JONAH & JOANNA... And the Great Big Fish

An old tale with local humor added

Overall, I enjoyed this thoroughly Minnesotan twist on an ancient story. Non-locals might miss a few of the jokes, but not too the point where it works detract from the overall enjoyment of the show. I think the only thing I felt could have been improved was the character of Joanna. I felt like she mostly did whatever Jonah did and was mainly there so there could be a Minnesota Twins reference. I would have liked to have seen her as a more distinctive character. But great show overall!

Sorry Sports Fans....

This one was a bit of a miss for me. While it was a cute MN twist on the well known story, it didn't have the polish most of the other storyteller shows I've attended possessed. This would be a good show for those pre-high school.

Marie Cooney's use of formats helpful

The flexibility in the formats that Marie uses have had as much of an influence on my own productions as any other work I've seen at the Fringe Festival. Marie's show at the 2023 Fest was relatively constant from one performance to another, but she's taken chances in the past in which the content changes significantly from one performance to another, which I find to be liberating. After learning that Marie used such a format, I made use of that more flexible approach in my own Fringe productions. Look forward to seeing how Marie adapts her storytelling from one project to another and what I can learn from her approach.

MNcentric story time

i loved this so much, i felt like a kid at story time hearing a great tale. so many jokes, wraps in 40 minutes

A Minnesota Whale Tale

Marie spins a biblical story in a raucous way. At least from my perspective, this is a very child-friendly show where she retells Jonah and the Whale with her local flavoring.

A Minnesota Fish Story

An experienced story-teller performing at the perfect nexus between her love of the deep clouded "Sea" and her devotion to the deep clarity of the theater. Thanks for the detailed fable, my friend!

Inventive, high energy storytelling

In this one-woman show, Marie Cooney's high energy performance style becomes the perfect vehicle to showcase her story-crafting talent. The familiar tale of Jonah and the whale is merely the frame upon which she hangs an original tall tale that abounds with plot twists, Minnesota references, and raucous humor. A familiar figure on storytelling stages in the Twin Cities and national online venues, Marie is best known for sharing short, powerful, true stories from her own life. Here we see another side of her storytelling -- fictional and funny, but nonetheless emotionally engaging.

A whale of a tale!

This retelling of a classic tale was very fun and kid friendly. A traumatic brain injury has given Marie Cooney an almost childlike sense of wonder and she is very open and affirming with her audience. She has a big voice and may not have needed the microphone, but as a hearing impaired senior I did appreciate it. I loved all the toys and chachkas that lined the stage and her invitation to give them a closer look. Great job!