A headline too good to be true, right?  WRONG!

One of our fantastic FringeFamous readers just forwarded me an email from Carol Schweickhardt over at Theatre Space Project.  TSP runs the little Lowry Lab Theater in downtown St. Paul.  According to Schweickhardt:

“Thanks to a generous grant from Travelers Foundation, we have a fund to use for the purpose of improving the diversity in our space.  We have 5 weeks of rent subsidy available.  Each group may apply for 1-2 weeks of free rent.  We do collect a per ticket charge to help make this program more sustainable.”

So there you have it.  If you’re a small group with a small-ish show and a smaller-ish budget, you might want to apply for this freebie.  The space has undergone some recent renovations and looks pretty nice.  The only downside is that, despite some new signage, it’s still a tough place to find (and St. Paul still sucks a fat dick).  But you can’t beat the price of zero dollars.

Go to the site!  Contact Carol!  HURRY!!

Check this out, theatre wieners!

Howdy theatre geeks!

Hey, quick question for you:  Are you familiar with the Moon & Staci show on KS95?  Yeah?  Me too…I’m a big fan.  So then you, like me, must’ve thought to yourself on several occasions, “These guys are SO TALENTED.  I wonder why they don’t do more theatre?”

Fear not, kiddos.  Guthrie Corp. has heard our cries.

That’s right!  Staci, of Moon & Staci, will be appearing in Guthrie Corporation’s 12/23 performance of A Christmas Carol!  WOO HOO!!  I probably wasn’t going to see this production, but how the hell can I stay away now?  I mean, there’s a chance that Moon might be in the audience making fart sounds.  Count me in!

Run over to her blog.  She’s got pics of her trying on her costume and everything.  She spells the title of the show incorrectly, but it’s Staci…you just can’t get mad at her.  She also says that she’s “soooooo excited for it”.

Oh, me too, Staci…me too.

If you’ve always dreamed of meeting Will Smith, falling in love, and having a quaint little marriage ceremony in Stillwater, now’s your chance.

As it turns out, he’ll be at Southdale in Edina attending a Friday screening of his new movie “Seven Pounds”.  The first 250 people to bring a non-breakable, non-perishable food item will have a chance to sit in the same room as Will Smith as he watches his own movie.

Good luck!

This is far from breaking news.  But when the headline reads ANDOVER MAN SHOT WITH CROSSBOW, BEATEN WITH BAT, RUN OVER, BURNED, and then you read that one of the people who allegedly did the shooting, beating, running over, and burning was an actress, and that the guy who got shot, beaten, run over, and burned was her brother…you sort of have to post about it on your theatre blog.  I’m pretty sure that’s a rule.

On the bright side, just think of what she’s added to her emotional recall kit!

Congratulations goes out to our first two inductees of the 2008 Hall of Fringe Fame. I have a warm feeling inside. I really do.

So today I was perusing BroadwayWorld.com because apparently I’m super gay, and I noticed this wonderful story about our very own Laura Osnes.

It looks as though little Laura wants all optometrists to join Optometry Giving Sight’s World Sight Day Challenge to help give sight to the estimated 300 million people who are blind or vision impaired simply because they do not have access to an eye exam and a pair of glasses.

Says our very own little Laura:

“It would be difficult, if not impossible, for any of us to learn, read, do our jobs or support our families without our vision.”

In a related story, “Fuck you, Laura.” said all the blind people who currently learn, read, do their jobs, and support their families.

Dear God,

In the future, please help me resist the urge to post something as absolutely uninteresting to the general public as the cast list for Enchanted April at the Jon Hassler Theater. The director of the show actually posted this on The Callboard and I…well…I just couldn’t help myself.

I had a terrific showing of excellent actors, a good many of whom I could easily imagine in these roles. I had many wonderful options to choose from; this is the option I chose:

Lottie……….Ellen Apel

Rose……….Karen Weber

Mellersh……….Dale Pfeilsticker

Frederick……….Alan Sorenson

Caroline……….Katie Guentzel

Wilding……….Dan Hopman

Mrs Graves……….Randy Sue Latimer

Costanza……….Meri Golden

If you auditioned, thanks again! I hope you can make it to the show. And obviously, even if you didn’t audition, we’d love to see you there. Happy Summer, all!

Also see what you can do to keep my cat from walking on my face when I’m sleeping.

Amen.

Word on the street is that Tom Mustachio, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre’s musical director since forever, has resigned.

Although this is big news if you’re into musical theatre or if you’re a fan of the Chan, the only thing I could think of when I started writing this is — why would you grow a mustache if your name is Mustachio? It’s like something you’d do if you were 8 years old…and could grow a mustache. It’s like if I changed my name to Jay Jay Bigpenisio. Does it have a nice ring to it? Sure. But I’m just not that silly.