2026 Audience Reviews

Company: Ari Hoptman
Show: Is That Why?
Venue: American School of Storytelling

learned something from this show

this was definitely a 'thinking man's show' when it is about etymology and linguistics. i was able to guess one vignette, the one about 'hippo' meaning 'river horse' but not too many of the others. i learned something from this show, things like the word origin for 'ampersand' as well as 'upper/lowercase'. if there was anything i could have done without, it was mention of other shows. leave that for the show cards and programs, this is where i am used to seeing any cross-promotion of shows.

Company: Jena Young Productions
Show: The Label Maker
Venue: Phoenix Theater

songs helped with telling the story

saw this one since i had seen previous shows by Jena - during Fringe or otherwise. i wiped away a tear during the part when she spoke of being spanked by her mom. using fear and shame and verbal/emotional abuse to keep a kid in line? sounds familiar in terms of what my mom did. Jena made some observations about weathering the storms in her life, and the most profound one to me was 'a label doesn't fix or excuse'. the songs used helped with telling the story, i recognized four of them and liked the one my Incubus the most. my hat is off to anyone who does a one-person show, and it isn't the first i had seen done by Jena, the other being 'Memoirs of a Welfare Queen'. i liked the honesty and willingness to share in this show as well as in 'Memoirs'.

Company: MN Moving Arts Dance Ensemble
Show: Noise
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance

a good dance and music show

i decided to attend this dance show as i was impressed with dance shows in previous years. the dancing in it was really good, but i was also impressed with the song choices for each vignette. a good mix of piano tunes and what one might find at a nightclub. seven dancers, sometimes all were onstage, sometimes just one, sometimes a number in between. hard to ignore how the show ran short, though. as i was leaving i said they could have done 10 minutes more and i would have been fine with that.

Company: Peake Productions
Show: When I Was Afraid
Venue: Phoenix Theater

some stories were better than others

this was five vignettes of storytelling, and some of the stories were better than others. liked the ones about 'throwing up on a midway ride' and 'trust fall' the most. although the original premise of it being a 'moth' storytelling show didn't work for me when there was only one name in the hat. when i arrived i was thinking i had missed my chance to get my name in the hat. that being said, there was the need for a second character to chat with the storyteller between vignettes, but it would have been better to present her differently, such as a friend or relative- or even a therapist- instead of someone listening to what the judges were saying through headphones saying, 'you need to tell another story'. because i have been to a 'moth' show before and there are definitely multiple storytellers per night, not just one.

Company: CHRISDAVISDOESSTUFF
Show: ROAD TRIP!
Venue: Bryant Lake Bowl

a good improv show

i hadn't seen many 'improv' shows before but this was pretty good. wanted to see it when i like 'road movies' and i knew the premise would be comparable. five vignettes, all suggested by the crowd. some were funnier than others. i liked seeing the range of these two dudes from Alabama, playing multiple characters to tell the story. when the banjo player was performing in the interludes i said it reminded me of 'price is right' seeing the car move on the map.

Company: Local 574
Show: HELL ON WHEELS: The Winter Strike of 1934
Venue: Barbara Barker Center for Dance

covered history i hadn't previously read about

i knew I'd want to see this one when history was my college major and my favorite era to study was the Depression, the era that this show covers. the character i liked the most was the one calling herself 'Mrs. Claus' as she was the most convincing to me, by being the most persuasive. the one i liked the least was the accordion player, but not due to musical talents. it was when this man took a turn as a speaker at a union meeting and laughed at his own jokes. as a stage performer i am not impressed by anyone who does this. a little odd to see some characters with their back turned to the crowd when not speaking, i figured they'd just be completely offstage. but overall, i liked this show as it covered some history i hadn't previously read about. i had read about other strikes from this era, but not this one.