Fringe File #15: The After-Reviews – Twin Cities Arts Reader

Official show image: For Worse, presented by Theatre Unbound.

Just when you thought Fringe was entirely over for the year…out came a sequel. Here are a few more 30-second show reviews providing parting thoughts on some shows whose memories have lingered in our staff’s memories:

Gilligan: A Tropical Musical by Literally Entertainment Productions

The 60s television show set to Hamilton’s music. Some subtle political humor and very entertaining.

Bezubaan: The Voiceless (Bollywood Dance Scene)

The Bollywood show has always been a sell-out in past years at the Fringe and this year was no different. I made sure to make reservations for the show this year and it was worth finally getting to see it. Clever narration of the typical Bollywood movies is the highlight but the timely issue of prejudice against Muslims gave the show a particularly relevant meaning.

The Pound: A Musical for the Dogs (Imagined Theatre)

I heard this show was good, but I was surprised at how delightful it was. It is a cross between Avenue Q and a Humane Society of America commercial. I caught the last performance and I wished there had been another performance left so that I could have brought my grandchildren. It is a cross between Avenue Q and a Humane Society of America commercial. It would be great if one of the local children’s theatres would bring in Imagined Theatre to do an extended run of this show for the wee folks.

For Worse (Theatre Unbound)

I knew nothing about this show when I walked in and I found it to be one of those fantastic Fringe surprises. It deals with the potential breakup of a marriage, first from the husband’s point of view and then from the wife’s. I found the wife’s part to be especially intriguing with her use of a vocabulary lesson to vent her disappointments and anger.

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Rats in the Walls (Ghoulish Delights)

This is another show that has been done for years at the Fringe but this was my first time seeing it. It is performed at a corner building next to the outdoor courtyard at Mill City Theatre, which is a fitting place to see this play about inherited guilt. A classic Edgar Allen Poe type story that is performed with such sincerity that it sufficiently scares the hell out of you. I recommend you see this and similar shows on a night where you don’t have to sleep, because you won’t sleep after seeing it.

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Bev Wolfe

Bev Wolfe is a Staff Reviewer at the Twin Cities Arts Reader. She is an attorney and avid theatre fan who has written theatre reviews for local publications since 2008. She was also an Ivey Awards evaluator.