2026 Audience Reviews

Company: Albino Squirrel Productions
Show: It's-a-Me, a Musical!
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre

Lots of fun!

When you choose to adapt a popular piece of pop entertainment, especially "nerdy" or "nostalgic" entertainment, you're bound to get a unique variety of reactions. It's been interesting seeing reviews from the Theater Snobs with no attachment to the source material, often siting it would be enjoyed more by the "fans." And parents and casual fans saying it's about as much fun as you could expect from such a silly concept as adapting Mario into a musical. BUT you're also bound to attract the eyes of a few weirdo mega fans who know far too much about the lore of a series that was never focused on lore (Me!). Joking aside, I do think the Mario franchise, being lighter on story and character development, provides an interesting sandbox for creatives. Almost a blank slate with just some core personality traits and narrative devices that are expected. I've seen many a fan film, YouTube Parody, Cartoon Show, SNL Skit, and Official Comic that adapted Mario, and of course the billion dollar Illumination films, (which possibly due to the close involvement of Nintendo, feel very afraid to experiment in that Sandbox and mostly deliver harmless equivalencies of a Game Cut Scene.) Needless to say, I have a lot of thoughts on "It's a Me, A Musical." It gets a 4 because first and foremost, it's fun. It's well put together, the actors bring a lot of energy, the costumes are charming, and it doesn't just feel like a Nerd's inside joke. It does make some odd choices. I was a little perplexed when, of all the things to pull from, the main skeleton is the infamous 1993 Super Mario Bros Movie. A film so reviled, it took Nintendo decades to consider making another film based off ANY of their properties. Admittedly, it has developed a cult following based on how odd it is, but is that enough to justify it being the main source of this play? Luckily, there's enough new material that pushes the story more in line with modern Mario, particularly Wario and Waluigi. Where I felt the play suffered was committing to the film's choice of using Daisy instead of Peach/Toadstool. A cute little romance for Luigi, but it REALLY started to lose me when they introduced a romance for Mario. Is it just because it strayed too far? Or was it just a rushed sub plot that felt uncomfortable regardless of its accuracy? It garnered some laughs, but either way, I was not on board. Additionally, "Nerdy" media is often criticized as just being a collection of references for fans to watch and point at whenever they recognize something. Ideally, a reference is transformative in some way and works as an actual joke outside of this. I was MOSTLY happy with their use of references. "For the love of Miyamoto" and "I thought our Last Name was Jumpman," are quick gags that sound silly weather or not you're familiar with the trivia, and I enjoy them. Where I draw the line is just using exact quotes from Parks and Recreation in a new context. These moments are funny in the context of their own TV Show, but to just see Mario Characters attempt to do the same bit felt awkward and gave very few laughs. Likewise with a Lord of the Rings quote. However, the actual Mario references, including some riffing on the Animated Movies, worked. And most of the humor smartly focused on the wacky personalities, with these references just sprinkled in. I appreciate that restraint. PERSONALLY, I would love a dozen more deep cut references like "Parallel Universes," but recognize that could leave a larger audience dry. Overall, I think the fun of this was contagious, even if you're blind to gaming's biggest mascot. And while I'm a little baffled with some creative choices as a Mega Fan, I'd still recommend to anyone who has fond memories of the Italian Plumbers.

Company: Melancholics Anonymous
Show: Watership Down
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre

Non Stop Energy!

The amount of dialogue, narration, choreography, and of course singing they fit into one hour is staggering. The cast should be immensely proud of their performances. I love the creative choices in the overall aesthetic and folksy vibes of the music. "The Blessing of El-ahrairah" and "Heather and the Hay" were the stand outs, in terms of what I was humming after. But the "Blood on the Field" segment stuck with me the most. This is infamously a very brutal source material, and they matched the intensity with moments like that. Minor criticisms mostly stem from the limitation of it only being One Hour. Some songs come and go too quickly to make a huge impact, and the large cast doesn't have a ton of time to differentiate themselves from one another (which is also a flaw of the 70s film adaptation). But if there's one thing I would change, it would be figuring out a way to make the rabbit fights more intense. Nonsensical as that may sound, the rabbit on rabbit violence is visceral in the 70s film, and was played for laughs here. Undermined the brutal tone set by the opening. Though the spectacular final moments more than make this a must see.

Company: Sugar Throw Theatre
Show: Magical Athlete: Stadium Showdown
Venue: Rarig Stoll Thrust Theatre

Favorite Show I've Seen So Far!

I'm new to seeing Fringe shows and really didn't know what to expect, but the variety amazes me. This was a tight, high energy show that was just a blast to see. I don't know if the troop had ever done this before, but it felt like a well oiled machine. I've seen "wacky personalities play a game" before, but every creative decision here felt like a checkbox to address every potential lull to allow no boredom. The announcers, the deadpan singing clown, the fact the big dice were rolled by an assistant instead of forcing the playing to stop and roll every 30 seconds, the board growing more complex, and the silly personalities they embodied to match what "card" was played. I don't want to diminish the talent of the performers bringing this energy on the spot, but I'm mostly impressed by the design and structure. By introducing a raffle element, the crowd so naturally winds up rooting for a specific player, cheering along with the hijinks and unlikely comebacks. My show included character cards "The Duelist," "The Scoocher," and "The Mouth." After a more mild 1st game, the crowd was going wild for every Duel and every "Scooch" in the 2nd especially when the occasional loop trapped them to do it over and over again. By the time The Mouth was in the 3rd game, the stakes were far too high for something so silly. They channel the betrayal of an intense Mario Party game in the best possible way. Would genuinely pay to see this regularly.

Company: Michael Shaeffer
Show: Glengarry Glen Elvis
Venue: Theatre in the Round

Grab Bag of Ideas

I don't know the exact train of thought that led to this show's initial spark of an idea to its final product. But to me, it felt like an improv game. Someone name a movie/play! - Glengarry Glen Ross! Someone name a character! - Elvis! Someone name a funny accent! - Minnesotan! And then they proceeded to make something work with that criteria. If that was the case, this would have been a pretty great improv show, working off of memory of the story, squeezing in references, and throwing in a Fargo style caricature just for fun. But it's not improv. Everything in this show was intentionally put there with weeks if not months of planning. And I can't help but find that a little confounding. I'm no stranger to humor that's summed up by just mashing two pieces of pop culture together. I've laughed at many a skit, T-Shirt, and meme that do just that. But to carry that joke for 60 minutes is a hurdle. Eventually the novelty of "What if we tell this exact same story but with Elvis" kind of wears off, and you're just watching a slimmed down version of a story you already know. (Though judging by the other reviews, it looks like a handful of people went in not too familiar with the source material. And not one review mentions that "Sebastian Haff" was the name of Bruce Campbell's character in Bubba Ho-Tep, implying this is the REAL Elvis who went into hiding as an Elvis Impersonator, and will one day fight a mummy in a nursing home). I can't help but wish this was just an original workplace comedy, with Elvis, maybe using shades of Glengarry as a starting point. But so many scenes are word for word the same. Just with Elvis. And unless I'm missing something, there's not even a Pun or pre-existing connection that led to this joke. It's random for the same of being random. Despite so much confusing me about its existence, I did have a fun time. Basically, Glengarry just provides the framework so there's some sort of three act structure making things flow. But really the highlight is getting to see an Elvis impersonator do his thing for 60 minutes. And he does a good job. I do prefer a Jukebox musical that builds a story around the songs, so each number advances the plot. This is the case of stopping the plot for a few minutes each time a song comes up. But as mentioned, the plot is really just an excuse to get to the songs and the comedy. The comedy is solid, I chuckled enough times. Though I kind of wish there was one more co-worker to balance out some banter. But it got the job done. Doing a Fargo voice for a Minnesota crowd is a safe bet for some laughs, and can't deny it got me too. If the team ever did something like this again, maybe pick a source material not just because it's recognizable and easy to replicate on a small stage, but also one that offers more opportunity for Elvis jokes to blend naturally. Or even multiple movies/plays. Elvis popping up in stories you wouldn't expect IS a funny idea.