Sub-Total
2023 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Michael Shaeffer
Company: Paper Soul
Show: NPC! (Non-Player Character)
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
Roller Coasters Rule!
Motz’ NPC greets us in a series of video-game hiccups before delving into three autobiographical stories chock full of humor, frustration, and personal growth. My favorite was his tale of working as a DJ for wedding receptions, as that’s how I paid the bills half a lifetime ago. Our narrator had some cheat sheets handy, but I suspect he could have gone without them. After he read his final scripted monologue, I found myself wanting to discover more about what went down for him at last year’s Fringe. Having this final puzzle piece would have made the NPC’s journey complete for me. Still, this was an energetic, sincere, and engaging hour, and I look forward to seeing what this talented actor and writer (also appearing in Tim Mooney’s Midsummer Night’s Dream) serves up next.
Company: The Shrieking Harpies
Show: The Shrieking Harpies
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
Volcanic Funk, Erupting with Giggles
This improvised musical I saw involved Gummi Bears going to Mars and interacting with a depressed volcano. The guy sitting next to me kept laughing and snorting* because of the ridiculous plot. Truly impressive that their keyboardist could find different ways/melodies to vamp and crescendo the improvised songs for the better part of an hour. The three actors had strong, overlapping voices and each took turns pushing the plot further with zanier developments, most of which landed. The song’s endings sometimes eluded the cast or just went on a bit too long, but—in the end—this small troupe stuck the landing with some show-stoppin’ harmonies. Long form improv is so difficult to pull off, and I was happy to come along on this adventure. *ok, this was me.
Company: Phina Pipia
Show: Ha Ha Da Vinci
Venue: Southern Theater
A Series of Lovely Moments
Phina wastes no time, providing a time-hop and a focused radio signal to send her on a series of side quests with the guidance of DaVinci, the chorus of crickets, and the help of a bell-ringing audience volunteer. I loved watching her move, play tuba, perform magic, and share her angelic singing voice in this string of strange, Fringe-y moments.
Company: John Heimbuch
Show: Gilgamesh
Venue: Theatre in the Round
Putting the "Oooh!" in Utnapishtim
John appears quite at home in the theatre-in-the-round space, luring in the entire audience with his deft storytelling skills and the wonderful script by Charlie Bethel. I was excited to see what new layers of the legend would come to light. I have taught the OG epic for years up in Alaska, and I was happy to see John deliver the goods, adding enchanting new details (love the loaves!) and capturing the hero’s journey with zeal. Having a cloaked Urshanabi gather Fringe tokens on the way in is the only improvement I would make. If you want to hear civilization's oldest surviving epic shared by a master performer, this is definitely for you.
Company: Mike Fotis Productions
Show: The Windblown Cheeks Of Lovers
Venue: Strike Theater
You Don't Have 2 Watch Dynasty 2 Have an Attitude
This show captures the true spirit of the Fringe. It’s fresh; it’s goofy in the greatest sense of the word, and it takes the bold risk hoping their audience will want to delve into the background drama of a fictional TV miniseries from 40 years ago. It’s got some frantic oh-God-another-week-of-rehearsals-would-have-been-nice energy. It has a tight and trusting ensemble of three invested actors scrambling around stage to pull off multiple exits, entrances, costume changes, and shifts in character. The camera work added a whole other engaging layer to the news anchors, D-list celebrities, writers, and producers involved in this miniseries, and when the cameras took a moment longer to catch up with the ensemble’s ludicrous hustle, those hiccups just made the effort that much more endearing. A few tempting highlights without spoiling too much of the lampooning that unfolds: Mike Fotis’ Roger Ebert observation, Rita Boersma’s quicksilver exits and entrances, and Tim Hellendrung trying repeatedly to caress a non-consenting cheek. For those few that may not connect with the mockumentary-style execution and appreciate its generous humor, I declare “Slappies.” The flaws are easily forgivable and give this silly spoof even that much more charm. In parting, the way these comic geniuses forever perverted the theme to Taxi compels me to lock this in at five kitties.
Company: Jamie Campbell Creative
Show: Big Dad Energy
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
To Spawn or Not to Spawn...?
Jamie’s personal and thoughtful (and very funny) foray into the fork in the road hit home with me. The fork being: as a fella approaches his forties, is he going to commit to becoming a father or (likely) spend the rest of his life without the joy and mayhem of having kids? Kansas City has lent us a couple of great talents this Fringe—Skippy being one and this instantly likable Big Dad Energy being the other. I particularly enjoyed how Jamie walked the tightrope of new and interesting ways to discipline your misbehaving brood, and—while the rap sequences may have felt a tinge cringey—he jumped in with both feet and committed to it, complete with background vocals. If you are a parent or if you (like me) have thought about becoming a parent once upon a time but took that other path at the fork, I would highly recommend this laugh-out-loud show.
Company: Jason Schommer
Show: 1992: Mistakes Were Made!
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
Get Well, Madonna!
Who hasn’t fantasized about headlining a high-school reunion and taking the bullies from yesteryear down a notch? I’m angry at myself for not ever watching Days of Our Lives. I feel I would have gotten another layer of the humor provided in this delightfully performed send up of his meaner (and reformed) classmates. I would have enjoyed a little more eye contact and audience engagement, but that’s the only criticism I have to offer. We’ve all encountered (or been) these classmates once upon a time, so this show has great appeal. Madonna’s recent health scare makes his “Spotlight” references even more timely and topical. I hope his vision of meeting Madonna and fist-bumping over an exchanged smile happens sooner rather than later. He deserves it.
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Company: Luma Notti
Show: ABSURDITY: a burlesque experience
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
A Feast for the Eyes
Perhaps the best (intended) compliment that I can pay is that this didn’t hit like any other Fringe show. It felt like a full-blown, full-budget production that made great use of the venue. Dollar bills flew onto the stage as each performer strutted their stuff. What made this performance stand out from all the other burlesque I’ve enjoyed is the choice to have the entire grand and beautiful cast on stage at one time for most of the show. I was able to admire my favorites and cheer and clap throughout. The venue’s top-notch sound system helped boom and thump the playful music, and the evening crowd was in the mood to lap it all up. If you are a fan of burlesque, you deserve this.
Company: Rail Time Productions
Show: Rails!
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
I Think I Can
Comedy is subjective. I was lured into this play having read multiple reviews lauding the play’s ability to deliver on the laughs. There’s a very handsome set and a talented cast. The premise of toy trains and sex workers intertwining their skill set is tempting. I just wanted a few more laughs, a little more raunch, or maybe a greater collective push of the envelope. The genuine laughs were spread out a little too far, but I’m still glad I checked out the choo-choos from this comedy.
Company: Kurkendaal Barrett Presentations
Show: Climbing my family tree
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
The Taste of Freedom
Les has chiseled a wonderfully-paced back-and-forth show, detailing a first-hand story from his grandfather and inserting enchanting encounters with a diverse assortment of other relatives. These chapters are perfectly balanced to keep the crowd hooked throughout. I truly hope Les considers a follow-up show entertaining the what-ifs of a promise owed to a sheriff. I’ll be first in line if he does. Hurry back to Minneapolis, my friend.
Company: Destiny Davison
Show: DOLLY WHO?
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
A fun, light-hearted escape
Dolly instantly charms the audience, incorporating dance, music, humor, and artwork. She was especially skilled at nurturing and incorporating the children’s input from the audience.
Company: Allison Broeren
Show: Fire in My Veins: Blazing through Life with Invisible Illness
Venue: Strike Theater
A Gem
Allison is a wonder. She has woven this touching and funny and heartbreakingly personal story about her struggles, trying to find competent and compassionate care for the fire in her veins. I am so glad that she has survived this struggle. She has given so much to the slam poetry and storytelling community. Hearing her chronicle the prospective suitors on the way to her husband, Marlow, were some of the most charming parts of the play. Shine on, Allison, you awesome ‘possum. You are so much cooler than the ice pack in your opening monologue; you’ve helped advise and support so many artists over the years. I’m so glad that this show is enjoying the success it deserves.
Company: DallaDanna Productions
Show: Truth or Truth
Venue: Strike Theater
The Truth is Out There!
Full disclosure: I don’t see improv often, but Truth or Truth was some of the funniest improv I had seen in a while. An unplanned reoccurring gag that opening night was how several prompt contributions from the audience ended up in the mulligan pile because they had evidently never played truth or dare before. Guest/featured performer Chris Davis is a gifted storyteller, and the ensemble knew the sweet spot at which to recognize where the comedy crested and end a scene (Lorne Michaels, take note!). The highlight of the night was when they brought a volunteer from the crowd to riff on how a date with a crush turned sour with a stabbing. This chuckle-riffic troupe can be found at Strike, home of, ahem, several great shows this Fringe.
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Company: Special When Lit and The Winding Sheet Outfit
Show: Stabby Stab Stab
Venue: Crane Theater
Wicked Sharp!
Hats off to the cast and crew, especially writer Nissa Nordland Morgan, who has crafted such an eerie, unsettling, and haunting script. A lesser writer may have felt the need to add in an extra character or two, perhaps another classmate or a parent, arresting officer or counselor, but by having just the two characters reveal their friendship and shared obsessions with us provided an even greater sense of increasing dread, making their journey damn near unstoppable. The sheer hours of research that this script must have demanded is dizzying, given the disturbing real-life subject matter. The lighting and live music accompaniment enhanced this hypnotic crime drama, and I was glad to take in a venue space I hadn’t visited before. One of the best!
Company: musicbyskippy
Show: we can wish: a beatboxing and music variety show
Venue: Augsburg Studio
Get to tha Chopper!
Hearing this wickedly-talented beatboxer accelerate his chopper (a subgenre of rap) was one of many highlights in the show for me. Like an Olympic gymnast must practice for years to get into shape, so has this beatboxing phenom, and his audience work was deft and welcoming. He even got Juliana from Fringe’s Float to dance with him on stage and serenaded Big Dad Energy! With thanks to Phillip Andrew Bennett Low (Too Many Notes) for recommending this show!
Company: Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre
Show: Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Gleeking Out!
Tim has amazed audiences for years with his one-man shows condensing Shakespearean epics down to the 59:59, so it felt like I was witnessing something truly magical at his ensemble cast of Midsummer Night’s Dream when his repertory company blossomed into a cast of six—all talented actors, including Jeremy Motz of NPC! at the Fringe. Knowing that this cast relied on zoom conferences for rehearsals up until this past week makes the blocking and chemistry in this romp even more impressive. I am so excited to see Tim’s repertory company take this next step. I suspect even bigger things are on the horizon for him, and I’ll be there in the front row when that happens. If you love the Bard, you owe it to yourself to witness this clever and expertly-executed take on one of his best. Congratulations, Mooney and crew!
Company: Maximum Verbosity
Show: Too Many Notes
Venue: Augsburg Studio
Elves v. Romans!
Phillip has taken on one of the most ambitious projects of his performance career. He is doing five different shows for his five Fringe slots. I caught his Get Thee Behind Me Santa on Friday and was so entertained and impressed by the show’s raucous humor, religious and literary references, deft wordplay, and gut-busting vulgarity that I bought his novelization of the show as a gift for my mom. This script has the most jarringly silly moments set at Golgotha since Monty Python’s The Life of Brian. I’m going to try and catch one more of his remaining shows before the end of the festival, and—if you’re not easily offended (check each show’s content warnings)—you should, too. Lots of laughs throughout, meticulously crafted, with cartoonishly-illustrated projections that enhance the unfolding saga of what happens when misfit angels mess with our timelines. Almost as wonderful as turning water into wine!
Company: What's Next Productions
Show: Pillow Talk
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
A Dab of AHS
I was curious about this show before the preview, and the preview solidified my resolve to check out this play. It is a slight 35-minutes, but the script—which reminded me of a cross between Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and a lost season of American Horror Story—engaged me with its shifting timelines. A few plot points provided some doubts on my end, but the cast was clearly having fun, and I would enjoy seeing more from this ensemble. Effective use of the arena space and great chemistry and ensemble work.
Company: David Graham
Show: The Spell of the Yukon
Venue: Rarig Center Arena
Way Up North
David has such a rich voice and captivating storytelling style. The clever manifestation of his handful of props was fun to watch as he segued from biographical bit and back into the next poem. The familiar Service cadence and the way he comfortably used the arena space provided a welcomed treat for this former Alaskan. It clocks in at a brisk 45 minutes or so, and I would have loved one more barroom romp or Yukon yuk, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying this one-man show immensely.
Company: Paco Erhard
Show: 5-Step Guide to Being German
Venue: Rarig Center Thrust
Ganz gut!
What a wunderbar way to start the Fringe! Paco’s energy (having to cram in 70 plus minutes of material into the confines of a 60-minute Fringe slot) gave the material a sense of urgency that I found delightful and engaging. The hour was like a joyride on the Autobahn, speeding by merrily without any merging mishaps. The material and delivery were all finely-honed, and I would recommend this especially to anyone blessed with any German heritage. The humor hit home for me. Danke schoen to my billeter Chris for joining me on this perfect launch. Tschuss!