The 17th annual Minnesota Fringe Festival kicked off this weekend to huge audiences, rave reviews and tons of traffic jams. This means something that we tend to forget but know in our heart is true: Theater is alive & well in Minneapolis! MPLS.TV was there to take in some shows – looks for our reviews for the the remainder of the festival.
Hamluke
The line ‘A long time ago, in a castle far, far away…’ sets the tone for this Hamlet-Star Wars mash-up worthy of it’s own Girl Talk track. That’s important, because there are so many ‘Shakespeare-with-a-twist’ shows this year it could make your head spin more than R2D2 (or in the case of this production, the aptly named R2- Datio). Audience members need not be Shakespearean scholars nor Comic-Con attendees to appreciate this production; the swift, energetic acting & hilarious one liners will keep you engaged the entire show. Clarence Wethern plays Hamluke straight & serious, which makes the comedic moments of Mark Hamill-inspired voice cracking even more hilarious. It helps that both he & Lindsay Marcy, the actress who plays Opheleia, just finished portraying Hamlet & Ophelia at Theater in the Round. Mike Rylander plays Darthius, the Claudius/Darth Vader character, as well as puppeteers Polyodius, the Polonius/Yoda character, with lightening speed & a pitch perfect Frank Oz impersonation. If you know either of these fables even a little bit, see this show.
Remaining performances at U of M Rarig Center:
Tuesday 8/9 – 8:30 PM
Thursday 8/11 – 10:00 PM
Friday 8/12 – 4:00 PM
Once Upon a Time in the Suburbs
presented by Ferrari McSpeedy Theatrical Productions
The character of the chicken-obsessed Mattie, played by Katy McEwen, is reason alone to see the hilarious Once Upon a Time in the Suburbs. The play starts as a Grandpa reluctantly weaves an old yarn with his grandson (played by Joe Bozic, channeling Fred Savage of The Princess Bride). Set in the Old Mid-Western town of Womansburg, Illinois (there is a reason you’ve never heard of it), this comedic homage to the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone and other films like The Magnificent Seven is fueled by an excellent cast of actresses including Courtney McLean, Erin Sheppard, Taj Ruler, Madde Gibba, the above mentioned Katy McEwen and Tera Jansen as Jessup, a Rooster Cogburn-esque woodswoman hired to protect the town from a gang of Indiana bandits. Elements of puppetry, the classic stand-off and gun fights pepper the funny script with great visual gags. While this reviewer may have laughed more at Ferrari McSpeedy’s Fringe show of 2010, Speech!, there is definitely more to be enjoyed overall in Suburbs, especially if you’re a fan of westerns.
Remaining performances at U of M Rarig Center:
Monday 8/8 – 10:00 PM
Wednesday 8/10 – 8:30 PM
Saturday 8/13 – 2:30 PM
Delores Grimm: Fairy Tale Marriage Counselor
presented by Big Bad Wolf Productions
Imagine all the Disney Prince & Princesses did not live happily ever after, and you’ll be in the right mindset to see the improvisational comedy Delores Grimm. The title character is played by Max Leibowitz with an androgynous slant, which works well as certain characters of either sex tend to give Grimm more affection & understanding than the other. See Disney trademarks such as Snow White, Prince Charming, Ariel, Cinderella, Belle & the Beast argue it out over who is in the wrong. Just a forewarning: it is an improvised show, so no two performances will be the same. A prime example being that the show MPLS.TV saw ended in a gigantic, all cast rap ballad. Meg Linafelter plays Snow White with a refreshing brashness. Laura Mahler is a hoot as the ADD Ariel of The Little Mermaid. At first it seems strange that Grimm would be counseling just Disney couples, but over the course of the show it becomes apparent that familiarity is key, and of course what’s more familiar than Disney?
Remaining performances at Theater in the Round:
Tuesday 8/9 – 7 PM
Thursday 8/11 – 8:30 PM
Saturday 8/13 – 2:30 PM
