All Your Shimmering Gold

You Will Be Changed For the Better

I've never experienced an hour like the one this show provides. From a mesmerizing physical performance by Michael Torsch and crew to the glorious and haunting operatics of the writing, this is an absolutely unforgettable experience. It left me of the unique ache of the end of an Ari Aster movie. This crew knows exactly what the show needs to be and lives in that space with beauty and a gilded stillness. Not a single breath or muscle is wasted. I absolutely leapt to my feet at the end; spending the days after feeling enthralled and afraid. Absolutely stunning!

Critical vibrant storytelling

I can't say enough about this show. Its different from anything I've seen in all my years attending fringe. Visionary new work like this is exactly why theatre matters and everyone should see their last two shows. Bravo!

absurdity is the best medicine

Do not miss

Urgent and effective, changes time and space before your very eyes. Proud to say I'm contractually locked in to the next 30 years of Supermoon. See the show.

critical poignant madness

It was wonderful. Brilliantly written, it touches on the mechanisms that our fear filled world works within. Torsch turned a new chapter in this one, stepping litely away from a world less whimsied. Go see it. Indulge in a dead man’s sonnet

Fantastic!!!

All hopped up with excitement still! This was great!

laugh, cry, and think

it’s pretty impressive to stand out as a piece of important and unique theatre in a festival full of shows that fit that exact description. you NEED to see this.

Smart and Unexpected

A good show is hard to describe! Opera, arms manufacturers, beat poetry, mermaids. Everything is just right together. A nice suit on a charming man. A play where they play. Madness and badness, combination.

A horrific, cathartic ride

Supermoon has thoroughly drafted us a Venn diagram between cautionary tales and self fulfilling prophecy and illustrates to the audience just how slim the differences are in beautiful, painful detail. It will grab you right from the start and will not let you go, perhaps not even after the show has ended. A must see.

Just a little more background, please!

Creativity = 5: Wow and wow. No spoilers, but their backstory of how the Northrop Grumman folks ended up at the Rarig Thrust is just fun and funny. And once I saw the connection, it was so fringe-y. Presentation = 5: Michael Torsch is so believable as a corporate spokesperson that I wondered if I had walked into the wrong show. Accessibility = 3: I don't have a strong liberal arts background, but had fortunately read a very short synopsis of Das Rheingold beforehand so sort of got the point, but it was a stretch. My sister (who hadn't read the synopsis) said she smiled through the whole thing, but didn't really get it. Until the very last minute. Great ending!! I wish there would have been a short program or URL code to help us get how this all tied together.

This show is what the Fringe is about!

I’m very grateful Northrop Grumman was here at the Fringe to inform me of the latest new development of American Imperialism! The opera part was great too! Contrary to the other reviews, I don’t think you need to know anything about Wagner to enjoy the show! Just enjoy the ride.

Amazing, funny & thoughtful

Well presented, well acted and written. Interesting subject and story with music and amazing costumes! I'm looking at my schedule to figure out when to see it again!

Oh just perfect

Timely but not overly so and so fun to watch. Love seeing Michael act. Animated, dramatic, witty, short and sweet, n make me giggle. Think I learned some science too

Exceptional!

Thought-provoking, captivating and refreshing.

This is what art is for

Unexpected and enchanting. Also sobering and educational. Just go!

Worth the price

In the best way possible, the hour of this performance felt like three. A brilliant concept, brilliantly staged and performed. A moving agitation out of numbness to remember the cost of living in a country whose primary export is violence. Please go see this show, grieve, be moved, and then let it start a conversation with those around you about what there is to be done.

An indescribable show

An absolutely absurd and amazing show. It's impossible to describe without sounding like a lunatic. Please go to this show and don't forget to bring some spare change

I thought I was prepared!

But I wasn't! This is not only funnier and more aesthetically beautiful than you think it could be, but the nuclear monologue set pieces, and how everything else in the production somehow leads inevitably to them, absolutely gutted me and everybody near me. Art is so absurd. Nuclear weapons are SO absurd.

riveting!

I love how this show revealed itself - bit by bit, through a deftly crafted allegory on an epic scale. So bold, affecting and impressive!!

👁️👄👁️

Utterly spellbinding from start to finish. I went in expecting an adaptation/alternate treatment of ‘Das Rheingold’, and was met by a piece that smashed it down to particles and constructed a nuclear warhead of pure artistic brilliance. Saying anything more would be a disservice to anyone wishing to witness this in-person, so… yeah, go do that.

Centrifuges are boring looking

An incredible multimodal performance tackling the curse humanity must bear in a post nuclear world.

I was stunned

The innovation, creativity, and execution of this show were all phenomenal, as was the premise itself: brilliantly conceived, brilliantly written, brilliantly performed, brilliantly fringey. Funny, horrifying, poetic, gutsy as hell, and beyond worth seeing. A tremendous accomplishment.

Amazingly innovative theater

I was told this play was good. This was inaccurate, it is in fact great. This was pushing the bounds of what could be done with staging and writing and set up at Fringe. I almost hesitate to say that it had political themes; political shows at Fringe have a certain reputation for a reason. But it is, in a way that elevates the play by bringing in real dreadful powers to Das Rheinegelt. It’s also opera. And it’s very funny. And the political side is raw and powerful, and not simple hand-raising. (Though between this and Abortion Chronicles, this has a been a good year for actual message that is actual theater.) It’s also gut-bustingly hilarious when it’s funny, which is often.

Original, profound, and educational

It’s like watching Oppenheimer live, told in a more artistic manner. This take on Das Rheingold combines factual information about nuclear weapons synthesis and operatic elements in reference to the original. You’ll leave in silence and in awe of the quality of performance. Absolutely a Golden Lanyard contender.

Riveting Story and Performance

The writing, acting, dancing, and storytelling grabbed me from the beginning and wouldn’t let me go. This is a show I’d like to see over and over—every word has impact, and juxtaposing the Wagner opera and dancing mermaids with uranium enrichment was delightfully educational and wretchedly heartbreaking. All the feels with this one. I loved it. My geoup of five loved it.

One of the Best Shows I've Ever Seen

Just trust me: see this. You don't need to know anything about defense contractors or uranium or nuclear warheads or Wager's Das Rheingold to get it. All you need to know is it's an enthralling rollercoaster ride, from questioning if the show had even started to violence to bombastic music to informative, naturalistic humor to glittering spectacle to unsettling, creepy silences. My mouth was agape the entire show, never knowing what would happen next. Poignant and devastating, "All Your Shimmering Gold" renewed my faith that there are creators out there who are still doing new things. I didn't know shows like this (abstract, political, unsettling) could be so well done. Fringe is for weird shows - THIS IS THAT WEIRD SHOW!!!

Just WOW go experience it!

I'm not sure how to describe this incredibly unique and powerful experience... a global product launch, Dr. Strangelove, and the Ride of the Valkyries? The play/presentation is meta, funny, dramatic, classical, shocking... with outstanding acting, staging, lighting, projections, and costumes. If you're looking for a polished performance this is it. Terrifying and beautiful and hilarious all at the same time. This is what modern theater should be doing! MORE PLEASE 🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

Nuclear Performance

I walked into this show with no clue whatsoever of what it was about—despite having read their description. And honestly, that’s the best way to see this show. Hilarious and highly impactful presentation of a little discussed topic.

Wowwie wow

This was a really cool show, start to finish has your attention and takes you on a roller coaster of emotion you don’t think you’d be on. Very well done, wonderful cast, top notch music, dare I say 10/10.

super duper, Supermoon

A chemistry lesson meets dramatic opera; a sales pitch in glitter; a beautiful nightmare. I'm so glad the world didn't end before this show was created and I got to see it. Incredibly written, staged and performed by Supermoon. As my mother says, "made me laugh, made me cry, made me think about it later" = the telltale signs of an excellent production.

A fairytale about weapons of war

Brilliant and multi-faceted like a prism, All Your Shimmering Gold is a harrowing spectacle with a poignant topic. The use of lights, projections, video, and music add to this whimsical dark fairy tale about weapons of mass destruction. It's off-set by a cold and callous business trying to sell those weapons and the hollow, hard facts of the weapons themselves that create a sinking tension—all building to what their cost is. And like any good fairy tale, the cost is always insurmountable and intangible, and something deeply human. It's a must-see this Fringe with incredible performances all around!

All That Shimmers Isn’t Gold, But This Show Is

At first, I thought I was at an actual Northrop Grumman presentation. Then someone mentioned Wagner. All Your Shimmering Gold feels like a corporate training video made by someone who accidentally watched Das Rheingold instead of reading the manual. Michael Torsch is disturbingly convincing and somehow makes nuclear weapons, opera, and a corporate conference feel like they belong together. I laughed, I panicked, I questioned my life choices. 10 out of 10 would attend again just to make sure it really happened.

Unique, witty, smart, and beautiful! See it!

An impressive and amusing mash up of lip-synced opera, real opera, dance, science, mythology, weaponry, TedTalk, and investment opportunity. Its savvy use of fabulous costumes, music and projection design created a dynamic and immersive environment, allowing us to engage on multiple levels throughout. Didn't want it to end.

Much needed

Amazing artistry that meets the moment, dealing with a topic that could not be more important to the survival of our species and is still so badly ignored. Challenging and exposing power where it really lies.

The Fringe-iest

I can't describe what this show is about - there's opera, there are nuclear weapons, there's a promotional lecture. It's an amazing work of creativity with a dash of information and Wagner. Great performances and costumes. Go see it and maybe you can describe it better than I can!

At Least 3 Shows In One

This production has three comments. By the end of the hour you see how well they blended in this skillfully done show. It open as a satirical show and tell "from" a military contractor ( which does actually exist). It moves into a Wagner opera which changes gold to uranium at one point. We close with the reality of nuclear destruction made more potent as this week is the historic date that marks America's dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. This show comes at you intellectually, emotionally and in an intense sensory manner. If you can see it go and if the schedule allows a companion show at Fringe is titled"Salt", which delivers an antiwar message too.

The purpose of theater!

This is the theater of our time. Truly don’t know what to say that hasn’t already been said in these reviews. But I’ll just add - this performance touches on the disconnect, but also connectedness, of the horrors of the world and all the good there is. I loved the silliness and seriousness - and learnings about this real thing that makes you continue to think and question. Also, I love when a show is marketed in one way to get people to see it and then, well - you have to go see it! So yeah, the purpose of theater!!!

See this show see it right now

This show is some of the best theatre I’ve seen in a long time. It is engaging from moment one. I love the use of silence. It is a brilliant concept executed perfectly. And the performances are P E R F E C T. I want to watch this show again and again and again. Laughs were had, tears were shed. If you have only one slot available to you, you should fill it with this show. Really really excellent work.

Captivating!

Loved the juxtaposition of Wagner and defense contracting! Both sides of the coin were captivating and tragic though I'm not sure I followed the throughline/ connection. Still a beautiful piece that I'll carry with me.

Ausgezeichnet!

I have been a fan of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle since I was a child, and I forgive Michael for taking liberties with its plot sequence and characters in service of this incredible performance. I didn't know what to expect coming in other than high quality work from a talented actor & playwright. I got that and more. I was deeply moved by the use of Das Rheingold as a parable. It worked so well on multiple levels, and the live aria at the end was utterly beautiful. What a brilliant show!

Ted Talk Fever Dream

Part satirical Ted Talk, part operatic fever dream, this piece kept me guessing. Full of moments that made me cackle and moments that made me want to squirm out of my skin. It's informative without being heavy handed, surprising without relying on shock-value, and touching without being soppy. If you're looking for something unlike anything you've see, this is your show! A hell of a ride from start to finish.

Incredible and Meaningful!

This show was incredible. I am still thinking about it. Michael always puts on amazing productions. He showcases physicality, silence, sound, visuals, and always has wonderful details. There is so much in every moment. This show was funny and thought-provoking. There was never a slow moment, and I was always fully engaged. Easily one of the best Fringe shows this year!

the future of theatre

This is the kind of show that reminds you what theatre can be. Bold choices. Thoughtful, intelligent, creative, challenging, stunning, and captivating storytelling. I have not stopped thinking about All Your Shimmering Gold since I left the theatre. I am grateful for art like this in the Twin Cities.

This is my Oppenheimer

Go in as blind as you want, you won't regret it!

Absurdist and iconic

I genuinely don't know how to describe what I just watched other than saying I really enjoyed. SUPERMOON takes Avante Garde and Absurdism to the extreme, but I'm all here for it. I work with one of the cast members so I wasn't expecting the big surprise but I was all here for it. If you want to watch something weird, and learn how a little bit about Uranium 235 and 238, please go see this show. Bravo friends!

A nuclear warhead of a show

There are moments in this piece that are not going to let me sleep for at least the next year. It is perplexing, hilarious, informative, disturbing, distressing, disgusting, beautiful, timely, inventive, and entirely original. A deliciously uncomfortable and unnervingly gorgeous experience throughout.

simply the best, thank you

Strange and fun!

Wait, are the cast members really employees of a defense contractor? Wow, just wow! Amazingly inventive, wonderfully staged!

The absolute epitome of a fringe show!

Why not combine weapons of mass destruction and an opera? I just LOVED this show for its creativity and the execution was wonderful. This kinda show is what Fringe is all about. Different, weird, makes you want to see more opera. Bring an extra $5 though, or the show may not happen. 🙃