"How It's Gon' Be" by Underdog Theatre at Mixed Blood Theatre

Two and a half years after their debut, new #TCTheater company Underdog Theatre, whose mission is to "create art for the underserved, underrepresented, and unheard," is bringing us their fourth play, and third world premiere new play. How It's Gon' Be is a beautifully written play by JuCoby Johnson, a talented young actor who's appeared on many stages around town in the last several years. As director H. Adam Harris succinctly put it on opening night, it's a play about love: love between parent and child, love between friends, romantic love. It's a funny, sweet, poignant coming of age tale with characters that feel real and modern, beautifully brought to life by a terrific cast. It's exciting to see young black artists playing all the roles - actor, director, playwright, producer - to tell these stories that need to be told.

"Luna Gale" by Underdog Theatre at the Southern Theater

Exciting new theater company Underdog Theatre, founded by rising #TCTheater star Kory LaQuess Pullam, is presenting their third work, the first one that's not an original play written by Kory. And it's a tough one. Luna Gale is a sobering look at the system that's supposed to help young people in trouble, and the ways that it fails them. It's a heart-breaking story, but not without a glimmer of hope, thanks to the caring people who work within this broken system. And this really wonderful cast makes you feel every emotion of the story, which is sometimes unpleasant, but very effective in creating empathy for these humans and the difficult situation they find themselves in. Underdog's mission is to "create art for the underserved, underrepresented, and unheard," which is beautifully accomplished here.

Fringe Festival 2017: Mid-Festival Favorites

We're halfway through the 11-day, 15-venue, 167-show Minnesota Fringe Festival. I've seen 25 shows, with another 20-some on the schedule for the next five days. Here are a few of my favorites so far. I haven't seen everything on my must-see list yet, so be sure to check that out for more recommendations. And you can read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

There are five days left of Fringe - so get out there and see some shows! Full schedule, venue, and ticketing information can be found on the Fringe's handy dandy website.

My favorite 2017 Minnesota Fringe shows so far, in alphabetical order (click on the title for full show information):

Fringe Festival 2017: "ODD MAN OUT"

Day: 2

Show: 6

Title: ODD MAN OUT

Category: Drama

By: Underdog Theatre

Created by: Kory LaQuess Pullam

Location: U of M Rarig Center Arena

Summary: An intense drama about an African American family in Texas dealing with grief, infidelity, drugs, and coming out.

Highlights: If you're looking for a powerful and affecting drama at the Fringe this year - ODD MAN OUT is it. The Twin Cities Theater Bloggers chose Kory LaQuess Pullam as our favorite new artist last year, and he continues to remind us why and reaffirm our choice. As playwright and director, he's constructed a compelling story with complex characters that unfolds in under an hour, with an ending that left me wishing for an Act II to continue to explore this family and their issues as they relate to issues in society at large. Our main character is gay college freshman James (Malick Ceesay), whose complicated relationship with his father (LaMont Ridgell) is revealed in a couple of flashbacks. The main action takes place around the funeral of James' grandfather, and everyone in the family is dealing with something. James' uncle Charlie (Kennie Cotton) is avoiding child support and sleeping on his brother's couch. James' father cheats on his mother (Charla Marie Bailey), and his sister (Am'Ber Montgomery) sells drugs and isn't ashamed of it. And grandma (CiCi Cooper) is just trying to hold it all together. Add in James bringing his boyfriend home to meet the family for the first time and you have a situation ripe with conflict. And conflict there is. This excellent cast of actors mostly unknown to me all give powerful performances that brought me right into the story and made it feel almost painfully real.

Read all of my Fringe mini-reviews here.

"Baltimore is Burning" by Underdog Theatre at SPACE

There's another new theater company in town, and they're coming out of the gate with a strong message and a powerful new play. Underdog Theatre hopes to be a voice "for the underserved, the underrepresented, and unheard." Founder Kory LaQuess Pullam, a talented young actor who's made quite an impression on several stages around town in the last few years, has written a great new play about the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody in Baltimore last year. While Baltimore is Burning is about this one specific incident, on a larger scale it's about the many such deaths that have occurred around the country, even right here in Minnesota, and the need to have a conversation about why it's happening and what can be done to change it. At its best, theater brings attention to issues and starts a conversation about them, which is exactly what this play does.