All good things most come to my end…an end.

All in all, I think this year’s Fringe Festival was the best one in years. The level of talent was off the charts. The amount of amazing shows to see was unbelievable. And the number of shirtless guys on stage was inspiring. Which brings me to the first of my last Fringe reviews:

“The Bronze Bitch Flies at Noon” and “Dog Tag”, presented by Magicword Theater. “FINALLY!!!” That was the first word came to my head after seeing this show. Finally a play (two, technically) that includes gay characters, yet the show isn’t necessarily about “being gay.” And it’s done well! The actors knew exactly what they were doing. It wasn’t cheesy. I cared about the characters. Nobody was a whore, or a drug addict, or had AIDS, or a lisp, or any other quality/circumstance that most people seem to think comes with the gay territory. They were just people (and one dog), in the same situations that any straight person could be in. “YUMMY!!!” That was the first word that came to my head during the show. All three actors are not only talented, but they are also deliciously good looking. I wanted to give them all a good Gaye tongue bath. The three of them, (Joe Bombard, Sasha Andreev, and Buddy Haardt) work together so well, that it’s nearly impossible to say any one of them stood out from the others. They balanced each other perfectly. If forced to make out with/choose one of them as my favorite I would have to choose Haardt. He has an endearing earnestness about him. I couldn’t help but compare him to T.R. Knight, in both appearance, and demeanor. The one complaint I had about this show, is that I wanted more. Running at about 40 minutes, I was confused why the two pieces, (especially Dog Tag) were so short. I guess two well done short pieces is better than one really long piece of shit show. I give this show Two Legs Way up and Over My Head, and 5 Gaye golden stars.

Next up was The Spaceman Chronicles, presented by Sanguine Theatre. I originally wasn’t going to review this show after seeing it. There didn’t seem to be a point. It was just bad. I understand that this was a last-minute fill-in show. But these are seemingly smart artists. It was a good idea for a show. And most of the actors have proven to be talented in other productions (Mortem Capiendum, anyone). I expected more. Or at least something…good. Here’s my theory. A group of talented artists got together for a circle jerk. They showed the circle jerk to their friends, and instead of saying, “Gross,” their friends went down on the artists. And it needs to stop. Bad work needs to be called out, just as often as good work does. There comes a time in every artist’s life when they need the help of their friends to say, “it’s really not that good,” or, “I’d rather lick a sheep’s anus than see your show again.” I actually overhead (at Fringe Central) a conversation between a few of the actors from the show and one of their friends. She said to them, “I really liked it. I laughed my ass off.” I wanted to light her pants on fire. Don’t lie to your friends. It isn’t helpful. It only perpetuates the advancement of bad theater. If you actually saw this show and liked it, I have two things to say to you: 1.) Please tell me what it is that you liked. and 2.) You’re wrong. Sorry Spaceman Chronicles, but I will not be putting my legs in the air for you. I will give you 2 Gaye golden stars. 1 for the idea of the show (even though it fell short and was poorly/painfully executed). And 1 for the neat puppets.

And now for my last Fringe Festival review of the year. Phi Alpha Gamma, presented by Dan Bernitt. Bernitt is someone you should keep on your gaydar. His writing is so well crafted for such a seemingly young artist. He took the audience on a journey of a gay bashing and a coming out story, from the perspective of a group of fraternity brothers. While his acting is still a little green, it’s forgivable due to the quality of his writing. If anyone is attempting to write something with gay content that will in fact be dealing with “gay issues and themes,” then please refer to Bernitt’s work. His writing is edgy, well constructed, and personal, without ever being self-indulgent. While I’m not a huge fan of watching a writer read from his script on stage at the Fringe Festival, I wasn’t at all annoyed this time. I do however think this piece could have worked a little better had there been a different actor or reader for each character. It would have taken some of the pressure off of Bernitt, allowing this story to make a bigger impact. Well done Dan Bernitt’s Phi Alpha Gamma for being really Gaye, in a good way. Two Legs in the Air and 5 Gaye golden stars.

Though I didn’t get any Fringe tail this year, I did meet a lot of great artists, and made a few friends. And I certainly drank a lot of cheap beer and wine. I’m sorry if I threw up on any of you. Congratulations to all the shows that got the encore performance, and congratulations to the winners of this year’s Fringies. You are officially Fringe Famous. And you are all really, really Gaye…in a good way.

Saturday at 7pm is your last chance to see this hidden gem of a show.  3 Sticks has crafted something very cool, very engaging, and very theatrically satisfying with their production of The Gypsy and the General.  I couldn’t decide if I was more impressed with the fascinating physicality of the actors on stage, or Andrew Lynch and his beautiful and extremely interesting music off to the side.  Some have been comparing this show to Jeune Lune itself and I don’t think I would disagree.  These guys have a creative confidence about them that is infectious.  Don’t miss them here.  Their next fringe stop is Edmonton and you don’t have the money.

Joseph Scrimshaw once again proves that he can do just about anything, with this fantastic example of how to put up a Fringe kids show.  An Inconvenient Squirrel combines some of the best things about theatre for children; great physical comedy, hilarious repetition, some goofy costumes, and a nice little moral just to put the icing on the cake.  The script does a fine job of keeping the adults entertained as well as the kids.  And Scrimshaw has once again waved his mighty hand over the Twin Cities theatre community to pluck out some of the most polished performers possible.  It was pretty awesome to scan a gigantic audience and see children having a blast who were looking up at their parents having a blast.  Yes, kids…as Scrimshaw consistently shows us, theatre can be fun.  Remember that when you grow up.

After hearing about this show for almost a month, I was finally able to make it to Four Humors Theater’s production of Mortem Capiendum.  It was worth the wait.  The shows creators — Jason Ballweber, Brant Miller, and Matt Spring — do a fantastic job bringing these flawed but mostly empathetic characters to life.  There’s no downtime in this show.  You’re immediately flung into this depression-era world by these three young slick-talkers and are happy to stay for the entire 55 minutes.  This tight, well-crafted production will appeal to Fringe newbies and veterans alike.

In trying to describe Deviants, several words come to mind: creative, intense, imaginative, inventive. Unfortunately, I could also use self-indulgent, elitist, pretentious, and pompous. This show is, at times, beautiful. But more often than not, it’s just plain insulting. A guy bathing himself in milk…a woman stapled to the wall…someone hanging from his feet with a harness; all could possibly be interesting had the show given me a plot or any reason to invest in these characters. Instead, I’m left with what feels like a Live Action Set fuck-around. In addition, the Soap Factory is about as bad as Fringe venues get. I’d say I missed about one-third of the show either because of one of the several huge pillars, an audience member’s head, or some combination of both. If you’re the type of person who loves to be weirded out by theatre — if it makes you feel more intelligent to watch something incomprehensible — then I guess it’s your lucky day.

In this one-woman nugget, Coutney Roche tells the very personal tale of her battle with Bell’s Palsy. Roche is a pleasant personality on stage, is able to hold an audience quite well, and is even very funny at times. However, the play does get a bit too precious, and it’s possible that I checked my watch more than once. If you’re a huge fan of the one-person show, I’d go ahead and give this one a look. Otherwise, there’s just too much out there that’s better.

He’s back again, kiddies.  More Gaye = more…well, gay.  Enjoy!

————

Hey, fairies! Here’s another set of my reviews for you to pleasure yourselves to…I mean, for your reading pleasure.

First up is Cowboy DragQueen, presented by DragIn Productions. I saw this show for obvious reasons. Care to guess what they were? You’re right…I’m a homo. A title like Cowboy DragQueen is like the mother ship calling me home. I went into the show with a bit of hesitation, though. Let’s face it; there’s not a ton of “gay” theater out there that speaks to me…or is good. This…was no different. Though I applaud Patrick Braucher for his attempt to give the audience a peek into something very personal in his life, he missed the mark…which is surprising, since the show is…about him. I really wanted to like this show. I have to admit, it started out okay. Braucher, began by telling us about his depression, and how he got there, and we were told that this would be the story of how he got through it. The audience, including me, was ready to be inspired. And then the show started. Braucher didn’t seem to know the words to his own script, about his own life. In what should have been raw looks at a man transforming into a drag queen, the scene shifts were five-minute yawn fests of Braucher climbing clumsily into dresses with the help of a “flying fairy,” (a stage hand wearing white angel wings). I did, however enjoy the music, and of course, the dresses and wigs. And we all got to wear tiaras during the show! I loves me some tiaras! I think this show could have been really good, and really inspiring if the Braucher had given us a little more emotion and a little less…drag show. This piece may have worked better if an actual actor had been hired, and a writer, and a set designer, and a director. Sorry, Cowboy DragQueen. I won’t be putting my legs in the air for you…though I really wanted to. I do however give you two Gaye golden stars. One for at least getting some GLBT content into the Fringe, and one for having an ABBA mix in the show.

Next on my gay-genda was Boom, presented by IL Productions. This show is, in a word, FABULOUS! Andrew Conner (writer/performer) is an effing genius. He shifted in and out of about ten different characters with the ease of Kristi Yamaguchi doing a triple loop, triple salchow combination. Please pardon my pun, but Boom is simply explosive. The writing, staging, performing, and synchronicity of actor/lighting/sound was effortless. Also, Andrew Conner is super handsome…even in his ridiculous yet amazingly smart costume. There really isn’t much more to be said about this. You must see this show. If you don’t see this show, then I hate you, and you shouldn’t be alive anymore. You should also go see the Cody Rivers Show Presents: Stick To Glue, which also features Conner, along with Mike Mathieu, who is also super cute. Good job Boom! I give you Two Legs Way up in the Air and Spread Open, along with five Gaye golden stars!

See you at the Fringe! I’ll be the one trying to get in Andrew Conner’s pants so I can see his Boom.

Want to see the wonkiest, craziest, silliest, most ridiculous show at the 2008 MN Fringe?  Their next show is Thursday at 10pm.  Playwrights Dylan Frederick and Anders Nerheim serve up a giant helping of absurdism while sweet Kiana Adams ties a bib around your neck and calls over Amy Stockhaus to cram the entire thing down your throat with her gigantic spoon of funny.  The play starts to lose just the slightest bit of steam toward the end, but you won’t care.  It’s such a crazy-random show, you’ll actually welcome that slow-down so you can catch your breath.  And the fact that these are high school kids should provide hope to any old, jaded theatre folks out there who are currently mourning the death of this art form.  Audish proves that there is, indeed, a next generation of creative theatre minds…and they hate auditions.

Joseph Scrimshaw teams up with his wife, Sara Stevenson Scrimshaw, to tell the story of a man who is held captive by a “whisky faerie”.  As nice as this idea sounds, the show drags.  Both Scrimshaws are good performers, but that fact matters very little when the average human body is only able to ingest about 30 minutes of the stance genre (story/dance).  ZING!  On the plus side, the show is not half as bad as this stupid-ass review.  I need more sleep.

Walking Shadow Theatre Company has quickly become the best small theatre company in the Twin Cities.  So it comes as no surprise to me that they decided to throw Shakespeare and zombies against the wall and come up with another smash hit.  As fine as most of the performers are, they are all upstaged by the script.  John Heimbuch pens an absolute beauty with this one; tossing out some fun for the hard-core zombie fan, and then spinning around to verbally titty twist the 22-year-old, currently studying for that motherfucking Theatre History final.  As always, Amie Rummenie’s direction is like butter, David Pisa gets the tech things in order and eats flesh — and just like that, this  production probably becomes the best-selling show at the 2008 MN Fringe.  Don’t be the only re-re in town who misses this show.