2023 Audience Reviews

Company: Melancholics Anonymous
Show: A Girl Scout’s Guide to Exorcism
Venue: Rarig Center Arena

You'll Laugh, You'll Cry, You'll Scream

This show was an absolute delight to experience with a sold-out crowd. The script, written by Melancholic's founders Rachel Ropella and Timothy Kelly, is tight, hilarious, and balanced. The cast is bursting with some of the best up-and-coming talent Minneapolis has to offer. Multiple actors nail their multi-faceted roles: Claire Chenoweth is a standout - absolutely devastating as the anxious Maia (I teared up) and performing fantastic body horror that rivaled "The Exorcist;" Samantha Miller is hilarious as both the closeted tween and chain-smoking narrator versions of Fudge; Bee Davis as Badger is hilarious as always and balances their gory horror moment (no spoilers) with fantastic nuance. Aerin O'Malley is entirely believable as the Jo-Bro fanfic obsessed Britt, Meredith Enerson is great as the God-fearing, rule-following Roxxy, and Anneliese Garner is perfectly case as the mean girl with a tragic backstory, Samantha. And no one can forget Jeffrey Nolan as The Hawk - a mostly silent but entirely eerie puppetry performance, always lurking. The detailed costumes and props, done by Mady Smith, were a hilarious throwback to middle school in the late aughts. If you want to laugh, sing camp songs, be shocked, or just remember the time when all we had to worry about was which Jonas Brother was the cutest, definitely be sure to get your ticket in advance - they'll be selling out for their last two shows, guaranteed.