Sub-Total
2018 Audience Reviews
Member Reviews
The following reviews were submitted by Fringe Member:
Company: Tyler West
Show: ABEYANCE
Venue: Strike Theater
mime + ASL-style stories + clowning
Tyler West has crafted a creative, wacky, suspenseful, funny and engaging show that careens by at breakneck speed. This is mime without being "mime-y." Traditional mime always seems too stylized and sedate for my taste. This is anything but stodgy, and reminds me of the Deaf storytelling events I've attended, both in the pacing and some of the subject matter (yes, hearing people can go to those; an interpreter voices the signing). In any case, I was so glad to spend my last 2018 Fringe hour seeing this show! It was the perfect way to end the festival.
Company: minnerican productions
Show: Broken English, Mother Tongue
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre
from Puerto Rico, with humor & heart
This dynamic one-man show hits the mark with well-timed humor and whole-hearted storytelling about Javier Morillo's life growing up in Puerto Rico, and its aftermaths. See it!
Company: Quasimondo Physical Theatre
Show: Mrs. Wrights
Venue: Rarig Center Xperimental
modification to account for echoey venue needed
The dancing is beautiful, and with the addition of exceptional use of facial expressions, the dancer conveys emotion wonderfully throughout. The creative use of costumes also works most of the time. (Coat dance a definite win!) What sometimes got in the way for me was the echoey venue combined with the characters' accents + not quite enough crisp articulation (i.e., pls include a bit more space between words) for the lines always to be intelligible. I do not have hearing loss, yet I missed maybe a fifth of the lines sitting in the second row, even more so as the play progressed, so that by the last part of the show, the work of attending so fiercely to try to discern the monologue tired me out. (For the next run, perhaps it would be better to cut some of the monologue than to rush; the audience does not already know what she's saying--we have to hear and understand it to know.) Also, a small detail: as another patron mentioned to me, by the third time the chair is hoisted, it's at least one time too many. So a little consolidation and tightening up might be useful. Overall, though, skillful portrayals enjoyable as is. If you're on the fence, see it!
Company: Gabriel Mata/Movements
Show: DREAMING
Venue: Southern Theater
what they said + poignant ending
Exquisite as a word falls short of describing this dancer's instrument. Gabriel Mata was born with graceful proportions. He has taken care to strengthen and tune his body to an ethereal level, and to watch his lithe fluidity is to experience poetry in motion. Then there's the playful humor, and the underlying serious message which he soft-pedals, but is there. (Hint: think about the ending and what it might have to do with the title.) Folks, you don't get to see talent of this caliber very often. Superb. Dance aficionados will cry real tears to see Gabriel dancing--joy that he's visiting us and sharing this show; sadness that he no longer lives in the Twin Cities. If you want to be sure to see the last performance, reservations are highly recommended.
Company: Oncoming Productions
Show: Geminae
Venue: Southern Theater
some professional troupes grow from Fringe shows
This performing company has all the skills, and they know how to use them. I had waffled about seeing this show. From the preview, was interested, then took it off my favorites list. Ended up going because I was seeing the following show at that venue--why not? OMG, it is super well done! Talent all around. Go see this! It's eerie and suspenseful. And look for more from Oncoming Productions in the future.
Company: Michael Rogers
Show: Now We See It
Venue: Ritz Theater Mainstage
If you've enjoyed Transatlantic Love Affair...
...in past Fringe Festivals, you'll probably like this. Exceptionally creative and evocative melding of theater, movement, and soundscape. Agree with others that the light sabre battles were a bit odd in combination with the rest, but took up minimal time, and the rest was so good. If you can sit with a little uncertainty, or are on the fence, see it.
Company: Wit and Wisdom of Will Rogers
Show: Wit and Wisdom of Will Rogers
Venue: Minnsky Theatre
Will Rogers--American icon, up close & personal
Will Rogers during his time was the most recognized man on Earth. His homespun irreverence went viral worldwide in the 1920s and 1930s. Full of surprises, Aanerud's portrayal uses only Rogers' own words, breathing life into America during a messy time of disruption and transformation. See if you think things have changed a lot. Humor, irreverence, heart. Well written and rehearsed. Recommended for ages 13+ for mild references to sex.