If you’ve never been to a kids show that opens with a testicle joke, this is your chance. Pie Rats: The Crusade for Peaches Cobbler is about as bad as the Fringe gets. The script: horrible. The direction: non-existent. The acting: ridiculous. If you’re one who enjoys the occasional Fringe train wreck, People Sittn Around Doin Theatre has put together your dream show. I told myself I would find at least one nice thing to say about every show. So, the nice thing about Pie Rats is…um…well, it didn’t give me HPV.

This show wasn’t even on my list until I got an email from someone involved in the production asking if I’d take a look. I’m so glad I listened. I’ve just started my 2008 Fringe Festival doings, but I have to imagine that this will have been one of the highlights for me. Clay McLeod Chapman and Hanna Cheek make kicking your theatrical ass seem easy as they take turns maneuvering their way through two monologues each. There are fourteen possible pieces which they choose at random, so it’s a different combination every time. See — this — show.

Retired Star Tribune writers Catherine Watson and Al Sicherman join forces for this little piece. The entire show consists of them sitting at tables reading their own pieces from the paper. As boring as that sounds, it’s actually not half bad. The performance I attended was about 3 seats shy of totally sold out. And although I was one of maybe five people under the age of 50 in attendance, I could see it appealing to a few of the younger crowd…maybe. It wasn’t for me, but if you’re already fans of these two, I’m gonna go ahead and assume you’d love it.

Perpetual Motion Theatre Company is, in my humble opinion, one of the coolest young companies in town. They always seem to come up with interesting company-created works that really push the envelope. That being said, however, One Night Only With Mike Mahony misses just a bit. It’s entertaining enough and it’s certainly above average, but it’s not at the level that I expected going into a Perpetual Motion show. Perhaps it will gel a bit as the run continues. Don’t be afraid to give this one a try.