Sub-Total
2023 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Marjorie Hakala
Company: Boldly Go Productions
Show: Star Trek: The Next Improvisation - Presented by HUGE Theater
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
A major accomplishment
I saw the closing night of this run, and it was an absolute joy, with some surprising depth as the characters were tormented by voices from their past. The doctor trying to do his work while the illusory ghost of his child tried to play with him was especially haunting. Also, the line "he's my superior, but you're too good for me!" shouldn't be allowed to go by without acknowledgment. I've never seen an improv troupe keep so many actors involved or so many plates spinning, let alone do it so deftly--plus, they did a whole 60 minutes where ST:TNG only ever had to fill 44!
Company: Thee & Me Productions
Show: Omar Khayyam Club
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Nice idea, underexplored
Charming company and lovely costumes, and I was very happy to hear the poetry, which was presented in an accessible and unfussy style by the company of actors. I enjoyed this to start off with, but once we had learned the basics about the poems and their translator, the show became a compendium of lists: lists of illustrations, of commercial products with Khayyam tie-ins, and of restaurants and hotels that were named after him. There was a nice moment when the translator Edward Fitzgerald thanked the fan club for a gesture his readers made in his honor after he died (there's some time distortion going on here); I would have liked more like that--more dialogue across time between the poet, translator, and readers--and less about the Rubaiyyat Restaurant in Iowa, or repeatedly brushing off the critiques of Fitzgerald's translations.
Company: Spektakular Theatre
Show: A Jingle Jangle Morning
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
Absolutely charming
How fun to see a kid-friendly show at the Fringe! This was inventive, colorful, and off-the-wall, with the best physical comedy acting I've seen in a long time. Everyone committed fully to the fantasy world of the story, the props and effects were cool and very well managed, and there was live music accompanying the show throughout. Great, silly fun for all ages.
Company: John Heimbuch
Show: Gilgamesh
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Mesmerizing
Fringe shows are usually pretty simple in setup, but this is the simplest possible: one performer, a stool, a glass of beer (or maybe that was just for the 10 pm performance). I loved Beowulf in 2019 and Gilgamesh might be even better, a meditation on death and power that speaks across the centuries with both strangeness and deep familiarity. Highly, highly recommended.