Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "Pants on Fire"

Day: 7

Show: 23

Title: Pants on Fire

Category: Improv

By: The Project Factory

Created by: Sarah Broude

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: A game show in which two teams try to guess if the story someone is telling is a weird truth, or an elaborate lie.

Highlights: What a great idea for a show. If you've heard of "two truths and a lie," it's like that, but each participant only has one chance at a story, with the opposing team guessing if it's true or a lie. It's a nuanced game, in which the storyteller not only has to tell the (possibly made-up story), but make the others believe it's true when it's a lie, or vice versa. And the even trickier thing is that sometimes part of the story is true, but not all of it. The evening is hosted by Sarah Broude, with help from Music Director Chris Perricelli and a delightfully bored assistant (whose name I didn't catch), throwing snacks at the guests, changing outfits frequently, and giving occasional side eye. Each performance has different guests, all pulled from our talented comedy/improv scene. I went (not coincidentally) to the show that featured the Four Humors: Ryan Lear, Brant Miller, Matt Spring, and newest Humor Allison Vincent. This group never fails to crack me up, and this was no exception; in fact I think it's the hardest I've laughed at Fringe this year. They were split into teams with captains Dale Peterson and Katie Kaufmann (who I gather are at every show), and each one got to tell a story, from getting kicked out of a Bozo the Clown show, to being part of a pregnancy reveal gone wrong, to childhood pranks. Watching these six weave a tale on the fly, and the others respond to it and ask questions, is sheer joy and hilarity. Highlights of the evening include watching Matt mime milking a cow, Brant reenact a Santa Experience, and hearing Ryan recite all the books of the Bible, after making us think he couldn't (but of course he can). The point system is a bit suspect, with math and word problems thrown in arbitrarily, but it's all in good fun. Great fun actually.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "Blackout Improv Does Something!!!"

Day: 7

Show: 22

Title: Blackout Improv Does Something!!!

Category: Comedy / Improv / Puppetry

By: Rogues Gallery Arts

Created by: Blackout Improv

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: Minneapolis' first all Black improv troupe does the something that only they can do.

Highlights: Blackout returns to the Minnesota Fringe for the first in seven years, which doesn't seem possible. I'm pretty sure my first experience with them was at Fringe, and I've seen them many times since, including most recently for their fabulous Juneteenth celebration at the Ordway. As a short form improv troupe they're very funny and work well together, bouncing ideas off each other and yes-and-ing. But what I keep coming back for is their trademark swag hat in which they draw an audience-suggested topic from a hat, have a real round-table discussion about it, and then do improv based on it. Many of the audience suggestions were of course about the election, and it was really interesting (and dare I say hopeful?) to hear the Black perspective on it. A lighter topic drawn from the hat was Black nerd problems, which we can all relate to (or at least everyone attending a theater festival can). Before the swag hat we were treated to special guest artist - Blackout alum and former #TCTheater artist Theo Langason (they have a different guest at every show). He's just a gem, and though he no longer lives in town, he returns occasionally to direct or for events like this. The multi-talented artist sang us three sweet and mournful songs that he wrote, accompanying himself on steel guitar (the most beautifully melancholic instrument). Then the troupe did a few improv scenes based on his songs, to everyone's delight. The other feature of the night was scenes about little known moments of Black excellence throughout history, like the first time someone said a song was "my jam," the emergence of the "magical Negro," and Moses parting the Red Sea (although I feel like that's pretty well known). Blackout's 60-minute show flew by and felt like 20; I'd see it again if I could! You've got two more chances to see them this weekend!

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here. 

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "An Honest* History of Bullshit"

Day: 2

Show: 4

Title: An Honest* History of Bullshit

Category: Comedy / Solo Show / Historical content / Political content / Religious content

By: Paco Erhard | German Comedy International

Created by: Paco Erhard | German Comedy International

Location: HUGE Improv Theater

Summary: German comedian Paco Erhard returns to MN Fringe with a new show about, well, bullshit.

Highlights: Paco's 2013 show 5-Step Guide to Being German was one of the top-selling shows, and one of my favorites of the festival. His new show An Honest* History of Bullshit probably won't make my favorites list, but it was still very entertaining. The concept feels much looser than last year's, he only occasionally returns to the idea of bullshit (which he defines as people wanting to believe the stories in their own heads rather than the truth), using it as a very loose framework to tell a bunch of stories, some funnier than others. Like in his last show, he brings an interesting cultural perspective as someone who grew up in Germany, has traveled and lived all over the world, and now resides in LA. He makes jokes about Americans, Germans, and Canadians, talks about how there are certain jokes that work better in Europe than America, or vice versa, and the idea of stereotypes in general. It's a fun standup comedy show with a global perspective.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Black and Funny Improv Festival at HUGE Theater

The 8th Annual Black and Funny Improv Festival is running this weekend only! I attended the first night and saw four improv groups perform. Not only was it a fun night of laughter (which is the norm at HUGE Theater), but it was a wonderful celebration of Black artists, Black comedy, and Black joy. The festival stresses that "Black people are centered, all are welcome," and it truly felt like that. As a White person, I felt not only welcome, but also privileged to experience and be part of this wonderful community. Laughter is healing and uniting, it builds community and companionship, it makes us forget any perceived differences we think exist between us and others. So head on down to HUGE Theater in Uptown to see some great improv by local, national, and international performers, and/or partake in comedy workshops. You can purchase tickets and find more information about the performers and workshops at the Black and Funny website. And to learn a little more about the festival, listen to our interview with festival co-directors John Gebretatose and Jada Pulley on the Twin Cities Theater Chat podcast.

"Family Dinner" and "The Mess" at HUGE Theater

Have you heard the news? HUGE Theater has moved into a new space, and not only that - they own it! For more about the significance of an artist-led organization owning their own performance space, listen to Episode 2.7 of the Twin Cities Theater Chat podcast, in which we interview Executive Director Butch Roy. For a virtual tour of the new space, including classrooms and behind the scenes, watch this YouTube video in which John Gebretatose, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, shows bloggers Kendra from Artfully Engaging and Rob from The Stages of MN around the space. Or better yet - go visit HUGE in person! They've moved just a few blocks north on Lyndale and across the street (tip: plenty of free street parking on Aldrich, one block west of Lyndale). The new HUGE feels more spacious - from the lobby to the performance space, with more improvements coming soon, including a bar and risers to improve sightlines in the audience. HUGE currently has shows Wednesdays through Saturdays, with three-show line-ups on Fridays and Saturdays. I made my first visit to the new HUGE last night to see my all-time favorite improv show Family Dinner, which continues every Saturday through the end of the year. See the full schedule here and make your plans to see some improv this holiday* season.

"Family Dinner" and "The Mess" at HUGE Theater

After pivoting to a very 2020 Zoom version last year, everyone's favorite improv show Family Dinner is back at HUGE Theater where they belong! Where we can watch a delightfully dysfunctional family reunite for a holiday* dinner and actually eat it, live in front of us! I saw the show last weekend with my blogger friends from Play Off the Page and The Stages of MN (and then stayed to watch the also hilarious improv troupe The Mess), and laughed harder than I have in a long time. Family Dinner is hugely popular and often sells out its twice-weekly shows from mid-November through the end of the year, because everyone can relate to that awkward family dinner, even if this one is a bit more extreme in awkwardness and drama. But it's never mean-spirited, you get the sense that this improvised family loves each other, even whilst driving each other crazy. The final two performances this year are on New Year's Eve and Day - get your tickets now! While you're on the HUGE website, check out what else is going on, with live shows six days a week.

Black and Funny / Twin Cities Improv Festival at the Bakken Museum

Last weekend, I attended the final performance of the joint festival by the Black and Funny and Twin Cities Improv Festivals. And it only made me wish I had seen more of the performances. In the before times, I didn't see improv often enough, but I had to go to Huge Theater (which was a sponsor of the event) at least once a year to see my favorite improv show, Family Dinner. It had been a year and a half since I had seen live in-person improv, and it was so amazingly wonderful to laugh with other humans at silly, smart, fun performances made up entirely new right in front of us! That's the magic of improv, doable over Zoom but so much better in real life, even outdoors* under a tent on a rainy day. The festival may be over, but live performance returns to Huge on July 9 with shows every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer, and their full schedule returning this fall (click here for details).

Virtual Holiday #TCTheater Shows

Well friends, we've nearly made it to the end of a very strange year, one filled with tragedy, grief, awakening, and maybe a little hope as we reexamine how and why we do everything, and have the opportunity to do it better. The holiday season obviously looks a lot different this year (and not just because there's no snow in Minnesota). But one thing remains the same - #TCTheater has produced an abundance of holiday offerings, virtual of course. Read through the list below (some of which I've watched already, some of which I plan to) and find one (or ten) that look appealing to you. Some are free to view or listen to, some are offered in exchange for a small fee, but regardless, please consider a donation to your favorite theater(s) as part of your end-of-year giving, if you're in a position to do so. I have great hope that theater will return in 2021, and donations help ensure that theater companies will make it through to that time. One thing I've learned this year is that artists will find a way to make and distribute art, no matter the circumstances they find themselves in.

"Family Dinner" streaming live on YouTube every Saturday from Huge Theater

Everyone's favorite improvised holiday* show returns this year! But instead of parodying that awkward in-person holiday dinner with family and/or friends, this year Family Dinner is parodying that awkward holiday zoom call with family and/or friends - what could be more perfect for 2020?! A new dinner is streaming on Huge Theater's YouTube page for the next three Saturdays at 8pm. I watched it last Saturday night (bonus: if you're a morning person like me you can watch it in bed and not have to worry about staying up past your bedtime) and it's just as hilariously awkward as always. The show is free to watch, no need for tickets or reservations, but if you watch it please do consider donating $10 or $15 or more to support these artists through this extended intermission.

"Family Dinner" and "The Mess" at HUGE Improv Theater

Family Dinner is my favorite show at HUGE Improv Theater in Uptown. It comes around this time every year, with shows on Fridays and Saturdays all through November and December, most of which sell out. Now in their eighth year at HUGE, it's basically the Guthrie's A Christmas Carol (as creator Molly Ritchie said). I attended with my Twin Cities Theater Blogger friends old (Minnesota Theater Love, Twin Cities Stages, Bite-Sized Beet) and new (The Stages of MN, The Global Dig, and Millennial in the Mezzanine), and a good time was had by all. HUGE is a great option for a fun outing this time of year, or any time of year. Buy tickets for one show only, or save on a two- or three-show pass. And you will want to get your Family Dinner tickets in advance - they will sell out.

A Night at HUGE Improv Theater: "Family Dinner," KINGS, and the Bearded Company's "Chronicles"

Who couldn't use more laughter in their life? A great place to guarantee that is HUGE Improv Theater in Uptown, with shows every night except Tuesday. 'Tis the holiday* season, which brings my (and apparently may people's) favorite improv show - the utterly delightful Family Dinner. Every Friday and Saturday through the end of the year, a group of talented improvisers (nightly cast TBA from this lovely group) put on a very funny, very real (ish) production of a typical family dinner, including eating an actual dinner. It's super popular and almost always sells out, so make your reservations in advance. And while you're there, why not stay for another show or two, like I did? Friday nights include KINGS and The Bearded Company (keep reading for more on them), while Saturdays are The Mess (whom I've seen a couple of times before) and A Christmas Carol: Unscripted (I might need to go back to see this one). The full schedule (and reservations) can be found on HUGE's website.

"Off Book" and "The Mess" at HUGE Improv Theater

"Life is better when you're laughing." Or at least that was the sidewalk chalk wisdom I saw on my morning run today. But there definitely is truth to it, and if you're in need of more laughter in your life, there's no better place to go for consistent laughs any night of the week than HUGE Improv Theater, a home for improv in Uptown Minneapolis. HUGE hosts a variety of improv troupes, with shows almost every night. Most shows are about $10 per ticket, and if you go on a Friday or Saturday night, you can see multiple shows at a discounted price. A small price to play for a lot of laughter.

"Family Dinner" and "The Mess" at HUGE Improv Theater

It's been too long since I've enjoyed some improv at HUGE Theater in Uptown. But thanks to the appeal of the annual hit Family Dinner, I made a visit last weekend. And since I was there, I also stayed for the 9:30 show (I'm afraid a 10:30 show is more than this morning person can do, sorry improv-ers). Family Dinner has Friday and Saturday performances for the next two weekends but is virtually sold out. But the other show I caught, The Mess, performs Saturday nights and is also a great option. In fact, just about every night there is something funny going on at HUGE, so check it out sometime to experience something outside of the usual #TCTheater world.

Fringe Festival 2017: "Knifeslingin'"

Day: 9

Show: 37

Title: Knifeslingin'

Category: Comedy

By: The Theatre Cosmic

Written by: J. Merrill Motz

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: The creator of a series of videos and books about self-defense, Ted "Critter" Montana, is put on trial for inciting violence among his fans and followers.

Highlights: This wacky and funny show switches back and forth between the Critter videos, in which he instructs on the six rules of a proper knife fight, and the trial. The assistant district attorney (played by a rotating series of guest actors, Michael Terrell Brown the night I saw the show) questions Critter about his videos, life, and philosophy. Which in the end seems to be commenting on the "stand your ground" law. But the video excerpts are the highlight of the show; this is my first time seeing a J. Merrill Motz show and he's very consistent and detailed in his portrayal of the crazy ball of energy that is Critter. I particularly enjoyed the long lists of various knife grips or stances, and his repetitive redundancy (which elicited such laughter from the crowd that the show used up every last second of the 60 minutes of allotted time).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Fringe Festival 2017: "The Zoo Story (New Version)"

Day: 9

Show: 34

Title: The Zoo Story (New Version)

Category: Drama

By: Mortimer Productions

Written by: Edward Albee

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: In 1960s NYC, a "transient who lives in the rooming houses on the Upper West Side" approaches a middle class family man reading on a bench in Central Park.

Highlights: Wikipedia tells me that Edward Albee's 1958 one-act play (his first) "explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication as anathematization, social disparity and dehumanization in a commercial world." Does it ever! What starts out as an amusing conversation between the frantic Jerry and the reserved Peter turns into something a bit more intense as Jerry describes an existential encounter with a dog that gets at the very nature of life, death, and love. The wordy script is thought-provoking, and Sam Ahren gives a remarkable performance as Jerry, physically transforming into this crazy (or perfectly sane and brilliant) man with almost scary reality. Brad Erickson is also fantastic in a more subtle performance as Peter, who may not be as together as he seems. Directed by Pat O'Brien (who stars in that other tragic two-men-sitting-on-a-park-bench show, Whisper Into My Good Ear), The Zoo Story is one well worth listening, and one that will leave you pondering the weighty themes for some time to come.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Fringe Festival 2016: "Know Your B-Movie Actors"

Day: 1

Show: 3

Title: Know Your B-Movie Actors

Category: Comedy

By: The Miller Conspiracy

Written by: Derek Lee Miller

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: B-move buff Derek Lee Miller talks about the lives of some of his favorite B-movie actors and what makes them relevant today. Different actors are featured at every show, along with a different special guest bartender

Highlights: If you're familiar with Derek's weekly News and Notes column on Minnesota Playlist, you know that his writing is clever, funny, and insightful. He uses that same voice to talk about '50s B-movies, B-movie actors, and the strange land that was (and is) Hollywood. The night I attended featured "badass babes" Beverly Garland (known for playing tough, no-nonsense women in movies and later on TV), Pam Grier (star of such blacksploitation films as Coffy and Foxy Brown, and still a working actor today), and Tura Satana (an exotic dancer and exploitation film actor who dated and dumped both Elvis and Sinatra). With details both tragic and inspiring, Derek speaks with passion, frustration, and appreciation for B-movies and the way they (particularly producer/director Roger Corman) have influenced movies and popular culture, even through today. The show is funny, entertaining, and educational. Oh, and guest bartender Adelin Phelps very nearly stole the show away from Derek with her facial expressions and occasional utterances alone. This show is different every night, and if I didn't have 50+ other shows to see, I'd go see it again!

"Show X" at HUGE Theater

I experienced my first night of improv comedy last night, not including a Fringe show here or there. My friend and blogger colleague Kendra of Artfully Engaging arranged a blogger night at HUGE Theater, and a great time was had by all! "All" includes myself and Kendra, our fellow Twin Cities Theater Bloggers Laura from One Girl, Two Cities and Gina from The Room Where It Happens, and the entire Monday night audience, judging by the sounds of laughter in the room for the 90 minute two-act show. I enjoyed it even more than I expected to, and was truly impressed at the talent required for this very specific type of theater.

Fringe Festival 2015: "Ghosts of the Living, Ghosts of the Dead"

Day: 7

Show: 29

Title: Ghosts of the Living, Ghosts of the Dead

Category: Drama

By: Consummate Productions

Written by: Ashley Kress

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: One woman simply and beautifully reads her story about dealing with the deaths of three people in her life that affected her in different ways.

Highlights: Fringe can be so frantic, rushing from one show to another, most of which are busy or silly or ridiculous, packing everything they can into the allotted time. In that crazy space, a show like this one, with one person standing on stage reading a story into a microphone from printed pages on a music stand, is so quietly refreshing. From the deaths of a complicated grandmother, a father she never knew, and a beloved friend, Ashley Kress weaves a moving, poignant, heartfelt story of grief, loss, confusion, and hope. There's something beautiful about one woman standing on stage telling her story, speaking her truth with straight-forward simplicity and eloquence and no artifice. I had tears behind my eyes and a lump in my throat throughout the performance, as I felt every step of Ashley's journey over the past year. It's not the Fringe if you're not reduced to a weepy mess at least once, and this show delivers that beautifully heart-wrenching experience.

Minnesota Fringe Festival: Five-Fifths of Dirty Dancing at Illusion Theater

The 2015 Minnesota Fringe Festival kicked off this week with their annual spring fundraiser entitled "Five-Fifths," in which a popular movie is divided into five parts and given to five Fringe companies for their interpretation. This year they chose Dirty Dancing, presumably because it's one of the best movies ever made (that's not sarcasm; a devotion to Dirty Dancing and Patrick Swayze is inherent in anyone who was a teenage girl in the '80s). I could not resist this beloved movie receiving the Fringe treatment by this group of creative and wacky geniuses, and was not disappointed by the result, which was as delightfully bizarre and diverse as the festival itself.

The Huge Founders opened the show, with Mike Fotis (a Fringe legend) in drag as Baby, doing the requisite narration as well as hilarious commentary into a microphone. The five-person cast took us through the introduction to Kellerman's.

Picking up at the famous "I carried a watermelon scene," in which Baby is first exposed to the dancing, was the dance troupe Guittar Productions. They did some pretty cool physical theater things in their part of the retelling.

The baton was then passed to the adorably awkward Carl and Wanda Finkles. Like in their Fringe show last year, the Finkles did their part in a "we're putting on a show!" kind of way. Except that the show they prepared for was that other '80s dance movie Footloose. So they winged it in their own hilarious and original way as we saw the training sequence and the big dance number (a reprise from their last show).

In Mainly Me Productions' segment of the show, it was raining Patrick Swayze (if only!). The "Hey Mickey/Hey Sylvia" crawling on the floor scene was crashed by Patrick Swayze from four of his other movies and the SNL Chippendales sketch, which then turned into a Chippendales dance-off, culminating in the To Wong Fu Patrick Swayze singing "It's Raining Men." The whole thing was hilarious!

Who better to take us into the final big dance number than Bollywood Dance Scene? The Kellerman's talent show was a Bollywood dance-off (on For the Loyal's small sloped hexagonal stage), Johnny declared "nobody puts baby in a corner," and they did the lift!! Then the 30+ dancers came out into the audience for a joyous dance worthy of the spirit of Dirty Dancing.

The 2015 Minnesota Fringe Festival runs from July 30 through August 9. Check out their website for a list of companies (tentatively) scheduled to perform and for further information about the fest.

Fringe Festival: "Natural Novice"

Day: 2

Show: 6

Title: Natural Novice

Category: Comedy

By: Siobhan O'Loughlin

Written by: Siobhan O'Loughlin

Location: HUGE Theater

Summary: A one-woman show about one woman's journey to become comfortable with and confident in her decision not to shave.

Highlights: Siobhan is completely charming and disarming, somehow not at all what I expected from this piece about body hair. Which just goes to show that our attitudes towards and stereotypes about women's body hair are deeply ingrained (no pun intended) in our culture. Siobhan spent some time in a commune in Vermont, and inspired by the beautiful, confident, hairy women she met, decided not to shave, a decision she struggled with when she returned to Brooklyn. She interviewed a half dozen of her friends about the topic, and portrays them as well as telling her own story. Each of these women has had a different experience with shaving, which together form a portrait of what it means to grow up in this society with so many expectations about what it means to be a woman and what you have to do to be accepted as a woman. But don't be scared, it's also a very funny and accessible show, something every woman can relate to. You will leave this show thinking a little differently about women's body hair, which is of course about so much more than hair.