Sub-Total
2023 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Jonathan Fondell
Company: John Heimbuch
Show: Gilgamesh
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Absolutely mesmerizing.
What a masterpiece of oral storytelling! John Heimbuch did an absolutely perfect job bringing this old, old story to life and making it feel approachable without sacrificing its identity. It's often a struggle to maintain focus in a solo show, but not so here: his performance kept me riveted the entire time. Passionate, funny, ethereal, and relatable. This show struck some deep, timeless chord in me that I haven't been able to shake ever since. A must-see, for anyone.
Company: Melancholics Anonymous
Show: A Girl Scout’s Guide to Exorcism
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
Hilarious, heartfelt horror
So much to love in this one! The actors are fantastic and are excellent with both drama and comedic timing. The script is strong and clever, with references that clearly resonated with former Girl Scouts while still making non-scouts feel included in the fun. Lights, sound, and special blood effects amplified the horror scenes very well, and matched the strong movement instincts of the actors. Claire Chenoweth and Jeffrey Nolan in particular pulled off some very creepy physical movement that sold the supernatural elements of the show. My only complaint is that I wanted more -- hopefully a good problem to have! -- it felt like the show hit its climax a few minutes earlier than I'd expected, and some plot threads wrapped up a little too quickly after that. But I already loved what we got very much: this is one of the best shows of the festival and well worth everybody's time!
Company: The World Crime League
Show: Uncle Walt
Venue: Augsburg Mainstage
Violent, goofy dark comedy with a surreal twist
This one was a lot of fun. It started a little slow but once Walt gets involved, everyone plays off each other incredibly well (Jeffery Goodson steals the show as Walt Disney). Very zany, surreal vibes off of this one, from both the script and the performances. This show loves to play with how ridiculous the situation they're in is, and it works very very well. A few times the violence felt a little *too* real and it made me uncomfortable, but most of them hit that "cartoon violence" threshold really well. I also couldn't tell if the show actually wanted to discuss/unpack Disney as a person and a company, or if they were just in it for the jokes - that uncertainty was distracting at times. But those are minor gripes, and if the premise sounds interesting to you then you'll enjoy yourself. Just make sure you sit in the center section: we were on one of the sides, and the show's blocking didn't always account for people being in 3 directions.
Company: Hey Rube!
Show: Behemoth
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Great acting, intense movement, confusing at times
Everyone's performances in this show were great. The two leads in particular do a great job of taking us through the different memories -- it's a goofy, fantastical, theater-y idea and they sell it very well. Everybody's physical movement was also spot-on: all of the action worked, it was intense, it kept me invested. Special shout-out to Kyra Scanlan's scenes as Behemoth itself -- her fantastic movement skills made her truly ominous and threatening as a hulking mythical beast. My main difficulty was staying invested throughout the show: I had no problem getting into each individual scene, but many of them felt too short, and the transitions were sometimes jarring. Could easily be a personal taste thing -- because when it works, it really works.
Company: an alleged Theatre Company
Show: A Swimming Lesson in a Theatre Without a Lifeguard
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Fast-paced, funny, must-see
This show was fantastic all the way through. The performers had excellent presence and kept me sucked in the whole time. What starts off as some scattered (very funny) gags quickly spirals into absolute madness in the best possible way. Script, blocking, pacing, prop work, lighting -- it all works. Go see this show!
Company: David Graham
Show: The Spell of the Yukon
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
A wonderful hour of poetry reading
If you have any interest in Robert Service, the Alaskan/Yukon frontier, or lyrical early 20th-century poetry, this is a must-see. David's delivery was wonderful and he did an excellent job of evoking the story of every poem. His tales of the frozen north left me feeling quite chilled (though the theater's overactive A/C certainly helped -- bring a 2nd layer if you get cold easily!), and the emotional moments of the performance were so sincere and sweet. Loads of fun and more introspection than I expected! It was sometimes hard to hear his delivery on the softer pieces, and I wish he'd have moved around the space a little bit more for variety's sake. The poem about the painters was the only "miss", content-wise just not very interesting and kind of gross. These are minor quibbles though: if this show description looks interesting to you, then it will be well worth your time!
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Company: Special When Lit and The Winding Sheet Outfit
Show: Stabby Stab Stab
Venue: Crane Theater
Gripping, intimate, a few too many A/V effects
I knew very little about this show going in, and it was the perfect scary 10pm show to finish off the night! The theater is *very* small and that worked well for the extremely personal story that was being told - I felt like I was right there in the moment. The music soundscape is fantastic and really pulled me in and helped to build the sense of tension. And finally, the best part of the show -- Nissa and Kayla absolutely shine as the two children (I agree with the other reviewers who mention how good they are at portraying children), and their dynamic is very powerful. They feed off of each other in a very believable, childlike way: watching them goad each other into darker and darker thoughts is the most chilling part and I could watch them spiral for the whole show. I wish more of the show had focused on these two and their dynamic - at times, there were too many audio/visual cues and these would pull me out of the moment just as the actors' chemistry had really started to pull me in. The projections and the voiceover in particular felt jarring or redundant at times, and took me out of the "reality" of the world. That said, horror is very subjective, and these elements just didn't work for me personally! If the description intrigues you, you'll definitely find something worth your time in this show. Highly recommend for any psychological horror fans.
Company: Viet Nguyen
Show: Reincarnation Soup
Venue: Southern Theater
Raw and beautiful
A fantastic solo show! Collection of different stories and characters, all expertly portrayed -- Viet Nguyen is a true chameleon and sucked me in with every character. Humor and heart are present in every moment of the show -- be warned, the stories go to deep and dark places at times. If the description sounds interesting to you, it is absolutely worth your time. Highly recommended!