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Fringe File, #17: Mini-Reviews, Pt. 2

by Twin Cities Arts Reader -

A promotional image for RE|dance group’s It’s About Love Again This Year.

Here are some additional reviews from the first two days of the Minnesota Fringe Festival:

Waiting for Gygax (Hot Chocolate Media)

This parody of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot requires no prior knowledge of the play or Dungeons & Dragons, but is extra funny if you know either and get the additional jokes. It starts slow but delivers in the end, with Vladimir (Molly Glover) and Estragon (Andy Gullikson) having excellent comedy schtick.

Quirky and fun – a theatre and D&D nerd’s delight.

A Pickle (Really Spicy Opera) – SOLD OUT OPENING

File this play under quirky, Minnesotan, and surprising. This one-woman show performed by Angela Timberman tells a story from the archives of the Minnesota State Fair: prejudice, pickles, and prickly comments. Timberman, one of the best comedic actresses in the Twin Cities, is in full form with excellent comic timing. For a full hour, she fills the evening with straight-shooting zingers…while also telling a thought-provoking story about institutional bias and prejudices. This beautifully lit comedy goes deep and comes out ahead. The script is sharp, the pacing good, the material interesting, and the only thing missing is a pickle sale at the end.

Strong sell-out risk. Reservations recommended.

The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society (Ghoulish Delights)

This double feature delivers twice. Two classic radio plays are brought to life by a talented team of Fringe vets, notably including Tim Uren, Joshua English Scrimshaw, and Shanan Custer. Suspenseful, enriched by live foley sound, and deliciously cheesy at times.

Warning: Consuming this show may cause elevated nostalgia for old-time radio.

It’s About Love Again This Year (RE|dance group)

A spirited dance show by a visiting group from Chicago. The choreography by Michael Estanich is pleasantly varied and interesting, the ensemble of dancers (9 woman, plus Estanich as a dog) sharp, and the dancing spiced with the occasional spoken word and song. A great chaser for a heavy show; the title is a reference to their excellent show from last year’s fringe festival.

Katie Versus The Devils (Scared Hare Productions)

This promising show gets bogged down with too much exposition. It takes a long time to get going and get to the really interesting material, and even then keeps running into slow patches. While not without its charms, the show could use some significant revision.

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