BWW Reviews: The Minnesota Fringe Festival Delivers an Amazing Smorgasbord of Theater

Friends, this one is intense. The Consolation is not your typical fun and frivolous Fringe show. The story of a Nazi war criminal on trial may not be new, but it's beautifully and succinctly told in this thought-provoking play that lays bare all of the complexities involved and leaves the viewer with an unsettled feeling. Eichmann is at times infuriating and at times sympathetic, thanks in part to a brilliant performance by David Mann. Scenes of the trial in front of an unforgiving judge are interspersed with scenes talking to an unnamed visitor who seems to be trying to understand how one can be driven to do such horrific things, which Eichmann tries to explain was just a bureaucratic job to him (seen in flashbacks with his assistant), despite the fact that millions died as the result of his paperwork and meetings. And then there's the experiment. Dr. Milgram asks the subject to deliver increasingly greater shocks to a person in another room, and even though he's disturbed by the pain he's inflicting on this stranger, he continues. The play is well constructed by playwright Ari Hoptman, with scenes and timelines intersecting and flowing into one another. Clear direction by Jean Wolff and great performances by the cast bring this story to life in a disturbing way. The Consolation is a heavy drama, beautifully done, that makes one think not just about the crimes at hand, but the complicated idea of following orders vs. following your conscience.

FRANKENSTEIN

Getting to Ellen

Lungs

Friends, this one is a gem, and some of the best acting you will see at the Fringe this year. Dustin Bronson and Katie Kleiger are both products of the U of M/Guthrie BFA program (and were both in June and the Paycock earlier this year), and are great testaments to its success. As this normal and very real couple going through normal and real challenges, they both give such natural, honest, raw, and fully realized performances. I completely bought into their relationship that is so believable, it began to feel like eavesdropping on a conversation. Because this beautiful play by Duncan Macmillan is written as one long conversation. Even though it spans years, the conversation never ends, as one scene begins almost before the previous one ends and locations change (on a stage that's bare except for two folding chairs) in the blink of an eye. Things happen, and nothing happens, as this couple navigates life and all its joys and challenges. Dustin and Katie lay their souls bare on stage and it's a beautiful thing. Go see it!

Pretty Girls Make Graves

I never miss a Loudmouth Collective show. They specialize in smart, well-written, intense, small-cast shows that are funny or heartbreaking or both. Written by Artist in Residence Sam Landman and directed by Artistic Director Natalie Novacek, this new play in which two women meet after a man they both loved died, and bond over '80s bands, boxed wine, and vintage exercise equipment, falls neatly in Loudmouth's wheelhouse. It's one of those two-people-sitting-in-a-room-talking plays, which I love, especially when the talk is this smart and funny and real. After she finds out her boyfriend died, Carla (Emily Dussault) goes to his apartment and meets his sister BMX (Katie Willer). They discuss his love of Jethro Tull, Carla's love of The Smiths, and Carla's love of Duran Duran. But even if you, like me, don't get a single one of the music references, you can still enjoy this little slice of life and exploration of two characters that feels very real, until it takes a surreal turn. See this show for sharp writing, directing, and acting - one of the more professional shows you'll see at the Fringe.

Shelly Bachberg Presents: Orange is the New POTUS: The Musical

If you saw the 2013 Fringe hit Shelly Bachberg Presents: How Helen Keller and Anne Frank Freed the Slaves: The Musical, then you know what to expect. But you don't need the background to appreciate this smart, funny, ridiculous political satire that also includes TV and musical theater references while delivering a half dozen fantastic new songs. This is the third new original musical by creative team Max Wojtanowicz (book and lyrics), Michael Gruber (music and additional lyrics), and Nikki Swoboda (direction and more), and the experience and teamwork shows in this ridiculously funny show that's a mash-up of the Netflix hit Orange is the New Black, musicals like Chicago and West Side Story, and the worst that politics has to offer. And the cast is to die for. The incomparable Kim Kivens reprises her role as Shelly from the first show, and I can't imagine anyone else in the role. Her parody of you-know-who is spot-on hilarious and her vocal control is impressive as she sings to great comedic effect and delivers Shelly's ridiculous lines with campy convictions. She's backed by three music-theater divas as her cellmates - Kendall Anne Thompson as Viper, Joy Dolo as Lazy Eyes (having a lot of fun with Crazy Eye's unique mannerisms), and Erin Schwab as the Russian Bread. Along with Todd Bruse as a guard and campaign manager, they take you through this silly tale of Shelly winning over her cellmates and escaping to become president, inspiring catch phrases along the way like "you can even" and "hashtag blessed." This show is a great example of the Fringe musical at its best.

To the Moon

So much loveliness it's hard to describe. Let's start with Tyler Mill's lyrical and poignant and funny words (see also Jonah and the Whale). Then add in Derek Trost's evocative musical soundtrack to the story. All of it creating a picture in the mind's eye, made real by the cast which includes the playwright (as the father), Debra Berger (as the mother), Emily King (as the narrator), and Tyler Michaels (as everyone else - children, women, men). It's a sweet and simple story, but the joy is in the telling. Tyler Michaels is a master at creating a character from the inside out, and it's a pleasure to watch him do it multiple times in the space of an hour. The other Tyler and Debra are so warm and sweet and funny as this comfortably loving couple (they've had practice - they're married in real life.). Last but not least, Emily presides over the story like Alanis Morisette in that movie where she played God. The only props onstage are two stools, which are used almost as inventively as the props of movement and physicality. To the Moon is my favorite kind of Fringe show - genuine and beautiful and whimsical and dreamy.

Underneath the Lintel

Pat O'Brien brings his excellent one-man show back to the MN Fringe (I saw it four years ago). On the surface it's a funny and quirky little play about a Dutch librarian who becomes obsessed with a book that was returned 123 years after it was taken out. He follows a clue left in the book which leads him on a chase around the world, collecting even more clues. He's assembled and labeled all of the clues and gives us, his audience, an "Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences," using slides, audio recordings, and frantic scratchings on a flipchart to bolster his case that this man he's following is indeed the Wandering Jew, condemned to wander the earth, never resting, never dying. So you see it's not such a simple story after all, but a profound one that ponders the very big ideas of the meaning of life and death. Pat O'Brien, having performed the piece at festivals around the country, gives a masterful performance. From the moment he walks onstage about ten minutes before showtime, nervously setting up his display, he has us believing he is this man. He becomes increasingly more frazzled as the "presentation" goes on, urging us, or maybe himself, to believe... in something. Why are we here? Why do we die? How can we possibly know how one small choice made "underneath the lintel" can affect the rest of our lives? Pretty heavy stuff wrapped up in a quirky and funny little play.

A Woman in Berlin