"Alma Murder" by The Mystery Cafe at Sheraton Bloomington

I went to my first high school reunion last weekend. No, not my actual high school reunion (I was a nerd with few friends, no need to revisit that), but something much better - an immersive comedy murder-mystery dinner-theater reunion! At Alma Murder (now playing in the downstairs ballroom at Sheraton Bloomington), you're greeted by the principal and secretary of Mellencamp High School as if they know you. You're asked to fill out a nametag with your name and graduation year (class of '92 here) for this all-class reunion on the eve of the destruction of our beloved Mellencamp. The jock and cheerleader/class president/party planner drop by your table to say hi and reminisce. And like all reunions (I assume, never having attended one before), you also get served a delicious three-course meal, have a few drinks with friends old and new, and solve a murder! As with all shows by The Mystery Cafe, it's a fun experiential evening of theater with no separation between audience and performers, rather we're all part of this fun and wacky reunion. Alma Murder continues through January 31 in the South Metro, with their other show, the immersive wedding show 'Til Death Do Us Die (which I saw last year) opening this weekend and playing through February 8. Click here for info and tickets for both shows (dinner included in the ticket price).

"A Snowy Kiss" and "Holiday Office Party" at Strike Theater

And now for something different - a night of holiday* improv! Last year Strike Theater debuted a new long-form improv show - Holiday Office Party. And since I've attended my share of such events (although not anymore, post-covid my office has virtual holiday parties in which we do things like make origami or decorate gingerbread houses or play trivia games), I found it funny and relatable. Holiday Office Party is back this year for three weekends only. And since this weekend's performances were at 9pm, I decided to see the 730 show at Strike too, which was a one-weekend-only show by jorts! Improv. A Snowy Kiss is their annual tradition, an improvised holiday romance of the type we know so well from Hallmark and Netflix. It was a fun night of improv and a different sort of holiday show. Visit Strike's website for their upcoming show schedule.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2024: "The Camp Out"

Day: 3/9

Show: 9/27

Title: The Camp Out

Category: Comedy / Drama / Improv / Physical Theater

By: Mike Fotis Productions

Created by: Mike Fotis, Rita Boersma, Tim Hellendrung, Nels Lennes, Heather Meyer, Danna Sheridan

Location: Mixed Blood Theatre

Summary: An improvised story of six friends who go on a campout to remember a deceased friend.

Highlights: Long-form is my favorite kind of improv, and this show is an example of why. Over the course of about an hour we watch these relationships develop in front of our eyes (although I'm not sure if characters and plots points are improvised and different every time, or just the conversation around them). And these six improvisors (Mike Fotis, Rita Boersma, Tim Hellendrung, Nels Lennes, Heather Meyer, and Danna Sheridan) are some of the best. The show starts with a couple actually setting up a tent on stage, which is a drama in and of itself! Friends start arriving, and we start to gather what everyone's relationships are. In the show I saw, the friends are there to honor their friend who died a year or so ago, and secrets (relationships, pregnancies) are revealed. It's so much fun to watch this group just be these people, talking and joking and snacking. It feels so real, like eavesdropping. When real life thunder was heard from outside the theater, they incorporated it into the show, starting to prepare for the rain. It's a well-done, smooth, and very funny improvised dramedy.

Update: I had an open slot in my schedule so I saw this one again, and it was completely different! Same performers, same concept of saying goodbye to a deceased friend (reading a letter from a family member and spreading their ashes in the park), but the characters and relationships were completely different. No surprise revelations, just being together and grieving. I cried from laughter, and a little bit at the real emotions.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Holiday Office Party" at Strike Theater

There's a new long-form holiday* improv show in town, and much like Family Dinner (playing at HUGE Theater in Uptown through December 30), Holiday Office Party at Strike Theater in Northeast Minneapolis spoofs a familiar event in many people's lives - the office party. That semi-mandatory party with people who are sort of your friends but not really. I'm going into the office this week (for the first time in six months) to experience the real thing (planned funtivities: trivia and a cookie exchange), but I'm certain that it won't be nearly as fun as the Strike Office Party. A large cast pulled from a troupe of talented improvisers makes awkward small talk, drinks too much, and sings inappropriate karaoke. What's not to love?! There are three more shows this weekend, for the very reasonable price of $12, so check out the fun at your Northeast home for sketch comedy, improv, and storytelling.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2023: "Let Me Say This About That"

Day: 2

Show: 6

Title: Let Me Say This About That

Category: COMEDY / IMPROV

By: Imaginary Podcast Network

Created by: Raffi Jarvis, Heather Meyer, and Danna Sheridan

Location: Rarig Xperimental

Summary: A trio of improvised podcasts based on audience prompts, complete with those ubiquitous podcast ads.

Highlights: Fresh from the Tuscon Fringe Festival, where they won a couple of awards, local funny women Heather Meyer and Danna Sheridan host a podcast! Because everyone has a podcast now (including me - listen to Twin Cities Theater Chat here or on your favorite podcast platform). The three podcasts at the show I saw it were a witchy podcast, a sciencey one, and one about sexy history, natch. Self-described "tech boy" Raffi Jarvis plays the producer, who also takes part in the shows, sometimes as an experienced producer telling the newbie podcasters what to do, sometimes as an intern being bossed around by the podcasters. Heather and Danna play said podcasters, donning different names and personalities, riffing off each other and audience questions. It's a whole lot of fun and silliness, spoofing the podcasts that we all listen to obsessively (no? just me?).

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"It's Not the Heat, It's the Stupidity" by Brave New Workshop at the Dudley Riggs Theatre

The common refrain: "it's not the heat, it's the humidity" can be heard frequently in a Minnesota summer. For their newest clever title, Brave New Workshop is playing off of this phrase with It's Not the Heat, it's the Stupidity (which is perhaps even more true). The longest running comedy theater in the country is doing something different for the summer. Typically their shows feature written comedy sketches, followed by a short improv section at the end. For this show, it's all improv, all the time! As host (and "boss" as the performers referred to him) Caleb McEwen said, there are just too many stupid things happening right now, and this way they can react to all of them daily instead of having a static script. Although there wasn't a lot of current events in the show I saw (yours might be different), just a lot of hilarious, clever, and delightfully stupid comedy. Each week's cast is pulled from a large group of some of the best improvisers in town, truly making each show different. The show plays every Friday and Saturday at 7:30 through August 5 (plus occasional matinees - click here for details).

"46 Plays for America's First Ladies" by Theatre Pro Rata at Crane Theater

If I'm late posting this review, it's because I went down an internet rabbit hole about the fascinating 46 (or more) First Ladies. Because the new play 46 Plays for America's First Ladies, by virtue of covering all of these women in about two hours, only gives us a brief hint at each one of them. Someone needs to write a musical about one or more of these women* (looking for a next project, Lin-Manuel?), maybe Harriet Lane, adopted daughter of "lifelong bachelor" James Buchanan, or Lucy Webb Hayes, who accomplished so much that even five people talking at the same time couldn't cover it. Written by five different playwrights, this yet-to-be-published and up-to-the-minute play (ending with Jill Biden, 2021-?) is mostly a comedy, but not without some social and political commentary (not-so-fun fact: many of the early First Ladies owned slaves). It's a funny and fascinating whirlwind trip through the history of this country, as seen through the eyes of the women behind the men who were presidents. With some hope that maybe one day, this country will get with the times and elect a woman to lead outright, instead of just from behind.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2022: "Finger Lickin' Good"

Day: 5

Show: 17

Title: Finger Lickin' Good

Category: COMEDY / HORROR / ORIGINAL MUSIC / AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION / HISTORICAL CONTENT

By: Special When Lit

Written by: Heather Meyer & Nissa Nordland Morgan

Location: Rarig Center Thrust

Summary: A sort of true biography of Colonel Harland David Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, that turns into a wild tale of sex, greed, and chicken.

Highlights: I don't know what kind of genius and/or warped minds think of an idea like this, but it's cluckin' brilliant (I can't resist the chicken puns any more than this team can). And it's also completely ridiculous, in the best way. Sam Landman is the perfect Colonel, with the swagger, the accent, the iconic white suit (when he's wearing anything at all), and the magnetism of the man who started the world's second largest restaurant chain. We traverse more or less chronologically through Harland's life, from his unhappy childhood, to his marriage and many affairs, to starting the KFC franchise, and eventually selling it (which, in this retelling, he regretted). The ensemble (the playwrights along with Rita Boersma, Jonathan Feld, and Duck Washington, all playing multiple roles, and chickens) are hilariously over the top as they tell this story, using lots of clever chicken props. All of the above would make for a great show, but the cherry on top is Shanan Custer as the frazzled fact checker, standing just outside the story, providing sound effects and checking in her big book of facts. Watching her watch the show, and react to the shenanigans, makes it even funnier. The show also includes a couple of original songs (by Nicholas Nelson) with some funky chicken choreography (by Laura Mahler). There aren't really any horror elements in this piece, except for one delicious final moment that maybe isn't necessary, but makes my vegetarian heart glad. Audiences may come for the salacious show image (the best one in the fest this year), but they'll be rewarded by a wholly original and wildly creative story about an iconic figure whom we thought we knew, but it turns out we didn't know him at all.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"The Great Strike Theater Improvised Bake Off" at Strike Theater

The Great Strike Theater IMPROVISED Bake Off is back! The last time I was at Strike Theater was for the 2019 holiday Bake Off. After a very long intermission, Strike opened its doors again last year for sketch comedy, storytelling, and spoken word shows and classes. And this week my favorite show, the delightful spoof of everyone's favorite TV baking competition, returned for two performances only. Click here for more info on Strike's upcoming shows and classes, and read on for more about this episode of the Bake Off.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2021: "The Convent of Pleasure"

Day: 1

Show: 2

Title: The Convent of Pleasure

By: Theatre Pro Rata

Performance Type: Live In Person

Location: Wood Lake Nature Center Amphitheater (outdoors)

Length: 90 minutes

Summary: A hilarious modern adaptation of the 17th Century play of the same name about a woman who forsakes the company of men, founding a commune of women who dedicate their life to pleasure.

Highlights: Theatre Pro Rata got their start at the Minnesota Fringe Festival 20 years; one of the many benefits of this festival is that it supports artists in such a way that allows companies like this to form and expand beyond the festival that birthed them. Local playwright/actor/comedian/baker Heather Meyer's play is one of those "ghost plays" that was supposed to premiere in the summer of 2020, and happily it is finally seeing the light of day. This fantabulous all-female cast really brings out all of the humor in the script (of which there is much), as well as the emotion in the sweet love story between Lady Happy (the delightful Boo Segersin), who uses the money her father left her when he died to create the Convent and live only for the immediate pleasures of all of the senses, and Princess Principle (a serene Megan Kim), who loves Lady Happy but longs for commitment. Kelsey Laurel Cramer, Nissa Nordland Morgan, and Taj Ruler play Lords Somewhat, Sortof, and Soso, who try to woo the ladies, devilishly twirling their greasepaint mustaches. Ankita Ashrit, Lynda Dahl, and Kayla Dvorak Feld flit across the stage and grounds as Lady Happy's companions, while Meri Golden frets as her mistress of accounts. And can we talk about the costumes? So fun, colorful, and playful, with flowers and hats and frills to spare (designed by Mandi Johnson). There's a reason I chose this show to see on the first night of the Fringe - a company that's been doing good work for 20 years, a strong cast, the feminist theme, and the promise of laughs make this a must-see.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2020: "Cooking Heather's All-Out Nonsense Baking Time!"

Location: Digital Hub Live (now available to stream anytime)

Length: 50 minutes

Title: Cooking Heather's All-Out Nonsense Baking Time!

By: Heather Meyer

Summary: A live comedy/improv/baking show.

Highlights: If you're not familiar with Cooking Heather, let this be your introduction. You know that Food Network show Worst Cooks in America? It's a little like that. Not to say that Heather Meyer is a bad cook, but the things she puts together are as horrifying as they are possibly delicious. As one of the commenters on the live show said, it's like everything you dreamed of eating when you were 10 years old, all mushed together. In this episode, she creates a three-layer "cake," with the ingredients chosen from the "Wheel of Treats" (things like cookies, popcorn, candy, goldfish), all glued together with cookie dough and melted gummy worms. In real time we watch her mix, bake, microwave, melt, freeze, and assemble these ingredients into a beautiful and terrible pile of sugar. And then she eats it and tells us what it's like! Such fun.

Read all of my Nightly Fringe mini-reviews here.

Read all of my Digital Hub mini-reviews here.

A Reading of "Eat, Slay, Leave" by the Playwright Cabal at the Phoenix Theatre

The Playwright Cabal is "an ambitious group of female-identified professional playwrights who promote the development of new scripted plays in the Twin Cities and one another’s success." This fall, they're presenting a series of readings of new works by each the five members (Katherine Glover, Gemma Irish, Alayna Jacqueline, Heather Meyer, and Rachel Teagle). This program, entitled New Leaf, is free to attend, and includes pre- and post-show happy hour as well as a post-show discussion of the work presented. All readings are at the Phoenix Theatre in Uptown, and it's a really great way to see what our local female playwrights are up to.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Kind Of Funny But Also A Little Sad"

Day: 6

Show: 19

Title: Kind Of Funny But Also A Little Sad

Category: Comedy

By: The Importance Of Being Fotis

Created by: Rita Boersma and Mike Fotis and Heather Meyer

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: A sketch comedy about friendship and the joys and worries of life.

Highlights: Kind of funny but also a little sad is my favorite genre. I saw this show at Strike last year and liked it so much I wanted to see it again in this Fringe iteration. Rita Boersma and Mike Fotis are two of the most familiar and funny Fringe performers (as is Heather Meyer, the director who makes a cameo). In this piece they explore their friendship, which is sometimes awkward and argumentative, but in the end sweet and supportive. The straight-forward comedy sketches turn meta when one or both of them break out to comment on what they're doing, or chide the other for what they're not doing. Topics explored include the fear of death, changing family relationships, and existential crises. They make great use of the in-the-round space, including making fun of it. This show is sweet, funny, silly, relatable, and just a little bit sad.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Cat Confidential: The Secret Lives of the Mothers of Lions"

Day: 5

Show: 16

Title: Cat Confidential: The Secret Lives of the Mothers of Lions

Category: COMEDY / DANCE / MUSICAL THEATER / SPOKEN WORD / STORYTELLING

By: Weggel Productions

Created by: Anna Weggel, Lauren Anderson and the cast

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: Sketches, songs, and stories about the most magnificent of creatures - cats - and the women who love them.

Highlights: This show about cats made me cry more than the show about grief! Which probably tells you all you need to know about me. As the mother of three lions (currently, seven total in my life), I found these stories to be so relatable and human. Because it's not just about cats, really, but about how having animals in our lives enriches our lives. They provide emotional support, love, a purpose, comfort, entertainment. Each cast member (Anna Weggel, Danna Sheridan, Emily Townswick, Heather Meyer, Liz Coucil, Mandi Verstegen, Maria Bartholdi, Meghan Wolff, Pam Mazzone, and Siri Hellerman) tells a sweet or funny or sad story about her cat, and how the cat helped them through grief, divorce, anxiety, or just the complications of living life. With a couple of funny sketches about the life of cats. The show is very well constructed, with each sketch or story followed by a charming song (by Anna and Mandi) that directly relates to the previous story (and often comes from the musical theater canon), while the women, all dressed in black, move around the space like cats. This show is a must-see for cat-lovers (I'm certain it's way better than the upcoming Cats movie!). And if you don't love cats, well, I don't even know what to say to you.

my babies Moritz Stiefel, Claude Hooper Bukowski, and George Berger

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Visitation"

Day: 3

Show: 9

Title: Visitation

Category: COMEDY / DRAMA / SPOKEN WORD

By: DangerVision Productions

Directed by: Amber Danger Johnson

Location: Crane Theater

Summary: A series of short plays about grief, framed by a visitation in a funeral home

Highlights: The play opens at a visitation (or wake), the most awkward of reception lines. As the widow steels herself to be able to speak, a funeral director (played by Clarence Wethern) talks about grief, what it is and what it isn't. What follows are five short plays (all accompanied by projected imagery) that range from funny to mystical to sad, brought to life by the ensemble (Ben Tallen, Charles Numrich, Karen Bair, Sophie Javna, and Victoria Pyan). Laura Buchholz's exploration of people's fascination with the details of death, Gemma Irish's profound treatise on the meaning of life itself, Rachel Teagle's story of a complicated mother/daughter relationship, Sam Landman's moving tribute to his best friend, and Tyler Mills' poetic journey through grief are tied together by Heather Meyer's funny/sad "interludes" delivered by the funeral director. I came prepared to cry, but laughed more than I expected, while still being moved by the varied expressions of the experience of grief, an inescapable part of being human.

"The price of love is loss, but still we pay, we love anyway."
- Next to Normal

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2019: "Xena and Gabrielle Smash the Patriarchy"

Day: 2

Show: 5

Title: Xena and Gabrielle Smash the Patriarchy

Category: COMEDY / DRAMA / SCI-FI / POLITICAL CONTENT

By: Mermaid Productions

Directed by: Katy McEwan

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: Xena and Gabrielle (from the '90s TV cult hit series) are transported from ancient Greece to a modern day comic con.

Highlights: Confession: I've never seen Xena: Warrior Princess and don't know anything about it, so I probably only caught about half of the references. (I am a nerd, but only about a few specific things, including theater). But while Xena fans might get more out of this show than I did (and the audience certainly seemed to), you don't have to be a fan to relate to and enjoy this fun, fierce, feminist show. At the comic con, Xena and Gabrielle encounter sexism from men, as well as women cutting each other down, an issue that real live comic cons face (I've also never been to a con). But with the help of a little magic and music, we all learn to be better. And the speculation about the two characters' relationship is finally, satisfactorily, resolved. Producer Ariel Leaf and playwright Nissa Nordland Morgan are perfectly cast as Xena and Gabrielle and surrounded by a strong supporting cast, including Elora Riley and Katie Starks as two very different comic con women, Matthew Kessen, Nicholas Nelson, and Richard "Doc" Woods in the thankless roles of the jerky men, and Heather Meyer in a hilarious turn as.... well, I won't spoil it here. A must-see for comic con goers and fans of Xena: Warrior Princess (my friends at Minnesota Theater Love, fans of the series, loved it), but you don't have to be either to enjoy the show.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"City Council Christmas" at Daleko Arts

This was my fourth visit to the very southern-most #TCTheater, DalekoArts in New Prague (pronounced prayg not prahg, because this is Minnesota). I spent the first 15 years of my life in a rambler on a dead-end gravel road less than 20 miles from where Daleko is now, and my parents still live in Lakeville, so the drive to New Prague is filled with nostalgia for me. Daleko has built up a loyal audience over the last five and a half years, and it seems that their original holiday* comedies are just as popular as the ones at that other theater in the 'burbs on the opposite end of town. I'm not sure I would recommend spending two hours in the car to attend an 80-minute show (although I wouldn't dissuade you if you're so inclined), but if you find yourself in the southern metro, you should definitely check out what's happening at the Prague Theater in charming historic downtown New Prague. Which right now happens to be City Council Christmas, a hilariously quirky and fun comedy about a small town city council, which Daleko calls their "goofy, idiotic, fun, and totally ridiculous love letter to our audiences, and to the good people of New Prague and the surrounding area."

"Spinster Stories" Hosted by Heather Meyer at Strike Theater

I was at the dentist today for a quick repair of a chipped filling. While waiting for the novocaine to take effect, the hygienist was making small talk. She went through the usual topics - travel, work, weekend plans. Then she got to this topic. "Do you have children?" "No." "Are you married, significant other?" "No." "So it's just you then, huh?" Yes, it's just me. But it's not really just me. I was reassured last night that there are many "spinsters" like me who are single for a variety of reasons, and contrary to popular belief we're not all lonely damaged people. We can be just as happy and well-adjusted and fulfilled as "the marrieds," maybe even moreso. Six such people shared their experiences at Strike Theater in Northeast Minneapolis in an evening of storytelling called "Spinster Stories." Sadly, this was the final of two shows and there are no more scheduled (at the moment). But check out Strike's schedule for more storytelling, sketch comedy, and improv performances, including their one-year anniversary celebration this weekend!

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2018: "A Justice League of Their Own"

Day: 5

Show: 20

Title: A Justice League of Their Own

Category: Comedy / Sci-Fi / Political Content

By: Mainly Me Productions

Directed by: Josh Carson

Location: Theatre in the Round

Summary: A mash-up of A League of Their Own and superhero movies, in which female superheroes are recruited to fight evil and the patriarchy.

Highlights: Let me start by saying that I have very vague memories of watching A League of Their Own many years ago, and I don't watch superhero movies. At all. Because of this I probably missed about a third of the jokes (also because the 60 minutes are packed with as many jokes as Lin-Manuel Miranda musicals are packed with words, and because my brain moves considerably slower after 10 pm), but I still found this show brilliant and hilarious. Kudos to director Josh Carson for writing (with ample help from his mostly female cast) a play that skewers the misogyny of the superhero universe and the world in general, and making it so funny and geeky too. Five awesome women (Allison Witham, Emily Jabas, Kelsey Cramer, Lauren Omernik, and Sulia Altenberg) play five awesome superheroes who, despite being strong and capable, have to deal with society's expectations of how they should behave. Heather Meyer is a superhero as well with her multiple characters and lighting fast dialogue, while Josh fills the Tom Hanks role as the past his prime alcoholic Batman hired to coach the women (with Andy Rocco Kraft and Brad Erickson playing many ridiculous roles). The entire cast is fun and playful and all around top notch. If you're more familiar with A League of Their Own than I am (I really need to watch that movie again), you might recognize some familiar scenes and themes, as well as some superhero archetypes. Like Not Fair, My Lady!, this show comes at just the right time and refreshingly shows us female characters just being (super) human. How revolutionary.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Kind of Funny But Also A Little Sad" at Strike Theater

A few weeks ago I brought you my adventures at HUGE Theater, your home for comedy in Uptown. Today I bring you a report from Strike Theater, your home for comedy in Northeast Minneapolis, a neighborhood closer to (my) home and easier to get to and park in (unless it happens to be Art-A-Whirl, then it's almost as miserable as Uptown). Strike has been open for a few years as a Fringe venue but just opened as a full-time comedy venue last fall. Founded by Allison Broeren, Mike Fotis, and Joe Bozic (whom you might know from the Minnesota Fringe Festival), they are "dedicated to Twin Cities sketch comedy, storytelling, and spoken word," and they offer an array of comedy performances and classes. Last night I attended the final performance (sorry) of Kind of Funny But Also A Little Sad, but check out their show calendar and class schedule for what's next at Strike.