkward set changes and pauses that are very distracting, and an annoying "tick tock" sound cue that repeats between scenes.   But otherwise, this is a sweet show.  Today is the last chance to see it.

"RT+MPLS : The Legend of RT Rybak" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

RT+MPLS : The Legend of RT Rybak , playing at the New Century, is an affectionate romp through the Rybak years.  In the style of a romantic comedy, RT falls in love with Minneapolis, personified as a young tattooed woman (Anna Weggel).  Wearing the best costume in the fringe (a lake blue party dress with a skirt that lights up and an adorable fascinator with a spoon and cherry on top), Weggel plays hard-to-get with spunk and sass.  The entire show is unabashedly corny and sweet.  Creator Heather Meyer (who also plays Minneapolis' over-bearing mother Minnesota and attention-starved sibling Duluth) packs the script with Minnesota puns and local references.  Mayor Rybak himself was in the audience, proving himself a good sport.

All of the proceeds from this show go to the STEP-UP Achieve Jobs program, which places up to 800 Minneapolis students into paid internships.  A very Minnesotan gesture, indeed.

"Bidgood to BidGREAT!" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

As the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival slides into the home stretch, here are some suggestions:

Laura Bidgood, Rockstar Storyteller and follicly blessed half of the ultra-nerd comedy duo Curt and Laura strikes out on her own in the solo show Bidgood to BidGREAT!: Bumps and Blunders on the Boulevard to Brilliance .  Self-deprecating and insightful, Bidgood finds the humor in the everyday.  Her story about the driveway smackdown she and her twin sister had with the snottiest girl in the neighborhood is hysterical.  And her tale about how she went curling and lived to tell about it was a funny and moving. 
One more thing about story-telling shows for the uninitiated: using a music stand with notes on it is not cheating!  It depends on the show.  Think of it like jazz -even the most accomplished players rely on a chart to make sure they hit the right chords.  I overheard (okay, eavesdropped) on a person after the show saying (I'm paraphrasing) "I couldn't stop laughing....it's too bad she used a music stand".  If you are a storyteller, please feel free to add a comment below about the use of notes in a performance. 

"Dear Madde" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

Dear Madde,

I went to this one woman comedy at the Minnesota Fringe Festival called Dear Madde.  It stars this really talented lady named Madde Gibba.  She tells stories, answers the audiences' questions and sings with a strong sexy voice.  She even improvises witty songs. The whole audience clearly had a mad crush on Madde.
But there are only two shows left-one on Saturday and one on Sunday.  How can this be?  Is there anything else I can tell the readers of tcdailyplanet.net to come to see "Dear Madde"?

Sincerely,

Good to Momma

"Died in a Trailer Park Woke Up a Mermaid" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

"It's too late!  The Fringe is almost over!"  Nonsense.  There are TWENTY-ONE juicy time slots left in the next four days.  With two performances remaining, Ariel Leaf's Died in a Trailer Park Woke Up a Mermaid should have one of those slots.  Leaf is a warm and engaging storyteller, sharing six autobiographical stories of how Anne (her given name) became Ariel.  The arc of the show tells a redemptive tale of surviving the worst.  As a child, Leaf traveled to Africa and lived in Communist Yugoslavia.  As a teen, she lived through harrowing, horrifying experiences that no child should suffer.  She tells then tells the humorous tale of how at 19 she gets lost in Wales on her way to Ireland.  After finding her way, the audience is relieved that this resilient young woman has made it safely not only to her destination but to adulthood as well. 

"Jesus Christ Ex Machina" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival:Engrossing but Confusing

We saw Jesus Christ Ex Machina on opening night at the Red Eye Theatre.  An extremely late addition to the Fringe Festival, the show did not have the audience it deserved.  But creator and performer Joshua Larson did not let that keep him from taking his audience through an engrossing albeit confusing journey through the Labyrinth with a cast of characters from Greek Mythology and the Bible.   The show is probably not everyone's cup of tea-not because of the Christian content but because of its unrelenting intensity.  He states his thesis clearly in the program:  Jesus Christ is the "Deus Ex Machina" for the world.  But Larson plays so many different personas that the idea gets lost.  There are too many accents to follow.  Plus, there is an underlying assumption that the audience knows these stories.  I was only sure the main character was indeed Theseus because of the program notes.

The strength of the show is the music.  Larson is a very talented singer/actor and songwriter.  His singing voice is strong and flexible.  He sings with conviction.  There is some bluegrass,  R&B, country and a little bit of rock and roll.   I enjoyed the show for its "fringiness"-a very talented performer with a big idea taking a risk. 

"Stardust" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival:

Stardust clocks in at a brief 26 minutes or so.  But writer/director Kimberly Rolfs, who just graduated from high school(!), gives the audience a heartbreaking fictional meditation on suicide and the devastation it leaves behind.  The three person cast, led by the luminous Chrissy Saul as the dead girl, doesn't shy away from the raw emotion of the script.   A highly recommended show by teens for teens.

"Stop Talking: The Game of Talking" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

Stop Talking: The Game of Talking is back for a second year. It's a game show-the goal is for contestants to talk about a given subject for 60 seconds without "repetition, deviation, or hesitation".  It's harder than you'd think.  But the rules don't matter-the game is merely an excuse for local improv comedians to match wits.  Sunday's cast at the Music Box was out to win. They were hamming it up with ridiculous stories, challenging each other over arcane rules, and trying to trip each other up.  It's a no-commitment fringe show.  Show up, have fun, leave smiling. Each show will have a different cast, so we will probably stop in at the Music Box for another show this weekend.  (And a brownie.  The Music Box concession stand has good brownies.)

"Men Will Be Boys" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

As a mother of boys, I appreciated the feminist male perspective of Scot Moore's one-man show Men Will Be Boys at Theater in the Round.  I was glad my 15 year-old got to see it with us-it sparked some conversation on the way home.

Moore creates six different contemporary male characters who each give an extended monologue.  Most of the characters are "men behaving badly".  There is a six year-old boy who is in time-out at school because he just called a girl in his class a "whore".  You realize he learned this from his Dad.  We see the beginnings of the damage caused by a "boys will be boys" culture.  There is a preacher and an entitled college man who can't even concede that gender bias exists in 2013.  The scene that impacted me the most was "the gamer".  It focuses on a misogynistic teenage boy who says some vile things to a female gamer.  His behavior is offensive.  The emotionally stunted character does not know how to relate to women at all.  But you could also see in Moore's face the boy's pain and confusion.  Anyone who is around teenage boys all of the time knows that they get so many mixed messages about what it means to be a man.  This show is an honest exploration of our culture.

"A Brief History of Irish Music" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival: Drinking, Dying, and Doing It

A Brief History of Irish Music  is more of a concert with banter than a play about the history of Irish music.  Which is good, because the music is much more interesting.  Featuring The Dregs, a local folk band known for singing at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, the show is an excuse to hear some toe-tapping music.  The players gently take umbrage at the tendency to stereotyping the Irish as drunks or depressives and then proceed to sing a lot of songs about drunk depressed Irish.  It's all played for laughs.  Towards the end of the show the audience gets to sing along.  A fun time at the New Century Theatre. 

"Shelly Bachberg Presents:How Helen Keller and Frank Freed the Slaves" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival: Oh Yes, They Went There

We saw ten shows total on Saturday and Sunday and not a single turkey.  I don't know if it's the art and/or science of our selection strategy or just dumb luck.  We saw original dramas, enjoyed brief but lovely play presented by recent high school students, laughed at a game show and sang along with some jovial Irish music.  We saw the real Mayor of Minneapolis at show about the Mayor of Minneapolis featuring a puppet Mayor of Minneapolis.  (But funny thing-we didn't see Michelle Bachmann at the musical about Michelle Bachmann).

Satirizing our local Congresswoman keeps national comedians in business.  But Shelly Bachberg Presents:How Helen Keller and Anne Frank Freed the Slaves lampoons not just the person but the spin-doctoring culture that gave her a platform.  The musical love child of Stephen Colbert and Stephen Sondheim, it is a biting satire and an old-fashioned pastiche musical .  The plot is as absurd as the title promises.  Shelly (Kim Kivens, completely inhabiting the role) takes us through the history of "the greatest country ever invented since the universe was intelligently designed 200 years ago." Helen Keller and Anne Frank really do free the slaves.  The lyrics are witty, the book is brilliant, and the music is delightful.  Everything about the production is top-notch.  It is my favorite show in the fringe so far, and my favorite new musical in ages.

More Knights, More Shoes, and The Doctor: Launcelot and Guenever, Buckets and Tap Shoes, and Who's on First: 50 Years of the Doctor in 50 Minutes or Less

Our Friday night fringing began with hauling a smoking microwave oven out of the house.  Good times.  But we still made it to the Music Box Theater in time for the first show.  There was free parking available in the Emerson School parking lot two blocks west of the theater.  We decided to avoid traffic for the rest of the evening and saw 3 shows at the Music Box.

The first show was Launcelot and Guenever by Six Elements Theatre.  The show joins the Camelot legend after Arthur has been King for many years.  The production felt like a work in progress.  It's very ambitious with a large cast, lovely original music, and exciting sword fights.  But trying to pack so much into a 50 minute fringe show comes at a price.  Eleven actors play thirteen or fourteen characters (I lost track).  With the exception of Launcelot, the characters are underdeveloped.  The knights are interchangeable, and the women are ciphers.  We know that Mordred is evil because he cocks his eyebrow while resting his hand on his chin.  King Arthur doesn't have much time onstage; when he tells Guenever he loves her late in the play it doesn't seem sincere.   Still, I would be interested in seeing the next iteration of this show.

The next show was the return of the Ausland brothers, Andy and Rick, in Buckets and Tap Shoes: Excerpts from "DREAMS".   The first year our family went to see them was 2004.  Thirty-seven minutes of non-stop dancing and drumming, clapping and stomping, they are still the "must -see" show for the whole family. This time they brought along the fantastic saxophone player Willie Moore to add some melody to the party.  By the end of the show kids were dancing and hula-hooping on the stage while the audience was volleying beach balls from our seats.  It was one of those perfect "only at the kids' fringe" moments.

Finally, we ended our evening with Who's on First: 50 Years of the Doctor in 50 Minutes or Less by out-of-town Wisconsin neighbors Stagenorth Productions, which is a fast-paced linear tour through the world of BBC's Doctor Who.  The rapid-fire progression through the 11 doctors and assorted companions is a hoot.  Some audience members even showed up in costume!  The cast rotates roles, using wigs, jackets, and small props.  They clearly know and love their source material.    I have seen the new episodes of Dr. Who with the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors but not the original run.  This little show makes me want to see the old series. 

Drawing in the Audience: "Once Upon a Chalkboard" at the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival

The 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival has begun.  As a veteran fringe-goer,  I know that taking risks is part of the thrill of the festival.  I'm game for anything.  But I do employ a strategy when I choose what to see first.  The show needs to be fun.  So I start with the handy dandy schedule at fringefestival.org and narrow it down to the nine comedies playing at 5:30.  Immediately I recognize that we all enjoyed "Once Upon a Chalkboard" at the Fringe-For-All showcase.  Done.  Once the festival starts, I choose most of my shows through word of mouth.  Ask people what they enjoyed while you are waiting for your next show to begin.

Back to the show.  Once Upon a Chalkboard, created and performed by Tyler Michaels and Tod Petersen, is an innovative improvisation show using "props" drawn on "chalkboards of many sizes" by willing volunteers.  Full of good cheer, the duo takes the audience on an adventure to various imaginary worlds and places.  Michaels is a quick improvisor; when an audience member suggests Middle Earth as a setting he transforms his body into a Gollum-like troll and runs with it.  Petersen has a colorful palette of character voices and a sharp wit.  Together, they create an atmosphere of conviviality for the audience.  A random thought popped into my head while watching these two current Chanhassen actors play silly knights.  The theatrical rights for Monty Python's Spamalot are being released soon.  Hmmm.

"Once Upon a Chalkboard" is paying at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage.  There was some innuendo, but the show we saw was family friendly.