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2026 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member: Wesley Hortenbach
Company: Melancholics Anonymous
Show: Watership Down
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
Olympic Level Collaboration
Imagine if more plays had music that sounded like this!!! Bee Davis has really outdone themselves here. Combined with orchestrations that were so beautiful and well integrated. Contrary to some, I didn’t mind the ensemble narration stylization. I just sometimes couldn’t understand what they were saying because it all moved so fast. If this had some space to develop into a longer piece with room for the darker themes of the book and intentional balance of pacing this could have a lot of potential. The costumes were beautiful but I think it could also be fun to get further and deeper into Rabbit mode. Including choreography. Could they all jump at the same time? The group of antagonists Laura Marie, Claire Chenoweth, Timothy Kelly were stand out performances for me. Along with Bee Davis as Dandelion. Very charismatic presence every time they’d speak standing on one of the boxes.
Company: an alleged Theatre Company
Show: FAST Death of a Salesman
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
UW-Madison Theatre Majors Fail to be Relevant
This show moreso saterizes older generations attempts at being relevant rather than making fun of youth. Death of a salesman is an interesting choice since that play is asking the audience to care about something ordinary. This 10 year olds screen addiction gives new meaning to Linda Loman’s famous “Attention must be paid” line. In order to help this University of Wisconsin professor connect with his nephew, his student actor takes a turn trying to reinvent Death of a Salesman to be something he would like. We go from 2x speed, to Comedy Central roast, to TikToks and brainrot. Laura Berger and Steph Callaghan are stand out comedic performances as the Loman sons. Wish there was more overarching plot and development. As it stands this just feels like sketch comedy where we get a few vignettes riffing on Death of a Salesman. Fortunately for them, they’re all quite funny so maybe that can stand on its own. But, as a play, the ending is a bit unsatisfying as none of their ideas work to win over the newphew or at least get him to look up from his iPad. Instead, the characters decide that they don’t need his approval instead and just walk away.
Company: Jake Mierva
Show: I Will Become The Silver Surfer. I Will Protect You.
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre
“Get Ready With Me as I Become the Silver Surfer”
Galactus has chosen Earth as his next target! Thankfully there is someone brave enough to protect us. A love for this niche Fantastic Four character is cute at first but this is not a Halloween costume. Distancing itself from traditional confessional solo shows about mental health that are just dry and depressing, Jake’s undeniable comedic charisma is weaponized in an hour long psychotic breakdown. The extreme version of someone on TikTok doing their make up and trauma dumping, this humiliation ritual recounts stories from childhood that thread us to the momment we are in now all while painting their entire body. His obsessive need to protect everyone turns from chivalrous to degrading really fast. Each episode of guilt and visit to the therapist gets more frantic and, despite repeatedly reassuring us “I’m not crazy”, a growing metallic shine on his skin says otherwise. The transformational and sacrificatial ending elevates this Marvel inspired coming of age narrative to the likes of a moralistic Greek tragedy. Framing the Silver Surfer like an archetypal mythological origin story. Would love to see this developed more